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What’s the Good of Prayer?“And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.” Luke 11:1 It is not part of the life of a natural man to pray. It is said that a man will suffer if he does not pray. There is truth in that. What will greatly suffer is the life of the Son of God in him, which is nourished not by food but by prayer. When a man is born from above, the life of the Son of God is born in him, and he can either starve that life or nourish it. Prayer is the way the life of God is nourished.“Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:3Our ordinary views of prayer are not found in the New Testament. We look upon prayer as a means of getting things for ourselves. The Bible’s idea of prayer is that we have needs met, but prayer is also how we may get to know God.“Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full,” John 16:24 We get apologetic or apathetic, but we ask very few things. Ask, and God will do. Give Jesus Christ a chance; give Him elbow room. No man will ever do this unless he is at his wits’ end. When a man is at his wits’ end, it is not cowardly to pray; it is the only way he can get into touch with Reality. Be yourself before God and present your problems, especially the things you know you have come to your wits’ end over. As long as you are self-sufficient, you will not need to ask God for anything. It is not so true that only “prayer changes things”, but that prayer changes us, and we many times change things. God has so constituted things that prayer alters the way in which a man looks at things. Prayer is not a question of just altering things eternally, but it also works wonders in a man’s disposition.