The desire and need to pray is often said to differentiate people from animals. We might say prayer lies at the heart of human nature, for people seem to have a need to reach out to God, especially in times of distress and trials. Human beings have limitations to their power, for we understand we do not have ultimate authority to direct our destiny; naturally, we often reach out to God when we have exhausted our own resources. The “instinct to pray†can be seen as the remnant of humanity’s intimate relationship with God in the past. Yet because of the First Parent’s sin, humanity’s relationship with God was hampered. We often call this hampering of our relationship with God, which was caused by sin, as the “fall†of humanity. Ever since the fall, people have been seeking a way to go back to God (Gen 4:26). However, ever since our relationship with God was “cut off†from the fall, people have been prone to seek their own ways to the divine. Many religions, even today, worship something in God’s creation; for humanity has forgotten its Creator. Idols, statues, and figurines are often popular substitutes for God (Rev 9:20; Rom 1:23), and people will often pray to false gods (1 Kgs 18:26). But we should abandon our idols and return to the one true God. In modern society, many people have forgotten God’s existence altogether. Atheists will neither give God glory nor gratitude, for they do not know how to call upon him (Ps 14:4). To disbelieve in God, the Creator of all things, is truly foolish and rebellious; yet, God’s will and time is always present in all things. It may please God to keep his spiritual truth hidden from the proud (Mt 11:25; 1 Cor 2:6ff). Pride is a reason why many people do not pray, even though we are so insignificant. Even though we cannot even control our own destiny, we often feel like we are beyond God’s reach. So we often think, “Why should I pray? What’s that going to change?†We must not be proud in prayer, we should humbly cry out to God so he will hear us (Ps 77:1). The Bible tells us to call on God and he will save us (Ps 55:16).
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