Why do we pray?

[SakraNomoko]

Something I've been pondering on a bit. Why do we pray? If we pray according to His will, He will grant the request. But if something is according to His will, it will be done, whether we pray for it or not.

Furthermore, He knows the thoughts and most inner desires of the heart, so prayer is not to inform God of our needs and desires. In addition, God will supply our needs according to His riches and glory, so He knows what we need and will supply it.

All that's left is our wants. But if all we pray for is our wants, we are self-focused (even if it is for the betterment of those we care about, this is ultimately for the benefit of self, for even the most evil takes care of their interests and their people), which should not be, because prayer should be focused on God, His will, and His kingdom.

Yet, if our prayer is not a petition, it may be either a confession, praise, or conversation. As God does not talk back directly when we pray, it is not a conversation. Praise also seems pointless, as anything ascribed to God pales in comparison to His greatness so much that in light of it, the great things we say are as dirty rags. God being all-knowing, already knows entirely how great He is.

If you've ever been in a conversation where a person goes into great detail of things you already know, you know the pointlessness of the entire conversation and would probably prefer the silence. Also, praise, as done in the presence of others, is often a tool used to look better in others' eyes (though it is not necessarily so, but it is something to consider given the reality of church life). At worst, the praise is false, and in such a case, it is better to be silent than to approach God with a lie.

And of confession, if we are endeavoring to live according to His word, it shall of necessity be fewer and farther between. As it is written, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments".

But we are commanded to "pray without ceasing" wherein a goal of living the Christian life is to live so sin, and therefore confession, is rare. And if the command is interpreted to keep praying during a lifetime as opposed to a continuous thing, why do we pray as a part of daily living? And why do we pray in general if a prayer at salvation and a prayer before death would be good enough?

 

[Hieronymus]

Looking at the Lord's prayer (Father who is in Heaven etcetera) we pray to submit to God and for his Will to be done.
It's the prayer that covers it all i.m.o.

 

[Presbyterian Continuist]

Something I've been pondering on a bit. Why do we pray? If we pray according to His will, He will grant the request. But if something is according to His will, it will be done, whether we pray for it or not.

Furthermore, He knows the thoughts and most inner desires of the heart, so prayer is not to inform God of our needs and desires. In addition, God will supply our needs according to His riches and glory, so He knows what we need and will supply it.

All that's left is our wants. But if all we pray for is our wants, we are self-focused (even if it is for the betterment of those we care about, this is ultimately for the benefit of self, for even the most evil takes care of their interests and their people), which should not be, because prayer should be focused on God, His will, and His kingdom.

Yet, if our prayer is not a petition, it may be either a confession, praise, or conversation. As God does not talk back directly when we pray, it is not a conversation. Praise also seems pointless, as anything ascribed to God pales in comparison to His greatness so much that in light of it, the great things we say are as dirty rags. God being all-knowing, already knows entirely how great He is.

If you've ever been in a conversation where a person goes into great detail of things you already know, you know the pointlessness of the entire conversation and would probably prefer the silence. Also, praise, as done in the presence of others, is often a tool used to look better in others' eyes (though it is not necessarily so, but it is something to consider given the reality of church life). At worst, the praise is false, and in such a case, it is better to be silent than to approach God with a lie.

And of confession, if we are endeavoring to live according to His word, it shall of necessity be fewer and farther between. As it is written, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments".

But we are commanded to "pray without ceasing" wherein a goal of living the Christian life is to live so sin, and therefore confession, is rare. And if the command is interpreted to keep praying during a lifetime as opposed to a continuous thing, why do we pray as a part of daily living? And why do we pray in general if a prayer at salvation and a prayer before death would be good enough?

Maybe you need to meet God and have a personal encounter with Him. I spent two years trying to be religious, but it didn't work for me, so I got out in the middle of a golf course at night under a starry sky and introduced myself to Him and said I needed to know Him, otherwise it was not much use carrying on with Christianity. He did reveal Himself to me and after 50 years, the sense of His presence with me has never left. He does answer me when I pray, because prayer for me is walking along with my hands in my pockets, chatting with Him. I fellowship with God. I don't treat Him like a push button vending machine. He is my Best Friend, and so I relate to Him as such. I can be talking to Him and asking questions, and I can end up talking my own answers because He put new insights into my mind that I never thought of before. So, to me, prayer is a two-way conversation with God. So, if that is not your experience, you may be genuinely religious and doing all the correct religious stuff, but you still have to meet and fellowship with the God behind it all.

