Thursday: Other Questions About Prayer
Daily Lesson for Thursday 14th of May 2026
Why pray when God already knows? Why should we pray when God is all-knowing? Ellen G. White explains it like this: “Not that it is necessary in order to make known to God what we are, but in order to enable us to receive Him. Prayer does not bring God down to us, but brings us up to Him.”—Steps to Christ, p. 93. Indeed, God knows our desires and our needs, and He reads every intent of our hearts. Yet, praying is good for us. It invites us to stop amid the rush in our lives, to pause and acknowledge that God is sovereign over all, and to place ourselves at His feet. Avenues might also be opened for God to act when we invite Him to do so. The Holy Spirit intercedes for us when we don’t know how to pray as we should (Romans 8:26-27).
Why pray when all is well? Self-sufficiency and pride (see Lesson 3) can be one of the greatest barriers to a strong prayer life. If we’d only realize how much we need God, we’d come to Him much more! If perfect angels adore and worship Him, why should we, as sinful humans, think we’re in less need? What do Matthew 5:6 and Isaiah 44:3 say about this truth?
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What is the role of faith in prayer? Read Hebrews 11:6 and ponder these words: “Prayer and faith are closely allied, and they need to be studied together. In the prayer of faith there is a divine science; it is a science that everyone who would make his lifework a success must understand. Christ says, ‘What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.’ Mark 11:24. He makes it plain that our asking must be according to God’s will; we must ask for the things that He has promised, and whatever we receive must be used in doing His will. The conditions met, the promise is unequivocal. . . . We need look for no outward evidence of the blessing.”—Ellen G. White, Education, Pages 257, 258.
With whom should I pray? We should pray most of all privately (just God and you), as prayer and Bible study are the lifeblood of your relationship with God. Set aside time to search your heart as you talk and listen to God (Matthew 6:6). We should also pray with our families or in small groups (Acts 12:12), for where two or three are gathered, God is there (Matthew 18:20). Finally, we should pray with our church communities (James 5:13-16). All three types of prayer are important.
How should I listen? Prayer is more than just talking to God; we also need to allow Him to “prune” us and speak into our lives. The clearest and safest way to do this is to read the Bible and combine prayer and Bible study in your devotional time. Beware of emptying your mind or listening to your own thoughts rather than searching the Bible.
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What do you find most challenging from the points above? |
Prayer remains the single greatest privilege believers can explore while walking with God; yet, it has also become one of the greatest areas of Christian failure. The privilege of prayer is that it provides a unique opportunity for us, as individuals, to open our hearts to God and communicate our frustrations, challenges, successes, and fears. Through prayer, we express our thoughts, needs, and gratitude to Him. It allows us, as believers, to develop a personal relationship with God and seek His guidance, wisdom, and support for the many questions and situations we face in life. As the Bible says, “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not” (Jeremiah 33:3).
Just like many other areas of our Christian life, prayer remains mysterious, wonderful, and necessarily practical all at the same time. However, if we do not make prayer essential to our walk with God, then we must be willing to be open and honest about our struggles and questions so that we can grow in our prayer lives. By exploring these questions, we uncover personal stories, confront real struggles with prayer, and inspire actionable spiritual growth. To truly cultivate deeper spiritual conversations and understand the essence of communication with God, we must first echo the disciples’ plea: “Lord, teach us to pray.” This desire for divine guidance is the most important starting point for developing a meaningful and intimate dialogue with God, for “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17).
Beautiful week of study. I’ve truly loved how today’s questions have touched on areas we may be asking subconsciously, and the guided responses have been right on point.
This has been a wonderful week for deepening our understanding of practical prayer.
There is no mechanical formula for how to pray. There is so much we do not understand about prayer. Even with “enough faith”, “enough fasting”, and “enough believing”, God does not respond to some petitions as requested. Jesus said:
• “Ask, and it will be given to you”
• “Whatever you ask in prayer, believe…”
• “Pray without losing heart”
Yet in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed with perfect faith, but His Father said “no”. This is a typical example of faith not being a means to force our will to be God’s will. It is also very important to note that the apparent divine silence is not evidence of weak faith or no faith. The Bible has records of faithful believers whose prayers were not answered as requested. For instance, Paul prayed repeatedly that God would remove the “thorn in the flesh”, but God responded by saying, “My grace is sufficient” (2 Corinthians 12:9). Another person prayed with “enough faith”, enough fasting” and “enough believing”, but did not get what he wanted is David. He fasted and prayed for his child to live, yet the child died (2 Samuel 12:16-18). Even Job cried to God but did not receive a full answer for his suffering.
