If God Already Knows What is Going to Happen, Why Pray?

That is an excellent question that many new believers ask. It is true that God already knows what will happen because he is not limited by time or space. The Bible contains numerous references to God’s foreknowledge, a term that means God knows all of the intimate details of the future. However, we humans do not know the future unless God reveals it to us. We do not know what may or may not happen from one day to the next, and it is this reality that makes prayer necessary. We need to pray to receive reassurance that all is within God’s sovereign care.

Prayer brings a sense of peace to one’s heart in the midst of difficult circumstances. In prayer, we essentially commune with the Lord about those matters that concern us the most. In this sense, prayer serves as a reminder that we are ultimately not in control of our own lives, that we do have a Master to whom we must answer.

The Bible gives several reasons to pray. Below are just a few of those reasons:

1. To fellowship with God.

2. To obey God.

3. To relieve anxiety and worry.

4. To encourage other believers.

5. To see God work in specific ways (it makes us attentive to his workings)