Examining the purpose of prayer

Dear Chaplain: If God knows all about us; if he can read our minds and knows what we think, and the decisions we’re going to make, why should we pray? That really doesn’t make sense to me. — Signed, Why Pray

Dear Why Pray: Thank you for your question. And as I ponder, it’s a really good one. Yes, God knows what we’re thinking before we think it. It says in Psalms 139:2, God knows when we sit down and rise up, and he understands our thoughts afar off. He knows what we’re going to do, way before we even think about doing it. Also, the Lord says in Isaiah 46:9-10, “For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times, things that are not yet done...” Surely, God knows what we’re going to do before we do it, yet, countless times in the Bible we are instructed to pray.

We are told to pray for things, for people, for direction, for insight, for peace, etc., and in just about every situation. (In all thy ways acknowledge me and I shall direct your paths, Proverbs 3:6.) So why pray when God knows what’s about to happen? Just because God knows what will happen, doesn’t mean he causes things to happen. Also God gives us free will and doesn’t force us to do anything we don’t want to do. We have the freedom to make our own choices, but that also comes with full responsibility and consequences. That’s why we pray, to seek Godly answers, to make wise decisions, and to request God to act on our behalf. And in my opinion, prayer is by far the most powerful force on Earth, because through prayer we can touch the heart of him, whose hand can move the world. By prayer, seas can be parted, the sun can stop, and years can be added to lives. But most importantly, through prayer we have the ability to communicate and have a relationship with the Creator. We can tell him all about our problems and struggles. We can unload on him all the things that weigh us down, and he wants us to, because he tells us that his yoke is easy and his burden is light. God desires to bear our sorrows, but in order to do so we have talk to him. And it’s not elaborate words that connect us to the Lord, but it is our faith in him. It is our believing in our hearts that God is a real, living, God who loves us deeply and who wants to communicate with us, to heal our diseases, deliver us from our bondages, and protect us from all evil. He wants to have a close, authentic, personal relationship with us where he can walk and talk with us, daily. And the way we do this is through prayer. And what I love about Christ, Christianity and the Lord, is we’re free. So we don’t have to pray if we don’t want to. We’re not forced to do anything. But those of us who do, do so because we want to be with God and to have a relationship with him. And it’s out of this relationship and communication with him, through prayer, that we receive the the desires of our hearts. May God bless you as you continue to seek a deeper understanding about the Lord.