God invites us to pray with boldness, knowing that our prayers will be answered. But it is important to remember that God is sovereign. Our faith, fasting, obedience, and persistence are not a means to compel God to act according to human needs and desires. In fact, not every sick person was healed by Jesus, nor was every righteous person rescued from suffering.
“Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways!” (Romans 11:33, NLT).
One fundamental point to remind ourselves is that we should remain faithful, trusting, and open to God even when our prayers seem not to be answered.
Thank you for this.
Thank you Omwenga Mwambi. you are so correct on every point. What’s challenging:- is that the devil also knows US by our behavior, and can fulfill A selfish desire, and when things start going wrong with our desire; we then blame God, saying if God knows everything, then why did He give us this trouble? This is why, when we pray, ask for the Holy Spirit to teach us and to guide us in our faith, we need to know God and to understand His will be done, even when, being persistent in our asking. Whatever we’er praying for it must bring glory to God.
Dear Ed,
Thanks indeed for highlighting the critical essence of prayer.
“This is why, when we pray, ask for the Holy Spirit to teach us and to guide us in our faith, we need to know God and to understand His will be done, even when, being persistent in our asking. Whatever we’er praying for it must bring glory to God.”
Without the guidance of the Holy Spirit, our prayers will simply be empty words.
I find the biggest challenge in being still and listening for and to the voice of the Holy Spirit. It’s so easy to get caught up in the doing, the speaking, and forget that we were created with two ears and one mouth. I need to listen twice as much as I speak. This is good counsel in any relationship that I want to prosper, especially my vertical relationship with God through prayer. Prayer isn’t necessarily all about talking, doing the speaking. It is also about listening.
We live such busy frenetic lives, always in a hurry, never having the time to be still and silent before the Lord. That is as or more important than any acronym mnemonic device. All the formulas and forms really don’t amount to a hill of beans if we are using them to try to coerce, psychologize or manipulate God into getting our way in prayer. It won’t work because Omniscience sees right through it. We might be able to fool all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time, but we can never fool God.
I have learned and am still learning that God doesn’t want our service or our gifts as much as he wants our hearts. In receiving our hearts he receives everything. That all comes from remembering that as humans we aren’t human doings, we are human beings. “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10) is an invitation to me, as I am prone to burnout, to stop doing and start being in the moment with my God. Sometimes silence truly is golden. Don’t let silence scare you, let it mold you.
Now about that “thoughtful hour”…
Word of God Speak, MercyMe
Wow Tim, you are so on point. We are human beings who need to read and reread Psalm 46:10, we need to live it. We’ve let our calendars become so full that it is easy to overlook what’s MOST important…time spent alone, in silence, with our Lord. Silence with God is peace, something our enemy wants desperately to rob us of. If we don’t take heed to be still and know God, we may live to regret it….or die to regret it. HELP US GOD! AMEN!
Thank God for the opportunity to speak to Him as a friend speaking to a friend. The privilege of prayer is vital to our Christian journey. We do not need a high priest to confess our sins. All we have to do is pour struggles, wrongs and challenges to God sincerely on our knees in pray and He will see us through.
Have a bless day everyone!!
This is a very timely lesson. I visited my brother in another town. He’s been on a journey through the bible, studying with some Jehovah’s Witnesses. Because he knows I study the Bible, he has been bouncing off me the things he’s learned from their Bible workers. During a long ride to his son’s graduation, he asked me how I know who I’m praying to when I talk to God. He said, “How do you know you are talking to God of the bible and not some other entity?”
I didn’t have a ready answer for his question. I believe God is our creator–that he lives in heaven, but he exists everywhere. I believe that he is God, whether I know and acknowledge Him or not. When I lift my petitions to a higher power, He is the one who hears.
I fumbled through my response to him, and I don’t think he was convinced based on my words. I did say that if he wasn’t sure, he should pray for clarity and conviction. I know that my faith is strengthened as a result of my daily prayers. I pray for a closer walk with Him. I pray that the Holy Spirit keep me from distractions. I pray that I remain faithful throughout my life and resist believing that my accomplishments are the outcome of my own efforts–even when God prospers me.
Thank God for prayer and the Bible to keep me near the cross.
Hi Nancy, I believe in one sense you found the answer for your brother when you asked that God keep you near the cross. It is because of Jesus and the cross that we can know we are talking to the God of the Bible. Jesus is the Word made flesh. He came to reveal the Father. And it is because of Him that we have the hope of eternal life. When we pray in Jesus name we can know we are speaking to the God of the Bible.
John 1:1 KJV
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:14 KJV
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
Acts 4:12 KJV
Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
John 20:31 KJV
But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.
