If God already knows your life from beginning to end, and it's all mapped out, does prayer change anything?

Question

I've often wondered if God already knows every detail about your life, and already has it planned out from beginning to end, does prayer really make a difference? How can it change anything, if God already planned it?

Answer 1

because God already knows what your going to pray for and the answer to the prayer. Prayer isnt about asking God for things at all. That is a subpoint of prayer Prayer is a conversation to God like you converse with your friends or your parents or whoever you talk to.

Answer 2

I don't actually know how it began, as I am adopted. I can, knowing my age, where I was born, and the ethnic backgrounds of my birth parents, make an educated guess, but it would only be a guess. I don't think I would change it, however. Oddly, I doubt I would change how it is to end. I have a fairly good idea of how it will end, since I have attempted to end it more than once before. I guess if I had to change something, it would only be how my death affects those around me. Other than that, I will just play the cards which have been dealt, and which are dealt in the future. I know that's not exactly what you are asking, but I promised myself when I first joined Y!A that every answer I gave would be the truth, so I am afraid that's all I have to offer you.

Answer 3

God has not planned out your entire life. You get to make choices every day about many things in your life. It's true that God has a purpose for you and things He would like to do through you. You can choose to go a completely different way, however.

We know that prayer changes things because God tells us that it does. It the Old Testament, He demonstrates how prayer changes things. For example, God at times held back His hand and did not destroy someone based on prayers. One king prayed for a longer life, and God extended his life by several years. Daniel prayed to be delivered and was saved from the lions in the lion den.

We are told over and over in the New Testament to pray. We are told that prayer is powerful and important. I don't understand why God tells us to pray. He certainly doesn't need us to. I think it is more for our benefit and the way it connects us to God. Whatever the reason, God responds to our prayers and blesses us. That should be reason enough to pray.

Answer 4

Free Will.
We have Free Will, great what does that mean?
And does God know everything?

Lets look at a computer program that plays chess a simple concept but the decision trees can be massive.
Ok
After the first moves you move
The computer runs the trees and sees every possibility and its winning move, it moves.
You make a move
The computer runs the trees and sees every possibility and its winning move, it moves.
You make a move
--Continue--

With free will you have choices sometimes it is a simple choice see a movie or stay home.
God dose no know what you will chose, that’s free will.
But after you make the choice God can see where that takes you at your end.
After every choice you make God (runs program) sees your end.
The end can change, God can also place objects in your path, and the choices there can drastically change your end.

So can God see where you end up heaven or hell? YES
Can you change that outcome? YES

But remember human nature, if you are on a path, heaven or hell, you tend to stay on that path unless something some object, of block etc… by God or by Satan, may change the your path.

Answer 5

i believe that God has a plan for everyone, however he has given us the opportunity to make our choices. I don't think he has put us on this earth with a premade life. He gives us the choice on where our lives will lead. Of course prayer makes a difference. Yes, he does know, but he is giving YOU the opportunity to make things right with HIM and yourself. If our lives were laid out for us, then why would he send Jesus.

Answer 6

Just because God knows, doesn't mean anything. We don't know and that's the point.
Prayer purifies your soul and makes you a better person and connected to your creator.
The point of this world is to worship God even when there is worldly pleasures around us.
Prayer is medecine, and God willing you will go to heaven, but you need to pray get there, among other things.
Do good deeds with a pure and you will get to the place you want to.
peace

Answer 7

I think our guide in all things should be God's word. If you look in the bible, for example in both the books of Exodus and in the book of Genesis, you'll see Abraham and Moses speaking to God, interceding on the behalf of others. Abraham asks God, as God is preparing to destory Sodom "would you destroy the righteous with the wicked?" In interceding for the people, God listened to the pleas of Abraham and said if He could find ten righteous people, He would not destroy Sodom. Well, we know how that turned out! Even so, God had an ear to Abraham's "prayers".

Also, Moses interceded for the people after Moses came down from the mountain with the ten commandments. God was so infuriated that the people had begun to worship an idol again, He was going to destroy them all. Moses interceded on behalf of the Hebrews, and God did not.

Yes, God knows everything. But it is my personal experience, as the bible tells us, "the effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much". I know that God hears my prayers, and He has answered them time and time again.

Answer 8

The reason is that your life is already predestined and only God can answer this question about your prayer making a difference.
Remember God planned it and his will "THY WILL BE DONE" and that is the bottom line.

Answer 9

I wonder too. I do believe that praying brings you closer with God. Besides that's what I'm here for to grow closer to God. I think that things can happen from prayer. Maybe not everything can be changed, but things can happen. He's God, he can change things and keep them as is.

Answer 10

Yes God knows exactly what will happen- and of course you can get into free will and stuff but you can't just sit back and let things happen saying that "God's planned it all anyway". Personally I believe that God hasn't 'planned' our lives. He knows what's going to happen but he gave humans free will. Like if I come to a fork in the road, it's my decision whether to go right or left. God might know in advance that I will go left, but he didn't decide that, he just knows it. I decide to go left.

So to answer your question fully, yes prayer does help. It shows God that you have faith in him, and only good can come from that.