i understand the part of being thankful for what we have and being sorry for the wrong we do but lately i question the bit about praying for thigsn such as healing etc. like years ago i was explained that God knows what we are going to pray before we even pray it. was also on the understanding that God has our life planned, He alrady knows what will happen and not happen. so regardless of whether or not we pray for something to happen God already knows. say for eg people who pray for healing of say someone with cancer. that bothers me big time cos in my eyes God has this person destiny planned...they'll either be healed or not healed regardless of you praying for healing. then if the person doesn't make it well...doe sthat mean God let you down. i'd be more inclined to pray the person is comfortable and at peace and God's will be done. but even then...God's will will be done whether i pray it or not. or another eg...my sisters car needs fixing. she has no money to get it fixed.now i do'nt want to pray she gets a new car, as she doesn't want one. so i'd pray she can get enough money to fix it. but still...God may have completely other plans.
so can anyoe fill me in.

We are told to pray and Jesus modelled it for us. We are told to present our requests to God. And it is a normal human thing to want people to be healed. Best way I heard it described was that we pray to bend our will to God's, not the other way around.

I think it's a really good question, and one often-asked. I've struggled with it at times, too.

A good little book is 'Too Busy Not To Pray' by Bill Hybels which works through the whole question of 'why pray?'

For me there are a few reasons for praying, an actually ASKING for things:

- The first is that God wants us to. Even if we don't understand why, that's a good enough reason for me. Maybe not satisfying, but important.

- Secondly, I think when our prayers totally align with God's will it's an AMAZING feeling! Yes, sometimes we ask for things and they aren't given, but when they are, it's something that I think can make you feel heaps closer to GOd, and encourage you in your walk with him.

- Thirdly, I think what lanthe said about our will becoming aligned with God's is important. I think when we are continually seeking close relationship with him, and more and more of him - to the extent that we start to really 'hear' his voice in various ways- we are far more likely to actually KNOW when to pray for something specific like healing. It's a gift, but I think it comes from a close relationship with God. I know when I've heard of full-on healing happening, it's been a time when the person has been really aware of GOd's presence and felt very strongly that GOd wanted them to pray that specific prayer right then. I think that's different to us just praying 'please heal this person' or 'please fix this problem' - it's a time when someone hears God's prompt, prays for it, and sees God's response - and when that happens it's quite a powerful thing, to be in such close commune with GOd.

- Fourthly, I think of it like my relationship with my kids. My kids ask me for things. Sometimes I say yes, sometimes I say no. Ultimately I'm choosing whether to give them what they want, yes. But I still like that they voice it to me - and don't just stay silent. I'd rather them ask, talk to me about their desires and hopes, than not. That is how we grow closer in relationship, even if the response is 'no'. In that sense I thing prayer isn't just about WHAT we are asking for, but about the fact that we are asking, sharing desires - it's an investment in that relationship.

Just to add - I think also that sometimes if we don't ask, there's not an opportunity for it to be given. A bit like entering into a relationship with God in the first place. He invites us - but we have to accept. We have the free will to choose a relationship with him or not. The opportunity is always there, but it's our free will choice to accept it.

I think prayer can be a bit that way too - the opportunity might be there, but it's our choice to make the request which invites God to act....

Interested in what others think on that one though!

yeh we all want friends, loved ones etc but in the real world we are destined to die. and i think by praying for healing can be unrealistic and setting yourself up to get depressed if the person doesn't heal. like we lost a baby when i was 16weeks pregnant. i wasn't attending church at the tme and didn't have a strng belief as i'd had years prior. i could've prayed for the heartbeat to be there etc but then if it wasn't (which it wasn't ) i'd be even more devastated wondering why God failed me. but i know in my heart God has a plan. that baby has a purpose. as devastating as it is i know his soul is meant to be just not his little body on this earth. and 2 months later we were blessed to fall pregnant with our now 8.5mth old.

i like that

I'm so sorry to hear of your loss. :-(

I think ultimately God wants to hear us share our desires with him - to have us voice what's on our heart. The hope is there I think, whether we verbalise it to God or not, he knows what we want - and I think it can be really healthy to share it with him as a way of expressing our love for him. Like "You know God, I don't know what your plan is, my heart is filled with fear, I want nothing more than for this to be ok, but I'm scared it won't be and I'm scared to ask for help from you in case I'm let down".... that's kinda how I tend to pray when it's something really hard.

yes that's pretty much what i think i'm saying is the whole not wanting to pray for specifics. like my dh prayed his 19yr old son would get this particular job. it was a big step as dh has only jsut started comingto church. i was think ing oooh dear what if he does'nt get it. he did, he didn't get the f/t position but 2 wks later got promoted to the f/t position lol. but i would've been more inclined to pray that he gets a job soon etc

I've always seen prayer as talking and meditating as listening. So why not talk about how you are and what you are feeling, even what you "want" or hope. It's a relationship between yourself and God and talking (even in your mind) is a form of communication. I can't see any problem in communicating.
Ignore my post if you want, I am not a religious person or someone who prays on a regular basis but sometimes I do express myself in what I interpret as prayer and whatever the right or wrongs I feel better for it. So I pray but I am not dependant on the response, I suppose I let the thoughts and feelings "go" when I pray or express myself or even beseech.

Some really good things have already been said, so just some added thoughts.

- God may have a "plan" for our lives - an ideal way for them to play out - but our free will still leaves us open to align with that ideal or not. We make choices every day, some of them in accord with the "plan" and some not; some of the choices which are not are so divergent that they make the original "plan" - if you like - unworkable, but I believe that God still opens up new possibilities to us in that. I'm reminded here of Romans 8:28 "We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose." It seems to me that sometimes prayer is about finding the "plan," about committing to follow it, or about rediscovering our deepest God-given identity when it seems that it has all gone horribly wrong.

- As far as healing goes, I am reminded of the comment of one of my teachers that God's healing comes in one of four ways. There is basic physical healing. There is healing of a person's attitude and emotions (soul, for want of a better word). There is healing of the network of relationships surrounding a person. And, ultimately, there is being drawn into the nearer presence of God. We usually can't tell, from the outside, which of these God will consider the priority in his work in a person's life....only be sure that God, in God's wisdom, is at work in the situation.

- I am reminded also of the danger of using purely our feelings as a guide to the quality of prayer. Yes, there will be times when God feels close, the world seems wonderful, our hearts burst with joy and so forth (what are classically called times of consolation). But there will also be times when God seems absent, the world seems like an ashen travesty, our hearts are ripped to shreds...(classically, times of desolation). Both are part of the human condition and journey, and we grow through both...if we are willing to persevere in hope.