Why pray if God knows what we will pray?

Some ask the question "if God knows what I'm going to pray for, why would I need to pray?" Of all the uninspired human responses, I like Mike Winger's best: Because if you don't pray, God knows you're not going to pray.

Biblically speaking, prayer is not seen as a redundant thing. Rather, it is seen as something that can genuinely alter how God responds to you. Jesus never said "don't bother praying, God already knows what you need." Neither does He treat prayer as if it's giving God new information. "Hey God, I'm in this situation and could really use your help." "Oh really? Ok, sure, thanks for telling me. I'll sort it out." No, prayer is treated as if it actually works. Jesus not only says ask, but keep asking. Keep searching. Keep knocking. My brethren, regardless of what God knows, persistent prayer, or lack thereof, genuinely influences the outcome of the situation. If you pray, God acts as if you'd prayed. If you don't pray, God acts as if you didn't pray.

It is regrettable that some of the most memorable parts of a sermon are also the most useless. Take, for example, one of the few things I specifically remember about Alistair Begg's sermons. It wasn't even a part of the sermon, but the morning messages for the service. It was something about Parkside Church needing volunteers for their children's ministry. I remember it because it made me laugh. Having told his congregation how poorly things were going for the program, he said "I told you I would resort to guilt if necessary".

This statement implies he had put out the plea for volunteers at least once previously. That call had gone unanswered. But how likely is it to have fallen on deaf ears? Perhaps the very first time, someone in the congregation heard it, and considered volunteering, but needed an extra poke. Or perhaps the first time, they were unmoved, but upon hearing the role was still open, began to wonder if they were being called by God. And maybe the third time, that desire became stronger. I do not know the final outcome, but this does give us a pretty good analogy. Sometimes, knowledge of a need does not immediately cause us to fill it. Sometimes we need a push. Just as our knowledge alone is not enough to cause a response, so also does God require us to "push" Him.

And why wouldn't He? Is Christianity not a relationship? God isn't some distant, uncaring cosmic force. We're supposed to relate to Him, not just go about our lives as if He's supposed to just fulfil our needs without us ever so much as acknowledging Him. Therefore, let us stop worrying about what God knows about prayer and instead focus on what we know about prayer: That we are commanded to persist in it, communicating with God as a child communicates with their parents. If we cannot do that, we might as well not know God at all.

Recommended song: John Waller - Yes