Communion Meditation:
Why should we pray, if God already knows everything? If He already knows what we want or need?
Well, for that matter, why do we eat bread and drink wine in our service? After all, Christ was already sacrificed for us, so we’re not “re-sacrificing” Him. We already know He died for us, so we don’t really need to be reminded. And anyway, we could just read the Bible to be reminded—what’s the point of this outdated ritual?
As we’ve heard today, God first of all commands us to pray. That’s really enough on its own! But He also responds to our prayers, avenging His Name. And He builds and confirms our faith through our prayer.
God works His grace in us by different means—in different ways.
And so it is with the Lord’s Supper: God first of all commands us to eat and drink: “if you do not eat my flesh and drink my blood, you have no life in you,” He said [Jn 6:53]. That’s really enough on its own!
But He also works in the Lord’s Supper: He is present with us in the breaking of the bread, making Himself known, drawing us into Himself even as the bread and wine are taken into us [1 Cor 10]. In our eating and drinking, He is showing the greatness of His mercy and grace in Jesus Christ in a tangible way, causing us to not only hear His goodness, but to taste His goodness [Ps 34:8].
Finally, He also build and confirms our faith through the Supper. In it, He works in us to make us believe still more deeply that Christ truly died for each of us who partake.
This bread and wine is a gift of God for the People of God, that you may always pray and not lose heart!