What is your “why”

CALL TO PRAYER

Date: 19/02/2022

By: Owusu Clifford S.

Title – What is your “why”

1st Samuel 1:11 – Then she made a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head.

As Christians, we ought to pray; we do not have an option. Prayer is one of our greatest weapons of warfare. We have to pray all the time without ceasing. With that said, we should know that some patterns and rules govern prayers, and one of them is the “why” of our prayer. Often, the reason why we do not receive answers to our prayers, or we experience delays in answers is that we do not ask ourselves this question, and if we do, normally, the “why” is not strong enough.

In today’s Call to Prayer, we are considering the prayers of Hannah, and take some insights from them. Hannah was provoked consistently by Peninah, her rival. In her prayers, she mentioned her affliction, but that was not “the why”. Indeed, God had seen her affliction and desire for a child, but that in itself did not cause God to intervene. The question was: why should God grant her a child? Was it that she wanted the child to compete with Peninah or that she wanted the child so that Peninah will stop provoking her?  In answering the “why” question, Hannah vowed to give her son back to God all the days of his life, and this pleased God. The God-factor in Hannah’s prayer sounded good in the ears of God, and God did not hesitate to grant her request.

Today, the question is, why should God give you that child, that marriage, that money, or that power? If you are praying for a financial breakthrough, is it to prove a point to people, or do you want to be a kingdom financier? In answering the ‘why’, where does God benefit from the blessing you are seeking from Him? God is not happy to see us in misery, and He is eager to release our blessings, but the question remains; why should God intervene?

Do you need God’s intervention to satisfy your own selfish needs, or do you have God in mind and at heart concerning your request? God knows and judges the intentions of men. God knew Hannah’s heart that she will do what she has vowed to do. Ironically, sometimes, humans think we can outsmart God. We pray for things knowing clearly that it is all for our selfish interests. Beloved, God cannot be mocked. Maybe, it might be worth considering your prayer requests once again before you bring them to God. May God bless us!

Prayer:

Let us thank God for His word today and the answers to all our prayers. Let us pray for the Holy Spirit to enlighten us to pray the right way and in a manner that will bring answers from God.

To be part of the school of prayer and demonstration ministry, a place for the raising of Kingdom judges, please visit: