THE LORD’S PRAYER PART 5 : PRAYING TO THE FATHER WHO ALREADY KNOWS

“Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”

                                                                                                –Matthew 6:8 (NIV)

   In the previous verse, Jesus instructs us to not pray like the pagans who heap up empty phrases to their gods in order to plead their plight and obtain their favor. Jesus says that we should not be like them for the Father already knows what we need before we ask Him.

   Matthew 6:8 is an astounding statement! Jesus connects two of God’s revealed nature in relation to prayer: His omniscience and His fatherhood.

   David speaks of God’s omniscience in this way:

1 O LORD, you have searched me

and you know me.

2 You know when I sit and when I rise;

you perceive my thoughts from afar.

3 You discern my going out and my lying down;

you are familiar with all my ways.

4 Before a word is on my tongue

you know it completely, O LORD.

5 You hem me in—behind and before;

you have laid your hand upon me.

6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,

too lofty for me to attain.

                                                                                             -Psalm 139:1-6 (NIV)

   If God knows the most intimate details of our lives, then logically He knows what we need. Therefore, prayer is not about informing God about something that He doesn’t know. It is not about urging Him to get up and start doing something about this problem that we are having.  It isn’t about making him respond favorably to our request. He already knows! Therefore, praying with an overabundance of words is not necessary. It doesn’t matter how knotted our problems are. He understands our situation more than we ever can. Now because He is our Father, God will meet that need for our good. He is not obligated to look out for our interest. He looks out for us because He is our perfect heavenly Father.

   John Piper says,

   This verse is a great encouragement to remember that God is not disinclined to do you good. He is a Father, not a mortgage holder. And as a Father he is up on what you need as his child. And as a Father he is very eager to give it.


You can tell that this is the meaning of this verse by comparing the same phrase in [Matthew 6:31–32] Do not be anxious, saying "What shall we eat?" or "What shall we drink?" or "What shall we wear?" For the Gentiles seek all these things; and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.


The point is: since he knows your need, you don't have to be anxious about your need. [This] implies that he is the kind of Father who loves to meet the needs of his children for the asking.

                                                                                                                                       - John Piper

   This is the essence of Matthew 6:8, that God knows what is good for us. He does not give anything to us that will harm us and lead us to do evil. His answers to our prayers are always for our benefit. Indeed, Father knows best. Now this begs the question – if God already knows what I need before I even ask Him, then what is the purpose of prayer?

   Here is what John Calvin says,

   But if God knows what things we have need of, before we ask him, where lies the advantage of prayer? If he is ready, of his own free will, to assist us, what purpose does it serve to employ our prayers, which interrupt the spontaneous course of his providence? The very design of prayer furnishes an easy answer. Believers do not pray, with the view of informing God about things unknown to him, or of exciting him to do his duty, or of urging him as though he were reluctant. On the contrary, they pray, in order that they may arouse themselves to seek him, that they may exercise their faith in meditating on his promises, that they may relieve themselves from their anxieties by pouring them into his bosom; in a word, that they may declare that from Him alone they hope and expect, both for themselves and for others, all good things. God himself, on the other hand, has purposed freely, and without being asked, to bestow blessings upon us; but he promises that he will grant them to our prayers. We must, therefore, maintain both of these truths, that He freely anticipates our wishes, and yet that we obtain by prayer what we ask.

                                                                                                                          -John Calvin

   God wants us to participate in accomplishing His purpose here on earth. We participate by praying and Jesus gives us the Lord’s Prayer as the manner in which we are to pray. Our prayers do not change God’s mind. Our prayers will change the world. That is why the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective (James 5:16) because God, in His sovereignty, chooses to respond to our prayers. Prayer also changes us as it helps us to discern God’s will for our lives.

    When we do not pray, we deny the sovereignty of God. When we do not recognize that God knows best, we glorify our self-will, our self-sufficiency, and our own wisdom. When we insist that God must also consider our opinions in how He should meet our needs, then we deny His omniscience. I am glad that God’s will for my life is perfect for me and that spurs me to pray and seek His will in all things.

   Therefore, we should pray and not give up just like the persistent widow (Luke 18:1-8). We should pray continually (1 Thessalonians 5:17) and present our requests to God (Philippians 4:6).