What is the Point of Prayer?

[Aeradom]

A little story before getting to the meat of my question.

I've been taking care of my grandmother for the past several years. This is because as time has gone by, her dementia as steadily gotten worse to the point that she rarely, if ever, recognizes she's at home. One thing she does constantly is she'll start crying and pleading with God in what amounts to a prayer. Sometimes it's something inane like that her cats get fed (even after I feed them). But sometimes it's more sad, like when she wants to see her momma who's been dead for twenty years.

She's been doing it so long that I usually just shrug it off. But the other day my thinking of it changed. Instead of feeling pity, I actually found myself feeling envious. Not for being able to forget things in my life, though that would certainly be nice with some of the nightmares I have. No, it's her unquestioned faith that if she prays hard enough, God will answer.

This is something that I've been finding myself struggling for some time and that is praying to God. Oh sure, I'll thank God for what he's done for me and there is a lot in my life to be thankful for, even if sometimes it doesn't feel like it. But I have a hard time asking for help with something. Perhaps part of it is pride. However, it's also because I know from what I was taught that God has a plan.

If it's true that God has a plan already, then what good is my praying going to do to alter anything? I mean, we all know someone or of someone who has prayed and prayed and their prayer goes unanswered. So it's not exactly like God is being liberal with miracles. On the other hand, sometimes it does seem to work. But was that because of the prayer or because it was already in the plan?

This is what I've been wondering and I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on the matter.

 

[razzelflabben]

A little story before getting to the meat of my question.

I've been taking care of my grandmother for the past several years. This is because as time has gone by, her dementia as steadily gotten worse to the point that she rarely, if ever, recognizes she's at home. One thing she does constantly is she'll start crying and pleading with God in what amounts to a prayer. Sometimes it's something inane like that her cats get fed (even after I feed them). But sometimes it's more sad, like when she wants to see her momma who's been dead for twenty years.

She's been doing it so long that I usually just shrug it off. But the other day my thinking of it changed. Instead of feeling pity, I actually found myself feeling envious. Not for being able to forget things in my life, though that would certainly be nice with some of the nightmares I have. No, it's her unquestioned faith that if she prays hard enough, God will answer.

This is something that I've been finding myself struggling for some time and that is praying to God. Oh sure, I'll thank God for what he's done for me and there is a lot in my life to be thankful for, even if sometimes it doesn't feel like it. But I have a hard time asking for help with something. Perhaps part of it is pride. However, it's also because I know from what I was taught that God has a plan.

If it's true that God has a plan already, then what good is my praying going to do to alter anything? I mean, we all know someone or of someone who has prayed and prayed and their prayer goes unanswered. So it's not exactly like God is being liberal with miracles. On the other hand, sometimes it does seem to work. But was that because of the prayer or because it was already in the plan?

This is what I've been wondering and I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on the matter.

prayer is a place of fellowship...when we see it that way, it is a time for us to communicate with God our thoughts and ideas and opinions and He to talk to us about what He wants. The church has unfortunately taught that it is a list of requests...it is so much more

 

[Daniel9v9]

We are commanded to love the Lord our God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind. We are to fear and love God and call upon His name in every trouble, pray, praise, and give thanks.

Jesus taught and commanded us to pray (the Lord's Prayer). If we study this prayer, we can find many purposeful points:
1. To give all glory to God and trust in God.
2. To call on God's will and for spiritual provision.
3. To pray for earthly provision, both for ourselves and interceding for our neighbour.
4. To pray for forgiveness, both for ourselves and interceding for our neighbour.
5. To pray for protection against all kinds of evils and temptations, both for ourselves and interceding for our neighbour.
6. To pray that God may deliver us.

God does all of these things, but it is right to pray this as it's in accordance with God's will and purpose for us. We can have confidence in prayer by trusting in the words of Christ: "Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son."

 

[RaymondG]

God has a will and desire......And that is to give you your hearts desire. So He has set before us blessings and curses...and ask us to choose. Now you can choose for yourself through prayer.....or let things happen on their own through your unconscious prayers and the prayer of others around us. It is best to take control of our own situations.....but there is nothing wrong with letting others control our situations as well.

 

[vinsight4u]

/nvm

 

[Kevin Snow]

Not all prayer is the same before God. Consider the examples we have in scripture.

Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.
~James 5:16-18

There weren't many Moseses or Davids or Samuels or Elijahs or Elishahs. They were closer to God and by their righteousness and proximity to God, their prayers were more real and acceptable. But what does Peter mention to us of our prayers?

The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. ~1 Peter 4:7

So then we know that our prayers can be hindered by our own way of life and faith. Remember Yahshua taught that it was the faith of a mustard seed that can move mountains. But that the mustard seed was small in the beginning made no difference as to how large the faith became. So also your faith must grow in Christ as you walk in him if you expect to move mountains. It must grow to maturity and that comes by bearing fruit in keeping with repentance. All of this is necessary for your prayers.

 

[Drought of the Heart]

Jesus is our example of everything and He gives us a list of things to cover in prayer. The greatest example is when Jesus was about to face the Cross and He said Luke 22:42 Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.

Samuel is a good place to see what prayer does, I love Hannah's prayer. He may change the out come like He did here 2 Kings 20:
In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live.
2 Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the Lord, saying. Read that chapter it should help...

 

[notMyRealName]

If it's true that God has a plan already, then what good is my praying going to do to alter anything?

Jesus knew that his father's plans for him were to be brutally tortured and killed for sins not his own. But he prayed anyway, that if at all possible there be an alternative, but ended with "you will be done." He knew there was no other way. In one sense it was a prayer in vain, if you view the purpose of prayer being to change destiny: an oxymoron. If destiny can be changed, then it's not destiny. And if you know what that destiny is, it's doubly pointless. Jesus knew what his was, he mentioned over and over about his upcoming death to his disciples. So the purpose is more about communion. For a comparison, when you talk to people around you, it isn't always for the purpose of getting them to do something; sometimes it's just a way of connecting with them. This is why people engage in smalltalk, conversation, etc. It's a relational thing.

 

[LoricaLady]

The Bible says "You have not because you ask not." We are encouraged over and over to ask, to pray. We are making a choice when we pray. Do we want the Father's help, or do we want to be independent? We get to choose. The Bible also says our prayers will not be answered, however, if we "ask amiss." We must ask good things with a sincere heart.

Praying sometimes seems like going fishing. You might catch a big fish or a small fish or no fish at all one day. But over all, as you learn how to pray, you will catch more and more fish. And if you dont pray/fish, what will you miss out on?

 

[AvgJoe]

What is the Point of Prayer?

Question: "Why pray? What is the point of prayer when God knows the future and is already in control of everything? If we cannot change God's mind, why should we pray?"

Answer: For the Christian, praying is supposed to be like breathing, easier to do than to not do. We pray for a variety of reasons. For one thing, prayer is a form of serving God (Luke 2:36-38) and obeying Him. We pray because God commands us to pray (Philippians 4:6-7). Prayer is exemplified for us by Christ and the early church (Mark 1:35; Acts 1:14; 2:42; 3:1; 4:23-31; 6:4; 13:1-3). If Jesus thought it was worthwhile to pray, we should also. If He needed to pray to remain in the Father’s will, how much more do we need to pray?

Another reason to pray is that God intends prayer to be the means of obtaining His solutions in a number of situations. We pray in preparation for major decisions (Luke 6:12-13); to overcome demonic barriers (Matthew 17:14-21); to gather workers for the spiritual harvest (Luke 10:2); to gain strength to overcome temptation (Matthew 26:41); and to obtain the means of strengthening others spiritually (Ephesians 6:18-19).

We come to God with our specific requests, and we have God's promise that our prayers are not in vain, even if we do not receive specifically what we asked for (Matthew 6:6; Romans 8:26-27). He has promised that when we ask for things that are in accordance with His will, He will give us what we ask for (1 John 5:14-15). Sometimes He delays His answers according to His wisdom and for our benefit. In these situations, we are to be diligent and persistent in prayer (Matthew 7:7; Luke 18:1-8). Prayer should not be seen as our means of getting God to do our will on earth, but rather as a means of getting God's will done on earth. God’s wisdom far exceeds our own.

