The Problem with Problem-Based Prayer

By John Soulliere, Apologist with Desert Apologetics

Introduction: A Worshipful Start to Prayer

In Luke 11:2, when Jesus taught His disciples how to pray, He didn’t begin with a request. He began with worship: “Our Father in Heaven, holy is Your name…”
This beginning is foundational, not just liturgical. It reminds us that approaching God starts with recognizing who He is. It elevates our hearts and transforms the way we view our problems in light of God’s power and character.

The Importance of Worship in Prayer

“Our father in Heaven, holy is your name…”

Did you ever notice that when Jesus’ disciples asked him to teach them to pray (Luke 11:2), his opening phrase was not asking for something? Rather, it was worship. He began by recognizing three facts that set the tone for the rest of the prayer he taught – which includes asking for something. These facts established an intellectual basis for us to know God will both hear the prayer as well as answer it. Other words for that intellectual basis are “belief” or “faith.”

1. “Our Father” – A Familial Relationship

Our father. This phrase recognizes a familial relationship. It signifies a position within the rights and privileges of a child to approach and request. A stranger doesn’t just show up at a house and expect the same access as a son or daughter. “Hi dad” means nothing from a stranger. I love that Jesus, in teaching prayer to his followers, said to call him “father.” He affirms that this is not just a moon-shot prayer to some “god” out there. It is a request of your father – because Jesus said so.

2. “In Heaven” – God’s Sovereignty and Authority

In heaven. This phrase recognizes that this is not simply an earthly authority or power. Rather, this is your father who sits above the natural limitations of a human father. He is the sovereign. Jesus is teaching his followers to acknowledge that their father is far above all things, and supremely qualified to address whatever follow in that prayer.

3. “Holy is Your Name” – God’s Perfect Character

Holy is your name. This phrase acknowledges the nature of God as set apart from all others. It recognizes the unique and awesome person of God; the only God who surpasses all things and is perfect in all his dealings. Jesus is also pointing to the fact that God, our father, does only what is righteous and good. That should bring great comfort to us as we approach him in prayer. He only grants his good and perfect will towards us. These phrases taken together constitute worship.

Worship Aligns Our Heart, Not God’s

Worship sets the tone of your heart, not God’s heart. God doesn’t need human worship to be God. In fact, in Luke 19:40 Jesus is recorded as saying said that if people failed to worship, the stones would cry out. Worship doesn’t benefit God. Worship benefits the worshipper. I have often herd unbelievers say something like, “Why would I serve a narcissistic God who demands my worship?” The truth is that God desires worship, not as a means to elevate himself, rather, as a means to elevate our perspective on who we are approaching through that worship.

Worship Reorders Our Perspective

When we worship the Lord, we acknowledge the proper order of things in our own heart, mind, lives, and the world, often in contrast to the circumstances we are experiencing. We are elevating God, our father in Heaven, in our own heart as above all else; powerful, loving, unlimited by natural factors, perfect in will and purpose on our behalf.

Worship Before Petition

My practice (practice, i.e. a work in process) is, before I take a step toward the throne of God in petition, I allow his Holy Spirit to align my heart with his very will in total surrender, adoration, and release of those things that are beyond my ability – that is, the cares of life and “my” perceived needs. The Psalmist did not say: “Enter his gates with fear, his courts with pessimism! Be overwhelmed by your circumstances and cry really loud!” He said, “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.” (Psalm 100:4)

Worship Brings Confidence and Alignment

When we come into the court of the Lord, no matter what is going on in our respective lives, we need to start with acknowledging our Father’s place above it all! Worship elevates the soul above the noise of our problems. Worship brings us into active fellowship with the Lord and aligns our will with our Father’s will. John said, “This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.  And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.” (1 John 5:14-15 NASB)

Worship Moves Us from Desperation to Trust

Worship also acknowledges our source above what the world can offer as help. Worship moves us into a place of surrender that brings peace to the soul. Again, the Psalmist captured the essence of recognizing God as sovereign and above whatever life is throwing at us when he wrote, “I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; From where shall my help come? My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth. (Psalms 121:1-2 NASB) “Who made heaven and earth.” Wow! What is my “huge” issue to the one who made everything?

Problem-Based Prayer Leads to Anxiety

Where does my help come from? I am troubled, I am under pressure, I am broken, afraid, desperate! My first inclination is to cry out to God in desperation for action! “God, please do this or that – and hurry!” As if I am in a place to direct God’s wisdom or inform him of the apparent timeline that he missed. This approach will only leave me stuck in anxiety and tension. Why? Because I haven’t allowed the Holy Spirit to align my heart with the surpassing ability of the one “who made heaven and the earth.” I am not simply trying to beg God for something or crying out to some mystical entity for help. I am dealing with my father who made heaven and earth!

Worship Elevates Us Above Our Problems

When I start prayer with worship, I am also elevated to a different perspective. I become convinced that I am dealing with the one who is able to unfold his perfect purposes regardless of circumstances. What’s the point in approaching someone for assistance unconvinced that they have the means to help me? Worship moves me from desperation to confidence. Worship changes my perspective from the overwhelming factors of life to the overcoming power of the creator of heaven and earth. Worship says, “my life is not my own.” Worship says, “You are above it all, Father, and you oversee my life. Be glorified in me whatever the outcome.” Worship says to the Lord, “You are able where I am not.”

Closing Thoughts: Elevate God First

Friends, you may find that many times you don’t even need to go beyond worshiping God as supreme over your life and circumstances for things to simmer down! You may find that your perceived needs were “much ado about nothing” when you put God in his proper, elevated place in your heart – above your circumstances through worship. Problem-based prayer is a problem because we, in starting with the problem (which God is fully aware of), elevate the problem in our own heart. This is not conducive to faith, or peace, or anything but more anxiety. But when we simply allow the Holy Spirit – the helper – to help us recognize God’s position in this world in general, and our lives in particular, mountains become mole hills. The complex becomes simple. Chaos becomes order. God is in control. Then the rest of the Lord’s prayer – the “problem” stuff: “give us today the food we need” and “forgive our sins” and “as we forgive others” become a lot simpler to request.

Study Guide

Key Concepts:

• Worship is foundational to effective prayer.
• Worship reorients your soul and elevates your perspective.
• Relationship (Our Father), Position (in Heaven), and Character (Holy) define how we approach God.

Reflection Questions:

1. What changes when you start your prayers with worship instead of requests?
2. How does acknowledging God’s holiness affect your faith in His response?
3. Have you ever experienced peace by worshiping instead of focusing on your problems?
4. How do you practice realignment of your heart through the Holy Spirit?

Scriptures References:

• Luke 11:2
• Psalm 100:4
• 1 John 5:14–15
• Psalm 121:1–2
• Luke 19:40

Personal Application

Action Step 1:

Begin practicing prayer with worship alone. Don’t bring requests until you’ve acknowledged who God is, reflected on His sovereignty, and declared your trust in Him.

Action Step 2:

Take what’s burdening you right now and surrender it for the moment. Instead, spend some time only in worship, thanking Him that He is control of every aspect of your life, (as well as everyone else).  Observe how your heart, mind, and emotions shift by putting God above the problem.

Recommended Resource: Fearless Prayer by Dr. Craig Hazen

Looking to grow deeper in confident prayer?
We highly recommend Fearless Prayer by Dr. Craig Hazen.
This brief but powerful book shows how Christians can boldly approach God with prayers that reflect His will and our trust. It’s an encouraging and accessible resource for believers at any stage.