Because God is always good, we can know certain things about prayer. When you understand how good God really is, you’re going to enjoy prayer. It won’t be a duty anymore.

“For the Lord is always good. He is always loving and kind, and his faithfulness goes on and on to each succeeding generation” (Psalm 100:5 TLB).

If knowing who God is shapes the way we pray, then what is God really like?

Well, God has many characteristics. He is all-knowing (omniscient), he is all-powerful (omnipotent), he can be everywhere at the same time (omnipresent). The Bible tells us God is holy, just, kind, loving, and faithful.

There are many, many characteristics of God that we could study, but we’re going to spend a few days looking specifically at the goodness of God, because the goodness of God is the basis for all prayer. If God is not a good God, then we have zero motivation to pray.

The only reason there’s any good in the world is because God is the Creator of the world, and he is a good God. His goodness is in the universe. You can’t spell “good” without “God.” If there’s no God, then there is no right and wrong or good and bad.

People often ask, “Why is there evil in the world?” It’s simple: God doesn’t force us to do good. Evil exists because God gave us a free choice and we choose not to do good a lot of the time. Evil is really easy to explain. The hard thing to explain is why there is is any good in the world. In a world of “dog eat dog” and tough luck, the only reason there is good is because God is a good God.

Because God is always good, we can know certain things about prayer. When you understand these things because you understand how good God really is, you’re going to enjoy prayer. It won’t be a duty anymore. It will be a delight!

Over the next few days, we’ll look at several implications of the goodness of God in your life and how it’s going to change the way you pray from now on.

Talk It Over

Why is God’s goodness a key motivation to pray?

Is prayer a duty or a delight for you? Why?

How has God’s goodness affected the way you pray to him?

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This devotional © 2018 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.