For situations in which we do not know God's will specifically, prayer is a means of discerning His will. If the Syrian woman with the demon-influenced daughter had not prayed to Christ, her daughter would not have been made whole (Mark 7:26-30). If the blind man outside Jericho had not called out to Christ, he would have remained blind (Luke 18:35-43). God has said that we often go without because we do not ask (James 4:2). In one sense, prayer is like sharing the gospel with people. We do not know who will respond to the message of the gospel until we share it. In the same way, we will never see the results of answered prayer unless we pray.

A lack of prayer demonstrates a lack of faith and a lack of trust in God’s Word. We pray to demonstrate our faith in God, that He will do as He has promised in His Word and bless our lives abundantly more than we could ask or hope for (Ephesians 3:20). Prayer is our primary means of seeing God work in others' lives. Because it is our means of “plugging into” God's power, it is our means of defeating Satan and his army that we are powerless to overcome by ourselves. Therefore, may God find us often before His throne, for we have a high priest in heaven who can identify with all that we go through (Hebrews 4:15-16). We have His promise that the fervent prayer of a righteous man accomplishes much (James 5:16-18). May God glorify His name in our lives as we believe in Him enough to come to Him often in prayer.

www.gotquestions.org/why-pray.html

 

[longwait]

A little story before getting to the meat of my question.

I've been taking care of my grandmother for the past several years. This is because as time has gone by, her dementia as steadily gotten worse to the point that she rarely, if ever, recognizes she's at home. One thing she does constantly is she'll start crying and pleading with God in what amounts to a prayer. Sometimes it's something inane like that her cats get fed (even after I feed them). But sometimes it's more sad, like when she wants to see her momma who's been dead for twenty years.

She's been doing it so long that I usually just shrug it off. But the other day my thinking of it changed. Instead of feeling pity, I actually found myself feeling envious. Not for being able to forget things in my life, though that would certainly be nice with some of the nightmares I have. No, it's her unquestioned faith that if she prays hard enough, God will answer.

This is something that I've been finding myself struggling for some time and that is praying to God. Oh sure, I'll thank God for what he's done for me and there is a lot in my life to be thankful for, even if sometimes it doesn't feel like it. But I have a hard time asking for help with something. Perhaps part of it is pride. However, it's also because I know from what I was taught that God has a plan.

If it's true that God has a plan already, then what good is my praying going to do to alter anything? I mean, we all know someone or of someone who has prayed and prayed and their prayer goes unanswered. So it's not exactly like God is being liberal with miracles. On the other hand, sometimes it does seem to work. But was that because of the prayer or because it was already in the plan?

This is what I've been wondering and I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on the matter.

If you don't pray how else are you going to have that relationship with your Creator? Be careful, you wouldn't want Him to tell you "Get away from me, I do not know you".

 

[LoricaLady]

God has a will and desire......And that is to give you your hearts desire. So He has set before us blessings and curses...and ask us to choose. Now you can choose for yourself through prayer.....or let things happen on their own through your unconscious prayers and the prayer of others around us. It is best to take control of our own situations.....but there is nothing wrong with letting others control our situations as well.

The Father does NOT want to give us all our desires. "The heart is sick and desperately wicked. Who can know it?" He answers our prayers if they are according to HIS will. And no, He does not want us to take control of our situations. We are told "Trust in the Lord will all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths"

 

[RaymondG]

The Father does NOT want to give us all our desires.

My father says differently:

"Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart"

"Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full"

"prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it"

"The heart is sick and desperately wicked. Who can know it?"

Good verse....I agree

He answers our prayers if they are according to HIS will.

My Father says differently:

"And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son."

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you."

I do not add to the word, so I have to leave the "If's" and "only if's" out.

And no, He does not want us to take control of our situations.

My Father says differently:

"I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live"

We are told "Trust in the Lord will all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths"

Great verse, I agree.

 

[LoricaLady]

My father says differently:

"Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart"

"Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full"

"prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it"



Good verse....I agree


My Father says differently:

"And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son."

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you."

I do not add to the word, so I have to leave the "If's" and "only if's" out.



My Father says differently:

"I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live"



Great verse, I agree.

