What is the purpose of prayer?
I'm not asking why you (or someone else) might be in need and why you might desire divine intervention. But if God is omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent as many religions claim, why do you need to take an action (prayer) to request God's intervention? What is it about the act of prayer itself that you believe grants you a better chance at catching "God's ear" than otherwise?
2007-07-26 07:56:51 · 23 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Fireball: For, or from, whom?
2007-07-26 08:01:29 · update #1
Maurice/Summer: Doesn't "He" know?
2007-07-26 08:02:27 · update #2
Everyone's giving "good" answers about what they believe but...
Why do you need to pray? I still don't get it. If you are expressing something, it's already inside you and God knows it, no? If you are communicating with God, God already knows what is in your heart and mind, correct?
Again: My question is if your God knows all, including what is in your heart, why do you have to take an explicit action to communicate with Him?
2007-07-26 08:05:35 · update #3
Please understand that the cold typing of Y!A doesn't allow me to express this correctly but I'm not criticizing prayer. I'm trying to understand why you pray. There's a difference.
2007-07-26 08:06:51 · update #4
comfort and assistance and praise!
2007-07-26 08:00:50 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Prayer is simply talking to God, if God is indeed omniscient then God already knows whether or not you are going to pray and ask for his help. It however is a lot like the alcoholic, any thinking persons sees he needs help, but in order to receive that help he must first acknowledge the problem and then seek help. If the acknowledgement is never made then the help will not be received because it is not wanted. Likewise if you never ask for help you won't receive it (or at least will not understand it to be such). It is not that you got his ear at all but rather it allows you to see and understand that first you need intervention and acknowledging you need help and he is able, secondly in so doing opens your eyes to the source of that intervention. Prayer is and always will be for mans benefit alone, to allows us the opportunity to seek he who is able to perform all things and humble ourselves before his awesome presence.
2007-07-26 15:19:19 · answer #2 · answered by andrew S 1 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Why pray? For one, God commands it, so one has to pray to avoid sinning.
I noticed from your question that you seem to assume that the only reason to pray is simply to beg God for free stuff -- like God is a genie. Prayer serves other purposes other than just to ask for stuff, and I'll touch on that later. For the moment, I'll concentrate on answering your implied question:
Since God knows everything, God also knows if you are going to pray or not. The Bible states that often your request was granted even before you asked, because God knew that you were going to ask. Likewise, the Bible also says that God often refuses to give you what you need because God already knew that you were to proud to ask for it.
But beyond that, prayer puts one's mind at ease, because you are reminding yourself that God knows what is going on, and that he is doing something about it.
Prayer is actually an act of worship that involves thanking God for what you have, praising him for who he is, and confessing your sins. Prayer is a way of relating to God, so that you become closer to him.
And contemplative prayer (meditation) is where you actually "listen" to God; most people assume that the good ideas that pop into their head when they are quiet and pondering the universe come from God, since the Bible says that God gives wisdom to those who ask for it.
2007-07-26 15:13:14 · answer #3 · answered by Randy G 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Prayer is a way of talking with God, a way of worshipping God. Yes God knows our needs and desires before we pray on them. Praying on them is communication with God. If we dont ask, how can our prayer be answered.?
2007-07-26 15:04:08 · answer #4 · answered by tebone0315 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I pray because it is my duty toward God so that I do not get distracted by other things in the world that want to make me stop believing. Besides, I do not look at it as "intervention" it's part of destiny because God wants you to do you best and at times, since God is All Knowing, he can help you. This is the world God created, why would it be intervention?
2007-07-26 15:14:06 · answer #5 · answered by Bahar01 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I've always considered God as the Father and I speak to Him in prayer exactly the way I would talk to my father. What's new, what I think about things, what I need His advise on, what I would like to do--does He agree? and thanks for all that has come my way. Since I am incredibly lonely when I haven't talked with my kids in awhile, I imagine God feels the same way. And considering that what He hears is mostly "gimme" requests from a lot of other people, He's likely to lend an ear more to someone that says things are fine, thanks. Wouldn't you?
2007-07-26 15:04:11 · answer #6 · answered by Jess 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You do not catch God's ear. He is my father, he created me in his image. whether you believe this or not does not make a bit of difference to me. I WANT to talk to my Lord. I enjoy my quite time with him, as a matter of fact, if for some reason I do not start my day off with prayer and quite time my day ALWAYS ends up going bad. God wants to hear from us, he wants us to tell him what is on our hearts and souls. Prayer is not a wish list, it is a love letter. If you ever experience the love of God you will understand.
2007-07-26 15:04:26 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Becuase it's about the expression of the heart towards God
Yes God could do things without prayer from us;but then He doesnt get what He wants from us;which is the expression of our hearts toward Him.
2007-07-26 15:01:25 · answer #8 · answered by Maurice H 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
When your in trouble and want God's help,how can you expect that God will give you that without you being into him and having faith in him.The whole purpose of prayer is having faith and know that there is expectation of hope and fulfilness.When yuo pray,God sees how much your willing to sacrify for him and how much this means to you.So your not doing a favor on God but God is doing a big favor on you.
2007-07-26 15:11:02 · answer #9 · answered by BlossomMe 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes, it's true God already knows all of our needs, but He wants us to pray so that we may have a close relationship with Him. He likens it to our relationship with our earthly father. He also pretty much knows our needs, but we need that close relationship with him. The talking and interaction between two people who love each other. Thus, it is with God. He WANTS us to talk to Him. He longs for a relationship with us. That is the purpose of prayer.
2007-07-26 15:02:24 · answer #10 · answered by Tammie 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Prayer to me is just talking to God. I don't believe that God needs us to pray exactlly, it is for our benefit. I think God answers our prayers to show us that He does hear us and that we can rely on Him. This keeps communication open on our end. He knows our thoughts, sometimes we don't even recognize what we are thinking. I believe that praising and treating others rights open God's ear to me also.
2007-07-26 15:04:09 · answer #11 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