From time to time people ask me about the point of praying in light of the fact that God knows all things and that God is said to have a plan and be ultimate control of this world. If God knows all things (including our thoughts), then he already knows what we would pray for, so why do we need to share these things with him? If God has a plan and is in control of all things, then it would seem that our prayers can’t really make any difference because God is going to do what God is going to do, so what is the point of asking for things to happen?
These are logical questions but they are by no means merely philosophical questions; they are intensely practical and also personal. In fact, these are questions that I have asked as well. Books could be (and have been) written to try to thoroughly address these important and complex questions, but it is my hope that sharing a few ideas I have found helpful as I have wrestled with them could be of benefit to others.
Prayer as a Way to Share Your Heart With God
Since God knows all things – and even knows what you will ask before you ask it – then we should not view prayer as a means by which we are “informing God” of things but rather sharing with Him what is on our hearts. This is what happens in close relationships with others; we open up our hearts to share our desires and hopes with them. I think we should view prayer as doing something similar, opening up all of our hearts and thoughts to God as we draw closer to Him.
We should remember that prayer is “talking with God” and not just “asking God for stuff.” That might be part of the conversation but by no means should it be the only part of the conversation. If we just view prayer as a way of informing God what we want Him to do, we are like that person or friend who only reaches out when they want you to do something for them. If we don’t like to be treated that way and we are called to treat others as we would like to be treated, then we shouldn’t do this to the most important being in the universe.
In contrast to these purely transactional relationships, some of our most intimate relationships are ones in which we may even talk and share about things with no expectation or demand for action. Like many other husbands I have talked with over the years, I discovered early on in my marriage that sometimes my wife would share about frustrating things about life, not with the expectation that I would be able to fix it but just to talk about it and be heard. Maybe we should view prayer the same way at times; sharing with God our desires and thoughts not because we are demanding that He do something about it right now but because we are opening up our hearts to Him.
At times, prayer may actually be less about telling God what is on our heart and more about us figuring out what is on our hearts and articulating it to Him. I think of situations in the Bible in which God would ask a question of an individual, such as asking Cain where his brother is or asking Adam questions in the Garden of Eden. Those situations were less about obtaining information from a person and more about them stating what God already knew for their own sake, which allowed God to speak into their hearts and situations in a new way. Prayer can have a similar purpose, essentially a question-like invitation from God (e.g., “how are you feeling?; “what are you thinking about?”; “what do you want in life”) that opens up our hearts to Him and reveals truths we need to hear and understand. But that only happens as we share what is on our hearts and minds.
Prayer as the Way In Which God Works Out His Plan
The idea that we don’t need to pray because God is going to do whatever it is that He has planned to do may sound logical but is actually inconsistent with the way that we live every other element of our lives. We don’t say, “If God wants me to be fed, then I don’t need to cook or chew my food” or “If God wants me to have clothes, they will just appear in my closet when I need them.” We recognize that God provides food and clothes through the various things that we do. We get degrees because we do our schoolwork and we get jobs because we applied and showed up. Those are the means by which God works.
In a similar way, we should view prayer as the means by which God has chosen to do things; that God works out His plan and accomplishes things through our prayers. James 4 says that we have not because we ask not, which seems to imply that the way that something is given is as a result of prayer; it will not be given until we pray. The way a person might be healed is as a result of people praying for them. The way that God has chosen to provide for something may be because people ask. Thus, instead of us saying, “why should I pray?” we should be moved to pray for things as that might be the way that God has chosen to work through things, as we see God moving and acting in response to prayers of His people in the Bible. While I cannot give a definitive answer on why He has chosen to work things this way, I think a major reason for it is a way for us to build our trust in Him and reliance upon Him as we see that He, not us, is the cause of it and only He had the power and ability to do it.
While we need to see the impact and importance of our actions and choices as the means through which God works His plan, we also need to recognize that our actions or inactions cannot ultimately thwart God’s plans and purposes. That reality is a call to confidence and action rather than inaction and complacency; we can walk forward knowing that we won’t mess things up but also know that we have the gift of being a vessel and servant of God’s plan. This allows us to act and pray boldly while also seeing that things ultimately depend on God, not on us.
Why Pray……Because Prayer Changes Us and Changes Things
It is true that prayer does not change God’s knowledge of the situation or change God’s plan but that does not mean that prayer does not change anything. Prayer changes us in terms of drawing us closer to God as we share our heart with Him. Prayer also changes circumstances as God has chosen prayer as leading to things happening in this world. What a gift it is to be used by God as a way He works out His plans and to be able to draw closer to Him. Rather than causing us not to pray, these questions should provoke us not only to pray but to do so with greater joy and greater fervency.
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Unless otherwise noted, all Bible translations are from the Christian Standard Bible (CSB), Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers.