 

[Sam91]

It isn't enough. When praying for others we get blessed too. It is such a privilege to be able to pray and our Father delights in our petitioning Him. He is gracious and kind to fulfill them and it is while praying we can stand in His presence, in commune with the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the most High. What an awesome gift!

It is refreshing and get surprising how fast prayers are answered when it is about our Spiritual condition.

 

[twin1954]

Prayer is never for God it is for us. I encourage you to look at the prayers of David and the Apostles. They are simply calling on the Lord God in faith to do what He has promised to do. We are strengthened by it and find ourselves depending on Him more and more.

We can never twist God's arm by prayer so that we cause Him to do what He did not intend to do but we do lay out our desire before Him to do as He has promised. Nor do we inform Him of something He was not aware of. Prayer and is the link by which we commune with Him according to His Word. We don't know how to pray or even what to pray for but the Spirit takes our feeble efforts and makes them acceptable.

Prayer is the hearts cry to God. The more we pray the more we look to and depend on Him.

 

[dreadnought]

Remember that Paul taught us to pray constantly (1 Thess 5:17). We then develop a friendship with the Lord, and he shows us the path to the paradise he has created for us.

 

[nonaeroterraqueous]

If we pray according to His will, He will grant the request. But if something is according to His will, it will be done, whether we pray for it or not.

James 4:2

You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask.

We already have a tendency to take for granted the things given to us by God that we have not requested.

God's will is not simply an unconditional thing. In most cases, it's an if this, then that condition. If a man repents then he is forgiven. If a person sins, then he is held accountable. If you seek, then you find. It should come as no surprise that God responds to prayer. He responds to faith. God's will for you may be contingent upon your prayer, because that prayer may be more important to him than the temporary thing that you deem so important.

All of our problems in this life are temporary, and to an eternal God all temporary things are virtually nonexistent. It is the everlasting human soul that has a value to him, and it is his relationship to that soul that motivates him to act on its behalf. All of that other stuff is just a blip on the radar to him, but it isn't to you, so if you want his help, then you need to ask.

 

[Presbyterian Continuist]

James 4:2


We already have a tendency to take for granted the things given to us by God that we have not requested.

God's will is not simply an unconditional thing. In most cases, it's an if this, then that condition. If a man repents then he is forgiven. If a person sins, then he is held accountable. If you seek, then you find. It should come as no surprise that God responds to prayer. He responds to faith. God's will for you may be contingent upon your prayer, because that prayer may be more important to him than the temporary thing that you deem so important.

All of our problems in this life are temporary, and to an eternal God all temporary things are virtually nonexistent. It is the everlasting human soul that has a value to him, and it is his relationship to that soul that motivates him to act on its behalf. All of that other stuff is just a blip on the radar to him, but it isn't to you, so if you want his help, then you need to ask.

Actually, when I pray, I rarely ask God stuff for myself. I just enjoy chatting with Him, sharing my thoughts, opinions, interpretations of Scripture, etc. When I do ask God for things, it is usually for other people (intercession), that they turn to Christ and/or have their experience with Him enhanced. Once I did ask God for $35,000 to make our church manse mortgage-free, and that was because I felt prompted by the Holy Spirit, and in two months, we had the money come in.

 

[royal priest]

Charles Spurgeon had much to say on the matter of prayer. Here are some quotes of his in response to you queries.

Something I've been pondering on a bit. Why do we pray? If we pray according to His will, He will grant the request. But if something is according to His will, it will be done, whether we pray for it or not.

"Predestination embraceth the great and the little, and reacheth unto all things; the question is, wherefore pray? Might it not as logically be asked, wherefore breathe, eat, move, or do anything? We have an answer which satisfies us, namely, that our prayers are in the predestination, and that God has as much ordained his people's prayers as anything else, and when we pray we are producing links in the chain of ordained facts. Destiny decrees that I should pray—I pray; destiny decrees that I shall be answered, and the answer comes to me." -- If Predestination is true, why pray?

Furthermore, He knows the thoughts and most inner desires of the heart, so prayer is not to inform God of our needs and desires. In addition, God will supply our needs according to His riches and glory, so He knows what we need and will supply it.

