You learn about people the more you spend time with them. We have looked at why we should pray. If God knows all and sees all. If he knows the future, what difference does our prayers make? Why pray at all?
We pray, first, because God commanded us to pray. We pray, second, because we recognize that God is doing whatever is done and we give him the glory or the credit for it.
The third reason we pray is to know God better.

“3 Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” John 17:3, NIV.

The Bible teaches me that the only way I can know God is through Jesus Christ.

“18 No-one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.” John 1:18, NIV.

“27 “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No-one knows the Son except the Father, and no-one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. 28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”” Matthew 11:27-30, NIV.

The Bible furthermore teaches that before I knew Jesus Christ, I did not know God.

“8 Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. 9 But now that you know God--or rather are known by God--how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again?” Galatians 4:8, 9, NIV.

Therefore, truly knowing God is something that only happens after you come to trust Christ.

We learn about God by the prayers He answers.
• You meet a person at work. You ask them, “Would you pick me up a cup of coffee when you go to the store?” When they agree, you have learned something about them.
We learn about God by the prayers He denies.
• You meet a person at work. You ask them, “Would you pick me up a cup of coffee when you go to the store?” They say, “Are you kidding? I got too much stuff to get for myself. I don’t have room for your lousy coffee.” You have learned something about them in their denial. Or they say, “I would love to, but I have to go to three other places after the store and your coffee would get cold.” You learn something else at that moment.
Or you have a teacher. You struggle with spelling. So you ask the teacher, “How do you spell Mississippi?” When she spells it for you, you learn something about that teacher. When she says, “I am not going to tell you, look it up in a dictionary,” you learn something else about the teacher.

So when God answers our prayers we learn, when he says “no” or “wait” we also learn about God.

Let me share a one lesson I have learned about God from the Bible and from my own prayer life.

First, I have learned that in the long run, the will of God is the best thing for everyone.
• “42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”” Luke 22:42, NIV.
Jesus, who leads us to God, prayed to his father asking that he not have to go through the cross. But Jesus understood that bearing his cross would be tough for the short term, but beneficial for all of us in the long run. The writer to Hebrews experesses his attitude in this:
• “2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:2, NIV.

I have learned this about God. As much as I might want God to say “yes” to my prayer, I am now more convinced than ever that God’s yes or God’s no will be the very best for me and for all those I love. His will is the best thing that can ever happen to anyone, whether it be the cross or the crown, the grief or the joy, the pain or the pleasure, His will is best.

This is opposed to a great sadness or disappointment when the “no” comes. Do I really want my will? Do I really think that my solution is the best? Do I think that the short term pain is not worth the long-term good in the eyes of God? We can always thank God for unanswered prayers.

I heard a country song that portrayed this. I want to play it for you at this time. It encapsulates the idea that what seems rough in the short term plays out well in the long term.

Unanswered Prayers (lyrics)

As we look into the face of Jesus, we are changed. Our prayers change, our understanding of God changes.

“17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” 2 Corinthians 3:17, 18, NIV.

So why pray? Because through the kind of answers God gives to us, we learn more about God. And when we learn more about God, we are changed. As we are changed we experience the new life Christ has for us.

“Things are different now. Something happened to me. When I gave my heart to Jesus. Things are different now. I was changed it must be, when I gave my heart to him. Things I loved before have passed away, things I love far more, are here to stay. Things are different now. Something happened to me. When I gave my life to Him.”