Why do we pray?. Whats the point?

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Ive seen quotes online from Mother Teresa, The Pope etc, saying prayer isn’t to ask for anything. So why do we pray? I thought that’s what prayer was for to ask for help if we are in need?.

Yet, I see quotes from other Saints or The Bible etc saying things like “Cast all your anxieties on him”, “Ask God and he will provide” etc etc. Theyre contradictive!!!.

So, if it isn’t to ask for anything, and God knows what we need without us asking then what is the point of praying?.

So am I not supposed to ask God to help me???.

Confused but curious.
 
Trotters80 said:
Ive seen quotes online from Mother Teresa, The Pope etc, saying prayer isn’t to ask for anything. So why do we pray? I thought that’s what prayer was for to ask for help if we are in need?.

Yet, I see quotes from other Saints or The Bible etc saying things like “Cast all your anxieties on him”, “Ask God and he will provide” etc etc. Theyre contradictive!!!.

So, if it isn’t to ask for anything, and God knows what we need without us asking then what is the point of praying?.

So am I not supposed to ask God to help me???.

Confused but curious.
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No contradiction because there is more than one form of prayer. There’s petitionary–asking for things/for people’s needs–which is the kind you mean. There’s meditative–thinking about spiritual things, such as Scripture readings or using a statue, painting, icon to focus one’s prayer, and there’s contemplative, which is the kind Mother Teresa was referring to in which we think of nothing, but simply put our souls in God’s presence and let the Holy Spirit speak to our hearts. All are fine, but meditative and contemplative take some practice and require we be mentally and spiritually prepared to do them. There are books on the topic. Just Google Catholic meditation or contemplation for examples. 🙂
 
For me the point of praying if that is what I do, is to help me to remember to become a better person. A few examples of these reminders I use are:
Code: 
 "Allow me to decrease that you may increase"

 "Live simply so that others may simply live"

 "Living by the flesh yields death, but by the spirit life"

 I suppose the only real prayer I use is "Thank you"  I guess the point for me would be that I would be transformed from a louse into someone that is worthy to be called friend.
 
In a formal sense there are four forms of prayer as the Catholic Church defines it:

•Adoration: Praising God

•Contrition: Asking for God’s forgiveness

•Petition: Asking God for a favor

•Thanksgiving: Showing God gratitude

Meditation and contemplation are prayer techniques that fit into all four categories.

Here’s a link you may find helpful: dummies.com/how-to/content/a-look-at-key-catholic-prayers.html.
 
Trotters80 said:
Ive seen quotes online from Mother Teresa, The Pope etc, saying prayer isn’t to ask for anything. So why do we pray? I thought that’s what prayer was for to ask for help if we are in need?.
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Why do you talk with your beloved?

In part it is to build up your relationship and to share your lives. Sometimes it may be to ask for help, but that’s certainly not the only reason.

Prayer is no different. It’s a form of communication and building up connections. Sometimes it may include asking for help, but hopefully it’s not only for that reason.
 
There’s most likely a Bunch of reasons we pray,
You could pray just to give thanks ,
To show your appreciation for your existence ,
 
We pray b/c God has EMPOWERED us
to be FELLOW-builders of the Kingdom of
Christ. “Whoever believes in me will do
what I am doing, GREATER things will
he do b/c I’m going to the Father, you can
ask ANYTHING in my Name and I will
do it, that the Father may be glorified in
the Son [thru the Church].” John 14:12
b/c at the time Jesus spoke this, it was
BEFORE the birth of the Church on
Pentecost!!
 
Trotters80 said:
Ive seen quotes online from Mother Teresa, The Pope etc, saying prayer isn’t to ask for anything. So why do we pray? I thought that’s what prayer was for to ask for help if we are in need?.

Yet, I see quotes from other Saints or The Bible etc saying things like “Cast all your anxieties on him”, “Ask God and he will provide” etc etc. Theyre contradictive!!!.

So, if it isn’t to ask for anything, and God knows what we need without us asking then what is the point of praying?.

So am I not supposed to ask God to help me???.

Confused but curious.
Click to expand...
Great question and one I often contemplate. I believe the sole purpose for prayer is to better align you thoughts and actions to the will of God. Prayers of petition are silly to me because God has a plan and he does not change his mind.

