Why do we pray

[Hooper]

I was asked this question. I'm not sure how to answer it.

If God's will is to be done and we ask for His will to be done. Then why pray?
Thanks for your help.

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[WIP]

Prayer is communication with God. We can take our petitions of sorrow, pain, distress, anger, confusion, frustration, or anything else that troubles us directly to God himself. We can give praise, worship, homage, honor, and love directly to the one who makes all things possible including our very existence. How great is it that we can talk directly to the Creator of all things? We pray out of duty…we pray out of respect…we pray out of honor…we pray out of love.<O:p</O:p

 

[handy]

"Thy will be done" is not fate. Sometimes it seems that way, as if everything God is ever going to do is already determined, but it's not so. People go against God's will everyday.

So, in addition to all the other reasons to pray that WIP shared, we pray that His will truly will be done in any given situation. This means asking Him to a: show us His will (we don't always see it or understand it) and b: give us the strength to submit our will to His when we do understand what His will is.

 

[Christ_empowered]

I try to think of prayer as a privilege, and also an obligation. Somehow, both are true.

Anyway, think of it this way: before Christ, only the Jewish high priest had this sort of direct access to God. Then the veil in the temple--symbolizing the rift between God and man--was ripped apart. BAM! Open line of communication.

Plus, even though it may sometimes seem pointless, frustrating, a little crazy-making, prayer really is more for our benefit than for God's. Remember: He has the everything. We come to Him empty handed, and he gives us life, and that more abundantly. In the case of prayer, I've found that regular prayer helps (re)mold me, so I'm a better man, a more decent human being, and definitely a better Christian. Which isn't to say that prayer is "therapeutic," although I do find it much more effective than therapy. Prayer helps you (re)align yourself, your goals, your thoughts, to those of the God who saved you.

 

[King James]

We pray to feel conforted.

 

[Carolyn]

I pray so that I can have fellowship with God. I remind Him of the pain and suffering other Christians are experiencing and I intercede for their healing and relief. I pray for salvation of friends and loved ones. At church I pray that His Spirit would draw sinners to repentance and to surrendering their lives to Him. In recent years I have prayed for work for Christians and even the stability of the jobs of those who are working.
So I guess I am guilty of haveing a "want list".
My husband prays for safety for loved ones at work and traveling. We both pray for Godly friends for familly that seem to be drawn away by ungodly friends. We pray for Godly lives for them so as they would be good examples for their children
.
Throughout the day I thank Him for His blessings and answered prayer. And I thank Him for the beauty He has created and for allowing us to see these things. I Thank Him most for my husband and the blessing He has made him to be. And I thank Him for saving us, for being our Father, and for Jesus our friend.

 

[Bfnaught]

I pray so that I can have fellowship with God.

Boom... nailed it. He speaks to me every day through his word. Prayer is my opportunity to speak to him.