What is the point of prayer?

Question

We can thank God by making the most of our lives in a practical sense and helping others to do the same, so why do people pray? If people pray for the safe return of Madeleine McCann but the unthinkable happens and she is not returned safe, what does this mean for the prayers that were said?

Natasha - why come on YA if you are going to question why people want answers! I am a Deist and my sister is converting to Catholicism from CofE, and I have a genuine desire to understand more

Already Saved - being a Deist means absolutely everything to me

Answer 1

That's like saying - What is the point in conversation?
God wants us to pray to him, to communicate with him. Sometimes he answers us in a way we might not want.
He knows what's best for us.

Answer 2

Prayer is to bring us into relationship with God: not just any old god but the One True, Triune God of the Bible. The most important point about prayer is that we make our requests known to God. He answers the prayers of Christians in three basic ways:
Yes
No
Not yet

The only prayer God ALWAYS answers 'Yes' to is when someone sincerely asks that Jesus becomes their Sovereign God, Lord and Saviour; all other prayers (by Christians) are answered for the best possible outcome -- and that is something only the omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent God can know.

Praying for someone's salvation will work only if the person is willing to respond to the Holy Spirit's prompting: it's called 'Free Will' for that very reason. However, prayer and witness together are more effective than prayer alone, and FAR more effective than witnessing alone.

Remember that the apostle Paul had his prayers for his 'thorn in the flesh' to be removed denied, and was told 'My grace is sufficient for thee ...' (2 Cor. 12:9); even Jesus' prayer was refused when He asked that 'this cup [of His suffering death by crucifixion] be taken from Me'. But Jesus kew that God's purpose was far greater than the suffering He would experience: it would enable Him to save multitudes -- and potentially everyone -- if they accept His substitutionary death on the cross, the Just for the unjust.

You say you're a Deist, which means nothing as anyone who worships any god is a deist, but they miss the salvation boat if they don't accept Christ as God, Lord and Saviour. Don't make that mistake: take Him as yours now.

May God bless you if you search for Him.

Answer 3

Anything & everything can be accomplished with prayer...I am a big believer in Prayer...
I never was until about 9 years ago...my prayers came true and my first grandchild
lived, even when the Doctors told us to say our Goodbyes...She was born at 26 weeks
1# 5oz...they gave her NO hope...I never really knew how to pray until then, and for some reason everything just poured out...
I was even ready to give up MY life so she could live...She will be 9 on July first...soooo
Yes, I very much do believe in Prayer...
GOD heard all of our Prayers that day,
and he really performed a Miracle...

Answer 4

One of the reasons I pray often is to thank God for His answers to my prayers and for the guidance He gives me through His Spirit. I pray about many things and although my prayers are always answered..they are not always answered in the way my simple human mind expects them to be, For instance...I prayed many years ago for patience...and perhaps should have known better..my life for the foillowing year was dreadful.....everything that could go wrong went wrong....BUT at the end of it I realised how much patience I had gained from the experience. All I can say to anyone who prays is "Be careful what you pray for as the result may not be what you expect"
I have prayed for many things including healing, for other people and God has seen fit to heal SOME of them...as is His will. I will still pray for healing for all who need it and rely on Gods judgement and will for the result.
Prayer does work for faithful Christian believers......
Best wishes, Mike

Answer 5

Every culture, every civilization known to history has engaged in some form of prayer. The soul of each person who lives is not satisfied with food, drink, and warmth. Our bodies are satisfied with these things, but our soul cries out for more, our soul wants to know why it exists, how it exists, and for Whom it exists. These questions, and many more, can only be answered by prayer.

Prayer comes in many shapes and sizes. Do not be deceived; what appears to be a powerless and simplistic exercise can yield tremendous fruit. Christ taught his disciples only one prayer.

Prayer is silent, but it is not the silence of inactivity. Prayer is a dance with God, a time for drawing oneself out of the visible world and entering into the world of the infinite. It may or may not take a long time. When one is gazing at the infinite, a minute or an hour dissolve into a single reality.

Answer 6

Prayer is simply talking to God. If he is your friend and you want to get to know him more, you should spend time talking to him. I don't use him as a money pot who will give me what I want, I talk to him about things going on in my life (he likes the small things as well as the big) and I ask him to heal the sick, and I tell him how much I love him and appreciate what he did for me. Prayer changes things. Prayer and fasting gets things done too!

Answer 7

Prayer has many 'points'
However, the main reason for prayer is not to persuade God to do things but to align my thinking with His so that I can be 'in tune' with His will
Then I know better how to pray...it is self-reinforcing.
God does not always say yes, of course. But praying always makes the pray-er a better person so that is worthwhile in itself

Answer 8

People should pray because they have a personal relationship with God. Not because He has to answer their prayer according to their wishes. He said whatever you ask according to my will. People are very selfish and inside this selfishness they only look out for themselves. God has the big picture and therefore looks out for everyone.

Answer 9

Draw close to God and He will draw close to you.
It's conversing with Him. Talking to Him. Keeping in touch.
You don't just pray for yourself, either, so you're helping others too. You don't just ask for stuff. Praying can including praise and thanks. Asking for forgiveness and forgiving those who sinned against you. Asking for guidance and looking forward to the day when we can see Him face to face.
Jesus said to pray. He gave the model prayer that we call Our Father, which is not just a prayer in itself, but also the outline of how we can pray to God.

Answer 10

If you never spoke to your friends your relationships wouldn't last long. One of the key aspects of prayer is relationship with God. God doesn't answer every prayer in the way we would want Him to but He does work all things together for good. Many of these things we won't understand until we meet Him face to face and see the good He has done.

To contradict shell answer man, I have had many real responses to prayer requests.

Answer 11

does it matter who we pray to ...its all the one god or maybe not but it makes us feel better and hope our prayers are answered ..wishful thinking maybe but why not wish and pray that wee Madeleine is recovered safe and well is that a crime ...and if not may her soul be in peace ...and her parents also .. sure they are suffering big style wish others would have some compassion for their suffering ........god if you are there be merciful