Is there a reason for intercessory prayer?

[dbreiden]

Since God is omnipotent and omniscient, and since all things work for good for those who love the Lord, what is the point of intercessory prayer? We can’t “earn” what we want by praying. God gives us what we need whether we ask for it or not. I even wonder if praying for the grace to accept God’s will for me has a point: God will give me the grace or he won’t – does asking him really make a difference? I know it must, but I’ve seen writings that suggest praying acts more like therapy for the person praying. So: what’s the point of intercessory prayer? Note: I want to believe it works, but I’m having trouble understanding.

 

[Fr.Charles_Grondin]

God can choose any method He wants to answer prayers. However, God can be all good and still not answer any of our prayers. God, technically, owes us nothing. However God loves us and chooses to answer our prayers. So why does intercessory prayer seem necessary?

1. We are all sinners of varying degrees. Sometimes our prayers are tainted by sin. Intercessory prayer means that someone perhaps holier than I am is also praying for the same thing and perhaps their prayer will be more pleasing to God.
2. Our relationship to God is not a simple 1-to-1 relationship. We don’t pray “*my *father”, we pray “*our *father.” God asks us to pray for each other to reinforce to us that we are interdependent upon one another both in this life and the next.