"prayer is an essential part of the providence of God, so essential, that you will always find that when God delivers his people, his people have been praying for that deliverance. They tell us that prayer does not affect the Most High and cannot altar his purposes. We never thought it did; but prayer is a part of the purpose and plan and a most effective wheel in the machinery of providence. The Lord motivates his people to pray, and then he blesses them." --Sermon 1192.

All that's left is our wants. But if all we pray for is our wants, we are self-focused (even if it is for the betterment of those we care about, this is ultimately for the benefit of self, for even the most evil takes care of their interests and their people), which should not be, because prayer should be focused on God, His will, and His kingdom.

"The Holy Spirit is one with the Father, and he is most truly God, so that whatever he prompts us to pray for is the same thing which the Father has already decreed and eternally determined to bestow. Our wishes and desires might never succeed with God if they were that and no more, for our thoughts are not his thoughts, neither are our ways his ways: but the thoughts and purposes of God, when these are photographed upon our spirit by the Holy Ghost, are the pictures of that which is assuredly to be, the prophecy of the determinate purpose and foreknowledge of God. What is written in yon sealed book, upon which no human eye can gaze, is transcribed and written by the Spirit of God upon our hearts, and thus we pray for that very thing which God designs to give. There is an assured certainty of success to the prayer that is made in the power of the Spirit of God. While praying in the Holy Ghost we have the petition which we have asked of the Lord." --Sermon 1710

Yet, if our prayer is not a petition, it may be either a confession, praise, or conversation. As God does not talk back directly when we pray, it is not a conversation. Praise also seems pointless, as anything ascribed to God pales in comparison to His greatness so much that in light of it, the great things we say are as dirty rags. God being all-knowing, already knows entirely how great He is.

"Jesus stands ready to take every prayer of ours, however imperfect in knowledge, however feeble in expression, however marred with sorrow, and he presents the purified and perfected prayer with his own merit, and it is sure to speed. The sins of our holy things are seldom absent, and hence the constant need that we have an Advocate. Blessed be God for that inspired word, “If any man sin, we have all advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” True prayer is the offering to God of the merit of the Lord Jesus, and hence it must be accepted." --Sermon 1710

If you've ever been in a conversation where a person goes into great detail of things you already know, you know the pointlessness of the entire conversation and would probably prefer the silence. Also, praise, as done in the presence of others, is often a tool used to look better in others' eyes (though it is not necessarily so, but it is something to consider given the reality of church life). At worst, the praise is false, and in such a case, it is better to be silent than to approach God with a lie.

It were a painful thing to be permitted to speak to a great friend, and then for him to stand austere and stern, and say, “I have heard what you have to say. Go your way.” We ask not this of God. We beg him kindly and graciously to accept our poor confessions, petitions, supplications, and adorations; and if he does but look and smile, if he does but say one word into our soul which implies, “I have accepted thy prayer,” what a joy it is! To have brought an offering which the Lord has accepted, this is the sweetness and delight of supplication! --Sermon 2064.

And of confession, if we are endeavoring to live according to His word, it shall of necessity be fewer and farther between. As it is written, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments".

"Think much of your own needs, for a realization of how many and how great they are will make you pray. When you see the falls of others, recollect that you also will fall unless God holds you up; so make that a reason and subject for prayer. When you see others who are slack in devotion, or who have become cold in heart remember you will be as they are if grace does not prevent. So, let your own needs drive you to prayer." -- Sermon 2869

But we are commanded to "pray without ceasing" wherein a goal of living the Christian life is to live so sin, and therefore confession, is rare. And if the command is interpreted to keep praying during a lifetime as opposed to a continuous thing, why do we pray as a part of daily living? And why do we pray in general if a prayer at salvation and a prayer before death would be good enough?

"If it be of any use to pray to God, “say you, “I shall pray at the last.” Then pray now, for you never know what may be your last moment. Who knows how close you may be to your grave even while you are sitting in your pew? You saw one friend faint, just now; and we have seen hearers fall back dead even while gathered in the congregation God grant that we may not see it again! Still, the fact that it has happened is a loud call to all of us bidding us begin to pray." --Sermon 2869

 

[faroukfarouk]

It isn't enough. When praying for others we get blessed too. It is such a privilege to be able to pray and our Father delights in our petitioning Him. He is gracious and kind to fulfill them and it is while praying we can stand in His presence, in commune with the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the most High. What an awesome gift!

