Through prayer we recognize and acknowledge that he alone is Lord and that He alone saves us and provides for us. Through prayer, in humility, we submit ourselves and surrender our lives to God. Through prayer we remain poor in the spirit. Just look at the many unanswered prayers. If we should not worry because God knows that we need these things, and he will give them to us as well, why pray? If God is the all-knowing God, why pray? Many people do not pray and still receive God’s good gifts because God “causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Mt 5:45). Why pray?īut, why pray? If our Heavenly Father already knows what we need before we ask him (Mt 6:8), why ask? God feeds and clothes the birds and flowers of the field (Mt 6:24-30), and they don’t pray. Pray, pray, pray, and God will give us all we need to live the kingdom life.
As Jesus nears the end of his Sermon on the Mount, he comes back to prayer, and he calls us to pray with persistence and with confidence because prayer is the only way we can live the kingdom life.
