What’s the Point of Prayer?

A popular convention of fantasy fiction is the idea that prayer is done for God’s sake, that God depends on our worship of him for power and sustenance. A book series I used to read, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, depicts its gods in this way. In that series, Rick Riordan weaves a tale of the various gods and monsters from classical mythology living in modern America. The Greek gods in that story feed on the belief and worship of humans for sustenance. If humans do not believe in and worship them, then they will fade out of existence. However, the gods do little to earn the worship of the humans who do serve them. Given that they are based on the works of Homer and Hesiod, these gods are spiteful, arrogant, and adulterous.

A friend of mine came up with a derogatory name for such depictions of divinity: “faith parasites.” I think this term is rather apt. The gods of Homer’s (and, for that matter, Rick Riordan’s) work are unworthy of worship. Riordan’s postmodern spin on these deities, depicting their divine duties as businesses (i.e., Hermes, the messenger of the gods, is depicted as running a postal service) and showing them to be fans of modern popular culture, only further detracts from their respectability. The gods as Riordan depicts them are ridiculous. I suspect this was on purpose. After all, Riordan has admitted that he has no intention of convincing his readers into becoming pagans.

By contrast, the Christian God is perfect. He does not need prayer to live, because He is unchanging and eternal. His power does not depend on us either. Rather, we pray to him for our sake, because we are the ones who need God. The purpose of prayer is to help us commune with God and better focus our minds on him. The purpose of human life is unity with God – which is what Christians have traditionally called divinization. St. Athanasius wrote that “God became man so that men may become gods.” Prayer is an important part of that because it is through prayer that we establish a connection between ourselves and God. Imagine a power station that produces energy constantly thanks to a perpetual motion machine. For those of us who own electronic devices, plugging them into this station would be a great boon. Similarly, God sends His love, wisdom, and Spirit into us when we pray.

For me, prayer is a great way to meditate. It allows me to let go of all the earthly concerns and focus on God alone. The prayer to St. Joseph is easily my favorite because of its simplicity, the rewards it promises to those who persevere in praying it, and the image it brings to mind – that of Jesus resting in the arms of his adopted father, Joseph of Nazareth. That image resonates with me especially, given how much I appreciate my earthly father. I can imagine Joseph teaching the young Jesus how to be a good carpenter, comforting Him whenever He was discouraged, and being an overall good role model to Him growing up. God must’ve put a lot of thought into creating Joseph.

Here, I want to mention a common mistake people have about prayer. Some treat God like a genie who will grant your wishes if you are good enough and are disappointed when this isn’t the case. This isn’t true. While God will not be purposefully cruel, He does allow hardship to happen if He thinks you can handle it. More important than that though, He taught us what to pray for using the Lord’s Prayer as his model. As the article I linked to states, it teaches us how to pray and what to pray for. According to it, we ought to pray first for the glory of God and for His will to be done, followed by the daily necessities of life, and then for freedom from sin, both ours and others’ sins. God does not simply want us to rely on Him to help us, He also wants us to want what He wants. After all, God certainly knows better than us, right?

Similarly, I’ve met more than a few people who claim that God does not answer their prayers. Now in truth, He always answers an earnest Christian’s prayers, but He is under no obligation to answer our prayers in the way we would like Him to. Sometimes, God responds to us, not by speaking to us in our hearts, but through the actions of someone else. For example, you might be praying for God to give you a sign to show Himself to you when someone comes along and, out of charity, lends you a helping hand. Remember that everything is a creation of God, so everything that happens is according to His plan.

We also have to keep in mind that God is under no obligation to speak to us or to answer our tests. We owe everything to him, not the other way around. Anything He does for us is supererogatory and out of love for us. Nevertheless, His very presence is good for the soul, so we ought to be grateful for anything He does give to us.

Why is the soul so important? Well, the soul is the principle that gives a person life. The soul animates the mind and the body, filling us with a spirit that strengthens us vitally. Taking care of the mind by focusing on what’s important and taking care of the body by eating healthily and exercising both strengthen the soul. Similarly, prayer, which strengthens the soul by concentrating your being on God, strengthens the mind and body in turn. The soul is also what makes someone human, so when you strengthen it, you will feel more alive and fulfilled than before. God is our purpose.

Here, I’m reminded of a story my dad told me about his mother, Nanny. Nanny worked hard selling life insurance and real estate and taking care of her family, yet she made a point to go to morning mass four times a week. I can only imagine how hard that would’ve been for her, but I bet the effort was well worth the result. By getting closer to God, Nanny was able to become a better person, which helped her in all the areas of her life. Let us strive to follow her example and the example of all the saints out there and pray to God.