It is refreshing and get surprising how fast prayers are answered when it is about our Spiritual condition.

Even when our prayers fail, those who love and trust the Lord Jesus may be assured that "He ever liveth to make intercession" (Hebrews 7.25) for them.

 

[SakraNomoko]

Responses in order:

1.

Looking at the Lord's prayer (Father who is in Heaven etcetera) we pray to submit to God and for his Will to be done.
It's the prayer that covers it all i.m.o.

The Lord's prayer is the answer to the question of how do we pray, not necessarily why we pray.

2.

Maybe you need to meet God and have a personal encounter with Him. I spent two years trying to be religious, but it didn't work for me, so I got out in the middle of a golf course at night under a starry sky and introduced myself to Him and said I needed to know Him, otherwise it was not much use carrying on with Christianity. He did reveal Himself to me and after 50 years, the sense of His presence with me has never left. He does answer me when I pray, because prayer for me is walking along with my hands in my pockets, chatting with Him. I fellowship with God. I don't treat Him like a push button vending machine. He is my Best Friend, and so I relate to Him as such. I can be talking to Him and asking questions, and I can end up talking my own answers because He put new insights into my mind that I never thought of before. So, to me, prayer is a two-way conversation with God. So, if that is not your experience, you may be genuinely religious and doing all the correct religious stuff, but you still have to meet and fellowship with the God behind it all.

I am highly skeptical of any two-way conversation with God that occurs entirely in the mind. For everyone I've met, such things have been always just them talking to themselves (which is provable when they claim that God told them something strictly not biblical). This can still have profit, as talking things over in your mind can lead to deeper insights on topics. In fact, Joshua 1:8 commands us to do such with scripture.

Now, it is possible you are the exception to all the other people I've met, and if so, I'm very happy for you. It would be rare indeed to have such a gift.

3.

It isn't enough. When praying for others we get blessed too. It is such a privilege to be able to pray and our Father delights in our petitioning Him. He is gracious and kind to fulfill them and it is while praying we can stand in His presence, in commune with the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the most High. What an awesome gift!

It is refreshing and get surprising how fast prayers are answered when it is about our Spiritual condition.

I have seen nowhere in scripture where it states that praying for others blesses us. If you would be kind enough to supply the scripture that directly supports this, I would gladly change my position.

4.

Prayer is never for God it is for us. I encourage you to look at the prayers of David and the Apostles. They are simply calling on the Lord God in faith to do what He has promised to do. We are strengthened by it and find ourselves depending on Him more and more.

We can never twist God's arm by prayer so that we cause Him to do what He did not intend to do but we do lay out our desire before Him to do as He has promised. Nor do we inform Him of something He was not aware of. Prayer and is the link by which we commune with Him according to His Word. We don't know how to pray or even what to pray for but the Spirit takes our feeble efforts and makes them acceptable.

Prayer is the hearts cry to God. The more we pray the more we look to and depend on Him.

As per the Lord's Prayer, a good half of prayer is for God's will, kingdom, etc., not us. It also tells us how to pray, so in reference to Romans 8:26, it would be what to pray that we might not know.

As for praying for others strengthening us, see above. It may be that after a prayer, we are strengthened, but that is not a necessary consequence of it. I do not know what the heart is doing in prayer, according to Jeremiah 17:9. I do not see why becoming increasingly dependent on God is a good thing. Empowering grace is good and all, but it's useless if we don't actually do something with the power we are given.

5.

Remember that Paul taught us to pray constantly (1 Thess 5:17). We then develop a friendship with the Lord, and he shows us the path to the paradise he has created for us.

I also referenced that verse in the question, and it is part of the question. I have not seen any scripture that supports prayer directly leading to friendship with the Lord. God's path for us is already laid out in scripture, so if prayer did show us a path, it would not be anything unknown.

6.

James 4:2


We already have a tendency to take for granted the things given to us by God that we have not requested.

God's will is not simply an unconditional thing. In most cases, it's an if this, then that condition. If a man repents then he is forgiven. If a person sins, then he is held accountable. If you seek, then you find. It should come as no surprise that God responds to prayer. He responds to faith. God's will for you may be contingent upon your prayer, because that prayer may be more important to him than the temporary thing that you deem so important.

