I once received the following email from a young woman who calls The Story home:
…if I am driving and I ask God to protect me while I’m driving, if it is in His will for a car accident to happen, won’t a car accident happen anyway? And how in the world would I pray, “God, if it is in your will, help align my heart so that I am okay with getting into a car accident?”
And how do you keep faith when prayer after prayer seems to go unanswered? Skeptics would say that they are going unanswered because God is not real, and Christians would say it went unanswered because He has a different plan in mind for us. So if our prayers are answered, we get to say “See, God is real!” but if they are not answered, we still say “See, God is real!” I was raised in a Christian household and was atheist for a while before getting baptized several years ago, but I remember when I was atheist it would irritate me so much when Christians said that, because then there is no way for them to “lose” the debate.
I’m so grateful to receive questions like these because they articulate some of the doubts I’ve struggled with, too. Before I became a disciple of Jesus Christ, I used to point out this same apparent incongruence. There used to be an internet meme that was a favorite among skeptics and atheists that said, “Arguing with a Christian is like playing chess with a pigeon. No matter how good you are at chess, they just knock over the pieces, poop on the board, and then strut around like they won.”
In other words, from the skeptic’s point of view, whenever Christians pray for something, and then it happens, we say, “God heard our prayers; He is so good!” But when we pray for something, and it doesn’t happen, we say, “It wasn’t His will, but He’s still so good!” So it begs the question: What’s the point of prayer?
There are two things to keep in mind as we unpack this question. First: Jesus already answered it in no uncertain terms. More on that in a moment. And second, the assumption behind this question is that, in order for a prayer to “work,” God must do whatever we tell Him to. From this perspective, our privilege trumps His providence, and therein lies the problem.
The question, “If God already knows the future, why pray?” is loaded with modern privilege and entitlement. It’s the kind of question that only the most comfortable people can afford to ask. I remember the first time that I went to the Dominican Republic with a group from The Story, and we visited a gang-controlled, drug-infested, deeply poor, prostitution-rich area called “The Hole.” It was one of the scariest, saddest places I’ve ever seen. Believe me: in places like The Hole, no one ever asks, “If God already knows my future, why should I even pray?”
Whenever we find ourselves asking, “What’s the point of prayer?” it’s important that we check our hearts and examine our motives. Oftentimes, what we’re really asking is, “Why won’t God do what I tell Him to do? If God would do what I tell Him to do, I might consider believing in Him, but I can’t believe in a God who refuses to cooperate with my plans.” Sometimes when we ask such questions, the problem isn’t that prayer doesn’t work. It’s simply that we’ve grown too accustomed to getting our way.
The only scenario in which prayer should work that way is one in which you’re God, and the God of the Bible is subordinate to you. People sometimes talk about God and prayer like we’re the parents and God is the disrespectful teenager with a mind of His own. We try to tell Him what to do, but when He refuses to listen, we throw our hands in the air and say, “Why do I even bother? You’re gonna do whatever you want.” And then we stop praying.
Everyone is free to believe in God or not. But if He’s real, He’s the Parent and we’re the kids, not the other way around.
In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus acknowledged the very same question we’re asking today.
“And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” – Matthew 6:7-8
So God knows what we need before we ask. So we shouldn’t even bother, right?
Wrong. Next, Jesus said:
“…your Father knows what you need before you ask him…This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’” – Matt. 6:8-13
What’s Jesus saying here? Your Father knows what you need, but ask anyway.
Why? Because He wants us to.
Blaise Pascal once wrote that “God instituted prayer to grant humans the dignity of causality.” In other words, God has decided to invite us into the creative process. And not just with our prayers, but with all of our actions. The cognitive dissonance I hear when people ask questions like, “If God already knows the future, why pray?” is that you could easily apply the same flawed logic to anything we do in hopes of making a difference:
If God already knows what’s going to happen to poor people, why should I go feed them at the shelter?
If God already knows the future of our nation, why should I vote?
Because God has granted us the dignity of causality – the ability to change the course of events, whether it’s through generosity or volunteerism or prayer.
The question remains, “Does prayer change God’s mind or not?” The answer is simple. Who cares? He’s God, and He’s invited you into the process. That should be enough. If God has already preordained everything and knows the outcome already, then maybe He preordained you to pray and your prayers somehow play a part in what He’s going to do. Or maybe your so-called unanswered prayers are going to shape your character now in a way that saves you from going through hell later.
After Mother Teresa died in 1997, someone found words she’d scrawled on the wall next to the cot where she slept:
“People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway. If you are sincere, people may deceive you. Be sincere anyway. What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway. The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway. In the final analysis, it is between you and God.”
I would add, “Sometimes prayer feels pointless. Pray anyway.” Your heavenly Father knows what you need before you ask. Ask anyway. One way or another, there is power when God’s people pray.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 4:6-7
