If your so-called god is all-knowing, than why the need to pray for things you need?

Question

So you have this god that you claim is all-knowing right? You go to church every Sunday and probably every other day throughout the week. You need a miracle to overcome your cancer so you pray to god (as if he doesn't already know you need to be cured) for help in overcoming this cancer right? WHY? Isn't it enough for you to go to church every day? Isn't it enough for you to pay your offerings (I mean preacher) and tithes (I mean the rest of the preachers staff)?? And while I'm on the subject, do you think that if you food was somehow poisoned or whatever before you said grace over the food that it would than afterwards not be poisoned anymore?

A couple days ago a minister in training said his co-emcee (i was at a church concert) was supposed to be there but said he couldn't. So he prayed to god for him to find him a way there. Didn't god already know that he had to be there, why did he have to pray for him to get there? Seriously people, wake up.

Answer 1

And he still never answers their prayers.

Answer 2

Actually the reason is very simple. WE Christians NEED to pray so when the prayer is answered it strengthens our faith for the next obstacle. Of course God already knows what we need but as human beings who can't physically see God His workings by our specific prayers give us a constant lock on Him, sort of like a GPS (Global Positioning Satellite)
Also even though God is Omnipotent He Stlll appreciates us thanking Him in real time for what He does. Just thought I'd throw that in.

Answer 3

OK, for the sake that just maybe you or someone here is actually interested in the truth, let me explain that prayer is not equivalent to asking for a hand out.
God IS aware of our needs, and if Adam had not sinned, those needs would be met without any resistance coming from demonic forces. By rebelling against God, Adam turned over his authority over this world to Satan, and therefore Satan, and the forces of hell, now stand between God and us.
God meets our needs in the spiritual realm; but it is our verbal confession that brings these blessing into the physical realm.
I know its very hard for someone who has conditioned themselves to rely only on their feeble senses, but this is the truth, deal with it!

Answer 4

A full answer on the purposes of prayer would be a long one, but its primary purpose is so that Christians will place their dependency on God. By petitioning God for something or someone, I am reminding myself of who has the real power, and I am placing my trust in Him.

Prayer is something God has ordained for His children, even if the paradox of asking an all-knowing God for something may seem incomprehensible. It is the way He chooses to work: If we don't ask, he doesn't always give. Conversely, if we ask repeatedly and fervently, he may give in ways he would not have if we hadn't pray.

There's a parable on this subject, in which a woman petitions a judge over and over and over until the judge gives in and grants her request. Jesus' point in telling the parable was to point out that though God knows what we need, often, for our own spiritual growth, He will withhold it until we heartily petition Him for it.

Answer 5

Ask and you will receive. The Bible does not teach that we have to pray for all the things we need. God does provide for even those who do not believe. We pray to thank God and to receive blessings and we pray to communicate with God it is through prayer and meditation and study of God's word we know him. You can pray for a need and should pray for a need the same as you would make request of anyone. God is all knowing but is worthy fo the same respect, even more than a neighbor you were to make a request of, you would ask it is the reasonable thing to do.

Answer 6

The answer is simply that God knows your needs, but enjoys watching you grovel because his weak ego demands the gratification of your submission and begging. For your own good, theists will say, you need to acknowledge your inferiority and God's sovereignty, including his sovereignty to ignore your groveling and allow your suffering instead because it serves his higher purpose. This is why theists are typically so immature and childish in their world view. God is their substitute parent and the way they please him is to be "like little children." Because of course, if they were not childish and simple-minded they wouldn't fall for this crap and the clerics that peddle the nonsense and make a living from it would have to go back to selling vinyl siding, used cars, pyramiding schemes, etc.

Answer 7

Only those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and their Savior, are God's children. Those who have not are only God's creation.

Those who are God's children, have special privileges only because we have come to Him and believe. We are protected by the blood of Jesus, we have the authority over Satan and we have been given the right to approach God personally on a one to One relationship. God does already know what we need. He wants us to talk to Him about it which is what prayer is. He wants a relationship with His children.

God also talks to His children by way of the Holy Spirit and His written Word, the Bible.

Answer 8

Every religion has a way to ask and receive - they just do it differently. I look at Christian prayer this way - it's channeling energy to achieve your goal. You don't get something for nothing. If you want it, you have to DO something. Focus the energy on a specific need.

As for the prayers before meals, that's not for purification. It's just a thank you. Whoever said please and thank you were magic words was definitely on to something. Give them a try. You'll see what I mean.

Answer 9

Praying is conversation with God. Comversation is part of the relationship. You don't have to ask for what you want . . .but you can. I usually pray for others. Many people are dying and behing tortured throughout the world . . . I don't think it will change because it's part of His prophecy, but it can'thurt to ask.

Answer 10

A very difficult question, with a two-part answer.

The core of the difficulty with intercessory prayer is that human beings presume that we can understand omniscience, and we presume that we ourselves are constant.

Restating your question somewhat generally, you may see that we introduce a paradox because of our finite understanding of time:
Why does God make some actions of human beings (prayer, in this case) matter, when he ALREADY knew what they were going to do (ask for)?

The sense given by the word already is central: it evokes a model where God, like us, makes a distinction between what he knew in the past and what he sees happening now, and what he "sees" in the future.

But suppose that part of omniscience and omnipotence is being outside of the flow of time:
God then is not moving from the past to the future with his consciousness resting on the infinitesimal touchpoint with of present, like we are. He is then able to weave knowledge of the future into the "past" to alter the present.

Now when we pray, we are resolving what our true desire is from the muddle of the many things we think and feel. We think that our thoughts and needs are clear, but even from minute to minute people change what they think, feel, desire. God sees everything, but a constantly wavering mind is precious close to nothing. Prayer is a vehicle for us to clarify our will to God. You could write it on a banner or a journal, but praying to God is sufficient.

Prayer is important in the process not because God couldn't order the history of the universe by himself, but because God does care about our desires and our ultimate good: prayer, like any other of our actions, is part of the "future" history of the universe that God uses to guide the course of apparent ("past") history; i.e. our prayers tomorrow *may* have been taken into account by God to have changed the nature of our birth.

The second point about prayer is that our perceptions of what we need and what the purpose for creation is do not match God's.

Now a unifying illustration to answer the question, which presumes the the desire is clear:
Suppose that two twins A and B learn that they have developed cancer on their 50th birthday ["happy birthday"]. Now suppose that A prays to God to be healed the next day, but B never does.
Suppose that they both undergo chemotherapy, and at age 51, B (who never prayed) is in remission while A (who prayed fervently for healing) is dead.

From our and their points of view, they both had the same need, remission of the cancer. But from God's point of view, it may be that A's desire to be healed which was clearly expressed to God, had to be dismissed because of an unknown (to us)reason from the "possible" future.
Perhaps A would have soon developed an even worse affliction, and God is sparing her the misery of some terrible disease like ALS.
It may also be that what B really needs requires more than just healing from cancer. Perhaps the death of A is necessary experience for B to turn to God; which is hard for us to accept, but consistent with God having knowledge that we don't have, and him using that knowledge for the best outcome.

In sum, prayer is necessary for indicating to God what you desire [he already knows what you need, and you may not like it], and that to the extent that it is consistent with his overall plan for you and the world, God will try accomodate.

Answer 11

it doesnt matter the answers that we give cause chances are your not gonna except it, or make fun of the answer anyhow. you are right He does know what we need without ever asking Him. ill leave it as that. now when you spoke of food being poisoned, you know the scripture talking bout believing and can drink anything poisonous and it wont kill you? well they had a recall on barbeque pork in the can but before my mom heard bout it she had ate it but never got sick.