I posed the question to the students to begin the message, "Why would you pray?" I wasn't being sarcastic, even if my tone sounded like it. I was being serious. Why would a teenager living in suburban America pray? (BTW-for this blog I'm going to switch from saying "teenager" to saying "adult." The shoe fits us all!) Why? I know of at least 2 reasons why we would NOT pray!

• (1) We have so much stuff, we don't need to. We live in a maze of I-whatevers, you name it. We are all chasing after the next gadget, technological toy, vehicle upgrade, all the while being dominated by entertainment and media. We are constantly inundated and consumed with things. We have everything we want or, at least, we are in the pursuit of them, making steady plans to acquire the latest "necessity." Christians in the West, sad to say, are running after these things with just as much gusto when at the end of the day, it does not matter one single bit how many "apps" your I-phone has-but we live as if it does! People pray when they are needy. We aren't; we have it all. (or so we think)
• (2) People usually pray when they feel a sense of the weight of their own sin. In our society, there is no sin! So why would we pray? I have observed a major shift in our culture. We have moved from tolerating explicit sin to celebrating it! And so called "believers" are just as guilty in what they allow AND ENDORSE into their homes via entertainment media! I am absolutely appalled at what is now commonplace viewing on prime time TV. It is shocking to me what "believers" will admit and parade as their favorite shows. For an example, I had thought about renting the movie Get Smart. I like The Rock, and I like comedy. However, after viewing the preview, I was sick. There is a scene in the movie where homosexuality is presented in a "funny" context. (That is how we get desensitized! Sin is made to be funny-and we laugh and watch it over and over and over...) Now some of my friends who herald Christian liberty will call me a legalist here. But before you throw me off, can you really imagine the Apostle Paul watching Get Smart with you in your home and laughing at that scene? No sin = no prayer. (no matter the real truth that we are dreadfully sinful)

About the only time we do pray, I mean really fervently pray, and put away the distractions like Facebook, is when we get into trouble (like our girlfriend may be pregnant) or get really sick-then we really pray! (And when God does not answer according to our will in these situations, we get mad at God! Usually that's because He's the first person we have ever met that tells us "No." And that's because he is far more concerned about what we need than what we want!

So again, why would we pray? I think a good place to start answering that question is to see why Jesus prayed? I mean think about it. He had the same reasons for NOT praying as we do-but from far different perspective. (1) He didn't need anything! He was the fullness of Deity in the flesh (Col 1:19). He was God. Everything was His already! (2) He never felt the weight of His own sin. Although, he did feel the weight of our sin (2 Cor 5:21). Yet, He prayed often (Mark 1:35). So why did Jesus pray?

2 Answers appear in John 17, particularly in reading verses 20-26. (1) Jesus loved the Father! 3 times Jesus mentions the love shared between Father and Son in these verses. An eternal, unceasing, overflowing, pure, and holy love exists between the Father and the Son. Jesus prayed because He loves His Father. (2) Jesus prayed because He loves His people with the same love! The same verses that speak of the love between Father and Son also speak of the love for all believers. Jesus prays that believers will know and abide in the love that the Father has for the Son! Think about this-one of the everlasting graces of salvation is that we will eternally experience the eternal, unceasing, overflowing, pure, and holy love that is shared between Father and Son! Jesus prayed that for us because he loves us that way!

This is exactly why we should pray-love to the Father and love for His people! Listen ever so carefully to I John 5:1-3 while applying this lesson on prayer. "Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome."

Could it be that prayer is so burdensome because we do not love God or His children-possibly because we have not been born again?