If God is all-knowing and all present then why do we pray? If he knows the beginning from the end and has preordained what will happen, why should we pray? Well the simple answer in that we are commanded to. In Matthew 6 Jesus says, “When you pray.” he doesn’t assume that we are not going to, he assumes we will pray. Look a little further down in verse He says, “…your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” He knows, that God already knows what we need, but he still tells us how to pray.
So why do we pray? Because God uses us to bring about His will in this world. He puts it in our heart so that we will ask for his will to be done. Think about that the next time you feel burdened. Don’t hesitate to pray because you might change the world.
Another reason we pray is that it changes us. In 2 Corinthians 12 we see this at work in Paul:
7 To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.9 but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Paul got a “no” for the answer to this prayer but it changed him forever. His “no” lead him to an even deeper relationship with God, because he knew he had to rely on God even more when this problem came up.
God hears all of our prayers. He knows what we need and gives us what we need accordingly. James tells us that we have not because we ask not or because we ask for the wrong motives. If you are in tune with God and you are listening to his guidance you will know the right motives behind your prayers. Listen and learn from Him and he will begin to guide you in your prayer life.
[...] said this is what would happen and knew Daniel would pray for it to happen before he did. Daniel knew that God knew everything but he still prayed. As [...]