You quoted: "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart" Notice the first five words. If you are delighting yourself in the world, the flesh and the devil, forget it. This lines up with "If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us." Now, I'm just real sure you don't think we can ask for any ol' thing and get it? It has to be "according to His will."
.
You quoted "prove me therewith...." but left off the preceding part, namely "10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open ..." We are warned very sternly not to add to, or subtract from, the Scriptures.
.
You quote where we are told to ask anything in His Name. So if I ask for someone else's husband, or for someone to be murdered that I don't like - you think will He answer that? Or do we need to see ALL that is seen in Scriptures as in James 4:3: "When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures."
.
And btw, asking "in His Name" does not mean saying "in Jesus' Name". It means asking in His authority. He has authority over Heaven and earth and He is NOT going to use His authority to give people anything that is evil. (The devil will be happy to do that however.)
.
You quote this verse:
"I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live" and don't seem to notice the cursing part. In that passage the Almighty clearly shows that those who rebel against Him will NOT receive blessings - certainly not everything they ask for - but will receive curses. Your quote comes from Deut. 30. Go back two chapters to Deut. 28 to see a whole, very long, list of curses for those who rebel.
.
Again, we are told very sternly not to add to, or subtract from, Scriptures. You see the blessings, but don't seem to see the curses part.
.
I will not have any more to say on this to you. This is not a debate forum. Also, I cannot help people see the obvious, or care to. Only the Holy Spirit can do that. Blessings and bye.

 

[Knee V]

One way to look at this is to consider that God is a sacramental God. By that I am not referring to Him being a God who "institutes ordinances". Rather, God is a God who doesn't just operate on or onto creation, but in and through it. For example, when Jesus sent the Holy Spirit onto His disciples, he didn't merely will it to happen. Rather, He breathed on them, and He worked in and through that breath to confer the Holy Spirit onto them.

Likewise, God does indeed have a will that He desires to carry out. But, as a sacramental God, He very often (if not always, but I am not willing to definitively say that; perhaps we can say more often than not) uses our prayers as an instrument by which to carry out His will. And another way to look at that is that through our prayers God allows us to be active participants with Him in accomplishing His will in the world. So if we want God's will to be done, then we ought to pray so that God will use our prayers as instruments to accomplish His will.

 

[Kaon]

A little story before getting to the meat of my question.

I've been taking care of my grandmother for the past several years. This is because as time has gone by, her dementia as steadily gotten worse to the point that she rarely, if ever, recognizes she's at home. One thing she does constantly is she'll start crying and pleading with God in what amounts to a prayer. Sometimes it's something inane like that her cats get fed (even after I feed them). But sometimes it's more sad, like when she wants to see her momma who's been dead for twenty years.

She's been doing it so long that I usually just shrug it off. But the other day my thinking of it changed. Instead of feeling pity, I actually found myself feeling envious. Not for being able to forget things in my life, though that would certainly be nice with some of the nightmares I have. No, it's her unquestioned faith that if she prays hard enough, God will answer.

This is something that I've been finding myself struggling for some time and that is praying to God. Oh sure, I'll thank God for what he's done for me and there is a lot in my life to be thankful for, even if sometimes it doesn't feel like it. But I have a hard time asking for help with something. Perhaps part of it is pride. However, it's also because I know from what I was taught that God has a plan.

If it's true that God has a plan already, then what good is my praying going to do to alter anything? I mean, we all know someone or of someone who has prayed and prayed and their prayer goes unanswered. So it's not exactly like God is being liberal with miracles. On the other hand, sometimes it does seem to work. But was that because of the prayer or because it was already in the plan?

This is what I've been wondering and I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on the matter.

Point isn't to alter, the point is to converse with the Most High God.

Yes, He already has a plan for you - especially since everything that will happen has already happened (e.g. prophecy.) However, He also wants to know what you think, how you feel, and whether or not you even acknowledge Him.

He is the Father, and like all parents, they want to hear more from their children away at University than a phone call asking for money. They want the intimacy of conversation with their children - even if they know how it went. They want to hear our perspective on the experience, and how we rationalized and reconciled the times. It is a joy to parents.


So, we should talk to our Father like little children - as if we don't realize nothing can surprise Him.

 

[RaymondG]

You quoted: "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart" Notice the first five words. If you are delighting yourself in the world, the flesh and the devil, forget it. This lines up with "If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us." Now, I'm just real sure you don't think we can ask for any ol' thing and get it? It has to be "according to His will."

To delight yourself in, is to take joy in....not to make sure the one, you are delighting in, is pleased with your requests. IT is His good pleasure to give us the kingdom. If we ask for bread, he will give us bread not a stone.