All of our problems in this life are temporary, and to an eternal God all temporary things are virtually nonexistent. It is the everlasting human soul that has a value to him, and it is his relationship to that soul that motivates him to act on its behalf. All of that other stuff is just a blip on the radar to him, but it isn't to you, so if you want his help, then you need to ask.

From Philippians 4:19 "But my God shall supply all your need, according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." This is not conditional on prayer.

From Numbers 23:19 "God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?" If God will do something, neither your prayer nor the lack of it will change the final result of it being done. There are indeed conditional things, but they would necessarily be wants, not needs. On wants, see my original set of questions.

7.

Charles Spurgeon had much to say on the matter of prayer. Here are some quotes of his in response to you queries.

"Predestination embraceth the great and the little, and reacheth unto all things; the question is, wherefore pray? Might it not as logically be asked, wherefore breathe, eat, move, or do anything? We have an answer which satisfies us, namely, that our prayers are in the predestination, and that God has as much ordained his people's prayers as anything else, and when we pray we are producing links in the chain of ordained facts. Destiny decrees that I should pray—I pray; destiny decrees that I shall be answered, and the answer comes to me." -- If Predestination is true, why pray?

"prayer is an essential part of the providence of God, so essential, that you will always find that when God delivers his people, his people have been praying for that deliverance. They tell us that prayer does not affect the Most High and cannot altar his purposes. We never thought it did; but prayer is a part of the purpose and plan and a most effective wheel in the machinery of providence. The Lord motivates his people to pray, and then he blesses them." --Sermon 1192.

"The Holy Spirit is one with the Father, and he is most truly God, so that whatever he prompts us to pray for is the same thing which the Father has already decreed and eternally determined to bestow. Our wishes and desires might never succeed with God if they were that and no more, for our thoughts are not his thoughts, neither are our ways his ways: but the thoughts and purposes of God, when these are photographed upon our spirit by the Holy Ghost, are the pictures of that which is assuredly to be, the prophecy of the determinate purpose and foreknowledge of God. What is written in yon sealed book, upon which no human eye can gaze, is transcribed and written by the Spirit of God upon our hearts, and thus we pray for that very thing which God designs to give. There is an assured certainty of success to the prayer that is made in the power of the Spirit of God. While praying in the Holy Ghost we have the petition which we have asked of the Lord." --Sermon 1710

"Jesus stands ready to take every prayer of ours, however imperfect in knowledge, however feeble in expression, however marred with sorrow, and he presents the purified and perfected prayer with his own merit, and it is sure to speed. The sins of our holy things are seldom absent, and hence the constant need that we have an Advocate. Blessed be God for that inspired word, “If any man sin, we have all advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” True prayer is the offering to God of the merit of the Lord Jesus, and hence it must be accepted." --Sermon 1710

It were a painful thing to be permitted to speak to a great friend, and then for him to stand austere and stern, and say, “I have heard what you have to say. Go your way.” We ask not this of God. We beg him kindly and graciously to accept our poor confessions, petitions, supplications, and adorations; and if he does but look and smile, if he does but say one word into our soul which implies, “I have accepted thy prayer,” what a joy it is! To have brought an offering which the Lord has accepted, this is the sweetness and delight of supplication! --Sermon 2064.

"Think much of your own needs, for a realization of how many and how great they are will make you pray. When you see the falls of others, recollect that you also will fall unless God holds you up; so make that a reason and subject for prayer. When you see others who are slack in devotion, or who have become cold in heart remember you will be as they are if grace does not prevent. So, let your own needs drive you to prayer." -- Sermon 2869

"If it be of any use to pray to God, “say you, “I shall pray at the last.” Then pray now, for you never know what may be your last moment. Who knows how close you may be to your grave even while you are sitting in your pew? You saw one friend faint, just now; and we have seen hearers fall back dead even while gathered in the congregation God grant that we may not see it again! Still, the fact that it has happened is a loud call to all of us bidding us begin to pray." --Sermon 2869

An interesting perspective, to be sure. But as Mr. Spurgeon is not around to have a discussion on the scriptures relevant, it would be rather fruitless for me to address where the sermons go beyond necessary scripture. I get the distinct impression that his sermons dealt not with the why of scripture but rather on motivating hearers to follow it. Sort of like answering a "Why?" with a "Just do it".

8.

