There are things God has asked people to do and still asks people to do that he doesn’t need them to do. Like lighting a lamp for him. It’s not like God needs a lamp to see or be seen. There are other things, too, that God commands that may not feel like they make sense.

What about prayer? If God knows everything, then why would we have to tell him? He already knows before I ask! But the Bible asks us to pray—a lot. Why God asks for certain things is a question that has long baffled humanity.

“Light my lamp. Ask me for what you need.”

If God isn’t asking for his sake, then maybe he’s asking for ours. We must be the beneficiary of the action in some way. Frankly, there is a bit of a mystery in how God works, how that solid gold lamp meant more than light in a dark Temple, how our petitioning the God of the universe changes us from the inside out. Both the lamp and prayer mean drawing near to God, being in God’s presence. And that is where the power is.