Help from “So That” Prayers

One of the problems most of us have with praying is that we instinctively know prayer isn’t about getting what we want from God. It’s about God’s will being accomplished. Yet, there are things we want God to do that are very important to us. How do we reconcile these things?

The Bible demonstrates for us a fascinating way to pray that brings together our needs and the purposes of God. I call it “so that” praying. In many places throughout Scripture you will find someone making a request of the Lord for something that is very important to him or her. Then that person closes out his or her prayer by including a “so that” addition. Almost without exception, the “so that” portion takes the prayer and focuses it on God and His purposes. It often has to do with bringing additional honor and glory to God and expanding His kingdom.

Though there are many examples, one of my favorite ones is found in Hezekiah’s great prayer in Isaiah 37. Surrounded by the Assyrian army, Hezekiah asks the Lord to deliver them. It is in verse 20 that we find the “so that” portion. “Now, Lord, our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, Lord, are the only God” (Isaiah 37:20). That powerful addition turns this prayer from being merely about Hezekiah and his people, to being about God’s honor and glory. It makes it a God-focused prayer!

We can use this clearly biblical prayer style in many of our prayers. One of the most common prayer requests I receive has to do with physical healing. I always am delighted to pray for those who are sick and in need of the healing touch of the Lord. But it takes it to a whole new level when I include a “so that” prayer. It might go like this:

“Lord, I ask that You bring healing to my friend, Bill. But I ask You to do this, Lord, so that You will receive honor and glory. Would you touch Bill’s family and the doctors and nurses and help them to see how you have stepped in and done a powerful thing in Bill’s life? Lord, draw people near to You as You answer this prayer for healing.”

Whether you are praying for healing, or salvation, or for a family situation, or for our nation, you can turn the attention off of human needs and make it a God-focused prayer. This is not a “trick” to get things from God, but a heart-felt desire to see God move in such a way that His Kingdom is advanced. This is a biblical way to take human needs and submit them to the Lord in prayer with a desire to see God honored and worshiped.

We must always remember that God is not compelled to answer prayer in the way we want or expect. Sometimes we just need to trust that He is at work even in answers we don’t especially want or like. We can have faith that He is working in every situation or life to bring about His purposes - which sometimes we don’t understand in the moment.

Ultimately, all prayer should be about “His Kingdom come, His will be done” and the “so that” prayers of scripture can guide us in this way of intercession.

Action Step: Choose one situation from your prayer list and apply a kingdom-focused “so that” prayer to it. Pray this way for a week and see what God does.

Extra Help: A great resource to help you better understand how to pray “so that” prayers is the short devotional book, Praying Like Paul, by Jonathan Graf. The Apostle Paul used “so that” praying in many of his prayers in Scripture.