Even when our prayers fail, those who love and trust the Lord Jesus may be assured that "He ever liveth to make intercession" (Hebrews 7.25) for them.

Prayers fail when they are not in God's will. If someone is praying for something not in God's will, there is something fundamentally wrong with the prayer insofar they are not praying for God's will to be done but their own.

9.

Thank you for all your responses! I look forward to future discussion.

 

[Sam91]

Responses in order:

1.


The Lord's prayer is the answer to the question of how do we pray, not necessarily why we pray.

2.


I am highly skeptical of any two-way conversation with God that occurs entirely in the mind. For everyone I've met, such things have been always just them talking to themselves (which is provable when they claim that God told them something strictly not biblical). This can still have profit, as talking things over in your mind can lead to deeper insights on topics. In fact, Joshua 1:8 commands us to do such with scripture.

Now, it is possible you are the exception to all the other people I've met, and if so, I'm very happy for you. It would be rare indeed to have such a gift.

3.


I have seen nowhere in scripture where it states that praying for others blesses us. If you would be kind enough to supply the scripture that directly supports this, I would gladly change my position.

4.


As per the Lord's Prayer, a good half of prayer is for God's will, kingdom, etc., not us. It also tells us how to pray, so in reference to Romans 8:26, it would be what to pray that we might not know.

As for praying for others strengthening us, see above. It may be that after a prayer, we are strengthened, but that is not a necessary consequence of it. I do not know what the heart is doing in prayer, according to Jeremiah 17:9. I do not see why becoming increasingly dependent on God is a good thing. Empowering grace is good and all, but it's useless if we don't actually do something with the power we are given.

5.


I also referenced that verse in the question, and it is part of the question. I have not seen any scripture that supports prayer directly leading to friendship with the Lord. God's path for us is already laid out in scripture, so if prayer did show us a path, it would not be anything unknown.

6.


From Philippians 4:19 "But my God shall supply all your need, according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." This is not conditional on prayer.

From Numbers 23:19 "God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?" If God will do something, neither your prayer nor the lack of it will change the final result of it being done. There are indeed conditional things, but they would necessarily be wants, not needs. On wants, see my original set of questions.

7.


An interesting perspective, to be sure. But as Mr. Spurgeon is not around to have a discussion on the scriptures relevant, it would be rather fruitless for me to address where the sermons go beyond necessary scripture. I get the distinct impression that his sermons dealt not with the why of scripture but rather on motivating hearers to follow it. Sort of like answering a "Why?" with a "Just do it".

8.


Prayers fail when they are not in God's will. If someone is praying for something not in God's will, there is something fundamentally wrong with the prayer insofar they are not praying for God's will to be done but their own.

9.

Thank you for all your responses! I look forward to future discussion.

Hi I must admit I was stumped. I was talking from personal experience, not scriptural.

Anyway, Job 42:10 What do you say?

 

[Sam91]

PS Happy Birthday!

 

[Hieronymus]

The Lord's prayer is the answer to the question of how do we pray, not necessarily why we pray.

Read better.

 

[SakraNomoko]

Hi I must admit I was stumped. I was talking from personal experience, not scriptural.

Anyway, Job 42:10 What do you say?

As for Job praying for his friends, that was an intercessory prayer of repentance that goes with the burnt offering. God would not receive it directly from Job's friends because of their hubris. In addition, Job was directly commanded by God to pray for his friends. To not do so would have been sin.

As for Job regaining twice what he had lost, this was God living the form of reconciliation that He later established with Israel. That is, if anything is taken, at least twice of what is taken must be returned (Exodus 22:1-4). As long as Job was right before God, God would have done this, whether Job's friends visited him or not. And if they had not, he would not have had to pray for them but would have still gotten twice back what was lost.

This is not to say that God did anything wrong. But, in the same way that He rested on the 7th day at the beginning of the world and in the way Jesus was baptized by John, He was setting an example for us to follow.

So while the prayer was necessary in that circumstance for the blessings of God, it was not prayer in and of itself that resulted in the blessings but rather Job's obedience to God.

PS Happy Birthday!

Thank you!

Read better.

Here's Matthew 6:5-14 in full context:

And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

9 “This, then, is how you should pray:

“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from the evil one.'

14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins."

If you would look at the entire passage, you will not find a single "why". In addition, Jesus Himself said it is how you should pray. There is no mention of why we pray at all.