Why Pray?

“While he lived on earth, anticipating death, Jesus cried out in pain and wept in sorrow as he offered up priestly prayers to God. Because he honored God, God answered him.” (Hebrews 5:7, The Message)

I'm reading Philip Yancey's excellent book Prayer:Does it Make any Difference?  It is a good question, given the fact that God is sovereign and unchanging.  What good is prayer to a God like that?  Practically the first thing that Yancey says is that we pray because we see Christ praying, as the writer to Hebrews comments here.  Christ offered up priestly prayers while on earth as he faced death.  Who would have less need to pray then God-incarnate? and yet again and again we see Christ praying.  It is a pattern we ought to obey if for no other reason than this.

Notice also that God answered Christ's prayer because Christ honored God, or as the ESV puts it: he was heard because of his reverence.  God hears and answers prayer.  We see that from this passage.  However, it is easy to overlook the fact that Christ was heard because of his reverence.   The word means "reverent awe" or "fear." 

God doesn't answer the prayers of the flippant; he hears the genuine.