1 Timothy 2:5 KJV
For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
Colossians 3:17 KJV
And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.
John 14:13 KJV
And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
How do I listen to God ? How do I hear His voice ? Is a legitimate question. Our God is not a “dumb-dumb” as the gods of the heathens. I would like to share with you what I have learnt concerning this matter.
God speaks supremely through His Word – the Holy Scriptures. In fact all other forms of communication that God may use is “subservient” to this mode and MUST be tested and verified by this mode ; which is the Bible.
God also speaks through people, for example the prophets of ancient times. In addition to ordinary persons that you meet who gives advice and suggestions ; are they in harmony with the Word ?
One clarification needs to be emphasised . The Bible as a unit is the “testing board” for every one . For example , Ellen White and her writings are subject to be tested by the Bible. Do they coincide and agree with the teachings of the Bible ?
God also speaks through circumstances ; particularly through the unusual ( the burning bush); through Christian Pastors and Teachers.
In addition, through impressions of the Holy Spirit. I remember when studying Psychology I was introduced to a concept termed Intuition for which they could not provide any scientific explanation but whose reality was tested and proven. I knew it was the Holy Spirit, prompting to do or not to do certain things, for which we could give no rational explanation; but on hindsight was the needed thing to do.
There is a prayer that we do not have to wonder about whether God will answer yes:
“Jesus says, “What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” Mark 11:24. There is a condition to this promise—that we pray according to the will of God. But it is the will of God to cleanse us from sin, to make us His children, and to enable us to live a holy life. So we may ask for these blessings, and believe that we receive them, and thank God that we have received them. It is our privilege to go to Jesus and be cleansed, and to stand before the law without shame or remorse.” Steps to Christ p. 53
Why prayer when God already knows? Prayer to me gives me trust in God. Gives me a stronger faith in our Sovereign God. Encourages me. Sounds a little out of order, or protocol if you prefer, yet that is the way it works for me. Now, I believe, then pray for the faith and trust in Him. That’s one prayer that He always fulfills. I act on my belief in devotion and meditation on Him.
These lessons are so good for me, even though they are a repeat over the years. I appreciate the comments, testimonies, and discussions.
Self-control is more important than managing a whole city. Self-control can also be a curse when it is used to demonstrate self-indulgence! Prayer can help all of that!
Is there a biblical formula for prayer? I believe not. Scripture certainly gives principles and patterns for prayer, but it never reduces prayer into a rigid formula. Prayer is not a performance of perfected words; it is the language of relationship.
The Father-child relationship is formed over time. In human relationships, either closeness or estrangement develops depending on the perceptions built through experience. Likewise, our spiritual relationship with God grows through our understanding of who He is. Love builds confidence in God as we grow in the knowledge of our Father, while fear erodes confidence as we drift from the true knowledge of Him.
Sin naturally pushes humanity away from God. Ever since Eden, guilt has made man hide from the divine presence. Sin erodes confidence because it distorts our perception of God, causing us to approach Him with fear and distance. Grace, however, restores us. The righteousness of Christ establishes us before God and gives us boldness in humility to approach Him as a loving and forgiving Father who genuinely has our best interests at heart.
Therefore, the “right” way to pray is deeply connected to the relationship we have cultivated with God.
This explains the remarkable boldness of many biblical prayers. Jacob could say, “I will not let You go unless You bless me.” Moses stood between God and Israel with the confidence of one who knew God personally. Daniel prayed with assurance that God hears, forgives, and intervenes. Their prayers differed in style, tone, and circumstance because prayer is not built on formula but on fellowship.
I personally do not know how to pray in the traditionally admired sense. I have always struggled to organize my thoughts into what many would call “powerful” or well-structured prayer. I often feel the inadequacy of my spoken words. Yet I have always been able to organize my thoughts beautifully through writing.
In my spiritual formative years, I would write letters to God. As I grew older, those letters gradually became conversations. Somewhere along the journey, I became that person who quietly speaks to himself in whispers, at school, at work, while walking, jogging and even in the ordinary movements of daily life. But in truth, I do not speak to myself; I speak to God.
That is still who I am today.
I find those ongoing conversations with God far more fulfilling than formalized or structured prayers. Honest, unfiltered, spontaneous, heartfelt and deeply relational prayer is like balm to the soul. I find nothing more fulfilling like when prayer happens naturally because God has become part of your consciousness throughout the day rather than merely a scheduled moment of religious performance.
Perhaps that is the beauty of prayer: not mastering the art of speaking to Heaven, but living in continual awareness that Heaven is listening.