And Yes, I know we can ask for any ol thing and get it. I've proven it. However, I find no fault is your beliefs and believe that you have them for good reason.

You quoted "prove me therewith...." but left off the preceding part, namely "10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open ..." We are warned very sternly not to add to, or subtract from, the Scriptures.

In that case, I left out many verses and books before and after as well. I left out tithing because I did not want to go into that. Qouting one verse and leaving out the rest of the bible is not "subtracting from Scripture" However, placing an "If" when God states "anything" and "whatsoever" IS subtracting by addition....

But maybe this was an attempt to avoid addressing the verse at hand....Try me and see, if i will not open up the windows of heaven......

You quote where we are told to ask anything in His Name. So if I ask for someone else's husband, or for someone to be murdered that I don't like - you think will He answer that? Or do we need to see ALL that is seen in Scriptures as in James 4:3: "When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures."

Yes every prayer is heard and answered.

Great scripture. I like this version:
"Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts."

If one desires, they can see another example of How to ask, and why their "prayers" are not being answered. While others will use this as a reason for unanswered prayers......which is a concept that doesn't exist.

And btw, asking "in His Name" does not mean saying "in Jesus' Name". It means asking in His authority. He has authority over Heaven and earth and He is NOT going to use His authority to give people anything that is evil. (The devil will be happy to do that however.)

You seem to have a strong desire to teach.... it is almost impossible to learn while teaching. But Im sure this information will be new and relevant to some readers. So thanks.

You quote this verse:
"I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live" and don't seem to notice the cursing part. In that passage the Almighty clearly shows that those who rebel against Him will NOT receive blessings - certainly not everything they ask for - but will receive curses. Your quote comes from Deut. 30. Go back two chapters to Deut. 28 to see a whole, very long, list of curses for those who rebel.

You stated that God did not want us to take control.....I quote this, not to point out cursing, but to say that God laid everything out and told us to choose....e.g. take control. Sorry for the confusion.

Again, we are told very sternly not to add to, or subtract from, Scriptures. You see the blessings, but don't seem to see the curses part.

I already addressed this above....I will now refer to the whole KVJ bible instead of quoting single verses, as you deemed quoting verses goes against the command "not to subtract from scripture"

I will not have any more to say on this to you. This is not a debate forum.

Please remember in the future not to reply to others posts if you feel that doing so equates to "debating" or is otherwise violating any rules.

Also, I cannot help people see the obvious, or care to. Only the Holy Spirit can do that. Blessings and bye.

Yes I agree, But I still like to leave a few seeds out there for other readers, even if I feel some will not hear.

Thanks for the conversation.

 

[Desires Light]

A little story before getting to the meat of my question.

I've been taking care of my grandmother for the past several years. This is because as time has gone by, her dementia as steadily gotten worse to the point that she rarely, if ever, recognizes she's at home. One thing she does constantly is she'll start crying and pleading with God in what amounts to a prayer. Sometimes it's something inane like that her cats get fed (even after I feed them). But sometimes it's more sad, like when she wants to see her momma who's been dead for twenty years.

She's been doing it so long that I usually just shrug it off. But the other day my thinking of it changed. Instead of feeling pity, I actually found myself feeling envious. Not for being able to forget things in my life, though that would certainly be nice with some of the nightmares I have. No, it's her unquestioned faith that if she prays hard enough, God will answer.

This is something that I've been finding myself struggling for some time and that is praying to God. Oh sure, I'll thank God for what he's done for me and there is a lot in my life to be thankful for, even if sometimes it doesn't feel like it. But I have a hard time asking for help with something. Perhaps part of it is pride. However, it's also because I know from what I was taught that God has a plan.

If it's true that God has a plan already, then what good is my praying going to do to alter anything? I mean, we all know someone or of someone who has prayed and prayed and their prayer goes unanswered. So it's not exactly like God is being liberal with miracles. On the other hand, sometimes it does seem to work. But was that because of the prayer or because it was already in the plan?

This is what I've been wondering and I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on the matter.

What's the point of prayer?

"Hello operator, I'd like to place a call"
"Can you connect me to Stan Wilkins"
"Please operator, tell him that you love him"