If God Knows and Controls Everything, Why Pray?

It’s an age-old question. If God is sovereign over absolutely everything and already knows what he is going to do, what’s the point of praying? Tough question. I have five thoughts that shed light on this.

First, as R. C. Sproul explains in his excellent short book Does Prayer Change Things? the very question reveals a limited view of what prayer is about. Asking this presumes that the only reason we pray is to get God to do things for us. But, as Sproul points out, open, two-way communication is central to any significant, successful and satisfying relationship – like that between a husband and wife or between two dear friends.

As we grow to increasingly understand God’s majesty, power and love, our hearts should overflow as we tell him how great and transcendent he is and how absolutely privileged we are to know him. Then, as we see our own sinful state which stands in stark contrast with his holiness, we should be motivated to freely admit our tragically flawed lives and thank God for the forgiveness he made possible through Jesus’ death and resurrection. 

So, prayer isn’t like Aladdin’s lamp – merely a mechanism to get your every wish fulfilled. It’s really about fostering your two-way relationship with God. And it’s only within the context of that relationship that you bring your requests forward, recognizing that you are not a magician trying to manipulate God into doing your bidding.

There is a second reason why prayer is “valid” even though God controls absolutely everything. One of the more difficult-to-grasp attributes of God is that he exists “outside of time.” We live in a linear world where one minute follows the next and events unfold in succession. God is not limited like that. For him, there is no past or present or future. Somehow, they are all simultaneous. Of course, we can’t even begin to comprehend what that means.

But we can think through at least one implication of this fact:  even though God has prior (from a human standpoint) knowledge of what he will do, it could be that his “prior” decision was actually shaped by the prayer you are praying today. So, even though God knew from the very beginning of time (as we know it) what would happen, your prayer now may have factored into his decision to shape events in your present and future. I know. This causes my brain to hurt too.

A third reason we should pray even though God controls everything is simply because there are dozens – if not hundreds – of commands to pray in the Bible. If God tells us to do it, we should. This alone should settle the issue.

Reason four is that we have abundance evidence that prayer was and is vital in the lives of the people that God uses. This is true for all the “Bible heroes” as well as faithful people throughout the ages, right down to this very day. We have hundreds of thousands of examples.

The final reason we should pray despite God’s sovereignty may be the most powerful of all. Jesus himself regularly spoke with his father. And, to recast the old saying, if it’s good enough for Jesus, it’s good enough for me. Case closed.

So, there you have it. Five perspectives why prayer should be a vital part of our lives despite the fact – and in reality – because of the fact – that God controls everything. Who wouldn’t want to take advantage of the unspeakable privilege we have of talking with a God like that and – in the proper context – bringing our requests before him?