Hey, Wally I have been struggling with prayer recently and was hoping for some insight. The question is simple but it's been tripping me up for a while. Since God is all knowing and has a plan and purpose for everything, what's the point of praying? Let me elaborate. Since God already knows what's going to happen, how do our prayers effect any sort of outcome? For example, my grandfather passed away a few months ago. It was his time, we all were expecting it. God knew this, so even if our family prayed for him to have more time, I feel like it didn't matter. He was already going to die on this date at this time acording to God's timeline. Our prayer had no effect on what God already set in motion. This goes for everything. Is prayer just an obedience thing? If it is, cool, but that seems to lessen the importance of prayer and further more makes me question the purpose of prayer. Sorry if this was confusing, just something I'm wrestling with. I am not a new Christian and feel bad about having these troubling thoughts. Any insight would be welcome.

That was not confusing at all and I have felt that same way in the past. Here is where I landed on prayer. I see it kind of like a parent. There are times that my daughter comes to me for something and I already know the answer, but I love that she came to me and it strengthens our relationship. I think God is the same way. That said, there have been times that God has altered things or was willing to, as with the case of Abraham praying about Sodom, when we come to Him. To me, prayer should be less about the outcome I want and more about the relationship it builds for me with God. Jesus taught us to pray for God's will to be done. God also promises to give us peace when there are times that we do not understand the plan. That is what I have to hold onto a lot :)     [tweetthis twitter_handles="@wallyshow"]Prayer should be less about the outcome I want & more about the relationship it builds with God.[/tweetthis]

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