If God is Sovereign, Why Pray?
Have you ever found yourself asking the question, if God is sovereign, why should I pray? After all, if His plans are set, then what difference do our prayers make? Although we can find ourselves struggling with the perceived tension of our prayers and God's plans, we actually find a stunning example of how they fit together perfectly in the life of Jesus.
I want to give you four reasons why the sovereignty of God should not prevent us from praying, but propel us to pray more.
1. We Pray to Acknowledge God's Sovereignty
Jesus Christ is truly God and truly man. He is the Son of God and the sovereign Lord of the entire universe. And yet, at the beginning of Luke 22:42, we find Him praying. Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. In the darkness of Gethsemane, Jesus begins with a direct appeal to the Father. He does not rush to his own solution, but recognizes that the Father has full authority over the plan of redemption.
Even though Christ himself is God the Son, we see Him modeling a prayerful dependence.
This points us to the reality that prayer isn't about informing God of something He doesn't already know. It's about acknowledging His sovereign rule. Jesus, the sinless Son, lived in perfect harmony with the Father's will, and yet He still prayed.
If the all-knowing, all-powerful Savior turned to the Father in His darkest hour, how much more should we, weak as we are, bow before the One who rules over every detail of our lives?
2. We Pray to Submit Our Will to His
The pinnacle of Christ's prayer is this moment of supreme surrender. At the end of verse 42, Jesus goes on to pray, “Yet not my will, but yours be done.” While Jesus honestly expresses His desire, “remove this cup from me”, He ultimately lays down His will before the Father.
Here we witness the mystery of Christ's two natures. He is truly divine. Yet in his humanity, He experiences dread at the suffering to come.
Jesus prayer helps us to understand that prayer doesn't twist God's arm into fulfilling our own agenda. Rather, it aligns our hearts with his eternal purpose. This is the heart of biblical prayer, humble submission that trusts our sovereign God that He knows best, even when the path involves pain.
3. We Pray to Express Our Genuine Pain
Jesus' prayer in the garden is not marked by stoicism. In verse 44, it says, “and being in agony, He was praying very fervently and His sweat became like drops of blood falling down upon the ground.” Far from being a robotic request, Jesus' prayer in the garden is raw, vulnerable, and marked by deep distress. He prays so intensely that His sweat becomes like drops of blood. This vivid picture teaches us that acknowledging God's sovereignty doesn't invalidate the reality of our emotions. In fact, it can intensify them.
When we truly believe that God is in control, we have the freedom to pour out our hearts in full. We see this same posture modeled for us in the Psalms, lamenting, questioning, yet ultimately hoping in God's steadfast love. It's an honest, earnest prayer showing that we, like Jesus, sometimes face intense pain.
Though our circumstances may not change immediately, the act of crying out anchors us in the truth that God hears and God cares.
4. We Pray to Receive Divine Strength
In the midst of Jesus' agonizing prayer, Luke records this miraculous moment. An angel is sent to strengthen the Lord. Verse 43 says, “Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him in that moment.” God provided strength in the hour of Christ's need for us.
Prayer may not result in angelic visitations, but it does open our hearts to divine comfort, wisdom and perseverance. Notice that Jesus' situation didn't drastically change. He still walked the road to Calvary and willingly received God's wrath in our place. Yet He rose from his time of prayer resolute, prepared to face his divine purpose. So likewise, when we pray to the Lord who is sovereign, we often experience our anxieties calmed, our resolve strengthened and our faith sustained, even if the outward trial remains.
When we ask the question, if God is sovereign, why pray? Look no further than the life of Jesus. In His darkest hour. The eternal Son of God sought the Father's will, poured out His anguish and found divine strength.
God's sovereignty isn't a reason to remain silent. It's the very reason we can pray with confidence. We bow our hearts before the One who holds the universe together, assured that He hears and responds, even if His strength comes in the midst of suffering.
We pray because He is sovereign and His good purposes will stand both now and forever.