Why pray? Another angle...

I am currently reading RT Kendall's amazing book 'Did you think to pray?', yes you guessed it - on prayer! I won't go into it but just want to leave you with one amazing thought that He starts the book with. So often books on prayer are written from the primary perspective of what WE the 'prayers' get out of prayer, all of which are valid points (peace, joy, wisdom etc.) However, the front-loading of this angle on prayer is often to the diminishment of Kendall's proposition regarding prayer and the heart of God. In this he makes the point through the Father-Child analogy of how children unconsciously 'spell' LOVE as quality T-I-M-E with their parents and suggests that God too (Father to those who have become His children) is no different in this regard, in that He too LOVES us, LOVES BEING 'with' us and LOVES spending T-I-M-E with us! This is not a 'need' it is a 'want', God is not insecure or 'needy' but is jealous for our love, not in a petty teenage kicks kind of way, but with the jealous love of a Father!
So here's a thought to leave you with. Try thinking of prayer not only from the perspective of what you get out of it and remember that God too longs to be with you, it is the earnest desire and longing of a loving and 'jealous' Father. Just by spending T-I-M-E 'being' with the All-sufficient God will bring Him so much delight... - surely another angle, even a motivation for prayer...
JS