Prayer Isn’t Just About Getting Answers—It’s About Getting God

II Chronicles 6:28-31 “If there is famine in the land, if there is pestilence or blight or mildew or locust or caterpillar, if their enemies besiege them in the land at their gates, whatever plague, whatever sickness there is, whatever prayer, whatever plea is made by any man or by all your people Israel, each knowing his own affliction and his own sorrow…then hear from heaven your dwelling place and forgive and render to each whose heart you know, according to all his ways, for you, you only, know the hearts of the children of mankind, that they may fear you and walk in your ways all the days of their lives…”

In Solomon’s prayer of dedication, we are given a breathtaking invitation into the heart of God. Standing before the newly completed temple, Solomon acknowledges an astonishing truth: God cannot be contained by stone walls or human craftsmanship. Yet he dares to ask that God would graciously choose to meet His people there—to hear them, to forgive them, and to respond when they cry out to Him, even from distant lands of exile.

What is especially striking is the scope of the prayers Solomon describes. He doesn’t limit them to national disasters or spiritual crises. Yes, he mentions famine, pestilence, and enemies at the gates—but then he goes further. Mildew. Caterpillars. Sickness of every kind. And finally, the quiet, unseen burdens of “any man,” each one knowing his own affliction and sorrow.

In other words, nothing is too small, too ordinary, or too personal to bring before God. Every concern, every ache, every fear, every private grief is an invitation to pray. Solomon assumes that God’s people will cry out to Him about everything—because prayer is not reserved for emergencies; it is meant to be the language of relationship.

Why would God welcome such constant, comprehensive prayer? Solomon tells us plainly. God hears because He knows our hearts. He alone understands what is happening beneath the surface of our words and circumstances. And He responds—not simply to fix our problems—but “that we may fear Him and walk in His ways all the days of our lives.”

This is the deeper purpose of prayer. God’s answers are not just to change our circumstances; they are to change us. When God responds, He is revealing Himself—His character, His holiness, His mercy—in ways that reshape our hearts. Prayer becomes the means by which God draws us closer, teaches us reverence, and forms obedience that lasts a lifetime.

We may come to God seeking relief, clarity, or provision. But from God’s perspective, prayer is how He wins our hearts, renews our minds, and slowly conforms us to the likeness of Christ. What begins as a cry for help becomes a lifelong journey of walking with Him.

Prayer is not just how we get things from God. It is how God gets us.