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Don’t Miss One of the Greatest Purposes of Prayer!

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purpose of prayer

“He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, ‘O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.’” Matthew 26:39

I find myself on my knees before God time after time when a crisis hits—approaching Him in prayer with a list of requests: healing, provision, guidance, and protection. It’s natural to bring our needs before God; after all, He is our loving Father, and He delights in caring for His children. Yet, if I am honest, I must acknowledge that my prayers tend to be shaped more by MY DESIRES than by GOD’s WILL. I find myself treating prayer as a way to persuade God to do what I want. However…

The greatest purpose of prayer is not to bend God to my desires; rather, it is to align my heart with His will.

We see the greatest example of praying for God’s will in the Garden of Gethsemane. On the night before His crucifixion, Jesus faced the most excruciating trial of His earthly life. He knew the physical agony of the cross was coming—but even more, He faced the unimaginable weight of bearing the sin of all humanity and the terror of separation from His Father. In His humanity, He prayed, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me.” That moment reveals His very real struggle. Jesus wasn’t pretending. He felt the crushing weight of dread. And yet, He didn’t stop there. He immediately added: “Nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” 

My friend, when facing the greatest pain imaginable, Jesus set the standard for prayer. 

Prayer is not simply an outlet for our wishes; it is an altar where we place our desires before God and pray:

“Father, sift them, purify them, and conform them to Your plan.”

When we are born again, we are empowered to pray for our desires to conform to God’s. How? Because our inner man (soul and spirit) is no longer defined by the fleshly desires of our human lineage. We are children of God:

“As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” John 1:12–13

In other words, at salvation, God gives us HIS spiritual genetics. Just as we inherit physical traits from our earthly parents—eye color, height, and bone structure—we inherit spiritual traits from our heavenly Father. Our soul and spirit are made righteous in Christ. Paul says, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God… and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.” (Romans 8:14,17)

As God’s children, we are not only are loved by Him, but we are recognized by others as His children in our resemblance to our Father. Jesus said the world would recognize us by our love: 

“By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:35 

Love is the dominant strand of God’s DNA, and—if we belong to Him—it should be evident in us.

But because we have enemies and we are still stuck in this sinful body, we need prayer to constantly realign our desires. We struggle to be selfless. Prayer should be much like visiting a chiropractor who straightens a crooked bone. Our natural will—twisted by sin, fear, and the attacks of the enemy—constantly needs to be reset to conform to God’s will. Our desires often pull us toward comfort, control, and self-preservation. But when we pray for God’s will to be done, the Spirit works within us, reshaping our desires and enabling us to want what GOD desires.

Think back to Jesus in Gethsemane. His surrender to the Father’s will gave Him the strength to endure the cross. That prayer wasn’t about changing the Father’s plan—it was about strengthening Jesus’ human resolve to walk in it. It was about love—giving to sinners who could never repay Him. In the same way, prayer strengthens us to choose obedience when our flesh screams for escape, comfort, or compromise.

So, when we pray, we should be careful not to approach God like a cosmic vending machine, expecting to insert a prayer and get the outcome we want. Instead, prayer should sound like this:

“Lord, here are my desires. Here is what I think…what I want. But I trust You. Your ways are far above my ways. Take my desires and align them with Yours. Bend my heart to love what You love. Strengthen me to walk in obedience, even when it’s hard. Not my will, but Thine be done.”

This kind of prayer is costly because it demands humility and trust. It means admitting that our understanding is limited and that God’s wisdom is higher than ours. But it is also freeing, because we no longer have to manipulate circumstances or people. We don’t have to force outcomes. We simply have to trust that God’s will is good, even when it means we must walk through a dark valley. 

My friend, because Jesus walked alone—when we belong to Him—we don’t have to. 

The deepest work of prayer is not getting our will done by God, but asking God’s will to be done in and through us.

Reflection

Ask yourself honestly: Am I using prayer to try to bend God to my will, or am I letting Him bend me to His? Make a list of your current desires, goals, or fears. Then, pray through each one, surrendering it to God with Jesus’ words: “Not my will, but Yours be done.”

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You for the gift of prayer, not as a tool to attempt to control You, but as a place where You lovingly reshape me. Lord, teach me to bring each request to You and ask that it be answered in Your will. Teach me to lay down my desires at Your feet. Help me to walk in obedience and serve others with joy, trusting that Your will is always better than mine. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

We would love to hear your thoughts about this devotional. Did God speak to you or challenge your daily walk with him? Or is there a topic that you would like Kimberly to cover or expound on? Please share with us in the comments below.

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