Pax
 
godisgood77 said:
Great question and one I often contemplate. I believe the sole purpose for prayer is to better align you thoughts and actions to the will of God. Prayers of petition are silly to me because God has a plan and he does not change his mind.

Pax
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God does answer people’s petitions …healing, and help in many different situations.
 
truetofaith said:
God does answer people’s petitions …healing, and help in many different situations.
Click to expand...
That’s fine perspective for you. I don’t subscribe to that idea though… I simply pray as Jesus did in Gethsemane … Not my will Father, but yours.
 
As has already been mentioned, prayer by definition is communication.
It is best described as “the lifting up of hearts and minds to God.”

In the gospel story of Martha and Mary, when Martha is chastised for her busy-ness while Mary is said to “have chosen the better part,” it is not because there is anything wrong with what Martha was doing. Mary, on the other hand was being attentive to her guest.

Prayer is not meant to change God, but to allow God to transform us into who He wants us to be. It is a time to spend with the One we love, to build our relationship.

Within the gospels, we do see that as Jesus moves He is always in the process of healing, on his way to healing somebody, or just coming from healing somebody. I have no problem asking God to heal me “according to God’s Will.” I know that He can heal me instantaneously if He desires. Any difficulties I may have in life may lead to increased empathy on my part. Prayer means that God is with me during my journey. I am not alone.

Jesus said, “I am the vine and you are the branches. Apart from me you can do nothing. With God all things are possible.”
Also, it only takes faith the size of a mustard seed to move mountains.
 
Prayers of petition are certainly Biblical, so you could rephrase the OP’s question as “Why should we pray petitionary prayers.” I don’t see an answer to the heart of OP’s question herein. Right?
 
Trotters80 said:
Ive seen quotes online from Mother Teresa, The Pope etc, saying prayer isn’t to ask for anything. So why do we pray? I thought that’s what prayer was for to ask for help if we are in need?.

Yet, I see quotes from other Saints or The Bible etc saying things like “Cast all your anxieties on him”, “Ask God and he will provide” etc etc. Theyre contradictive!!!.

So, if it isn’t to ask for anything, and God knows what we need without us asking then what is the point of praying?.

So am I not supposed to ask God to help me???.

Confused but curious.
Click to expand...
To reply to the bolded part of your post, God still wants us to pray even though he knows what we need. Jesus talked about this in Mt.6:5-9 in which he says, “And when you pray…” more than once. He assumes we pray because God requires us to do so–for many reasons, but primarily because he loves us and wants us to talk to him–to take all our needs to him. This benefits us because the Holy Spirit speaks through our prayers and consoles our spirits in ways he doesn’t unless we open ourselves to him.

Jesus also stated that God knows what we need before ask, so we are to ask simply. Jesus gave us the Our Father as an example of the kind of prayer he means. In the Our Father we ask for certain things–things God certainly knows we need, but he wants us to ask, out of gratitude and so we cultivate a spirit of love for him and our neighbor. I hope that helps. Please look up the verses. I didn’t want to clutter up the post by quoting them. 🙂
 
MarcoPolo said:
Prayers of petition are certainly Biblical, so you could rephrase the OP’s question as “Why should we pray petitionary prayers.” I don’t see an answer to the heart of OP’s question herein. Right?
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What did Jesus say whenever he healed somebody?
He commended the person for his/her faith.
When we pray petionary prayers “according to God’s Will” we express our belief that God does in fact want to heal us.Sickness and illness does not come from God.

Answered prayer increases faith within the individual and brings witnesses to the healing to Faith. Of course, those who merely see with physical eyes may remain skeptical.
The relational development that God seeks is more important.
“Which is it easier to say? Your sins are forgiven you or rise, pick up your mat and walk?”
 
One of the saints who was martyred by Henry VIII who was his chancellor, was a lawyer. He had a very busy practise yet each day he said he spent 2 hours in prayer to start the day off.

We can’t be too busy to pray.

Mother Teresa was riding in a cab with a priest. He told her that he was so busy in his work that he didn’t have time to pray like he should. She told him he was too busy.

The previous Pope John Paul prayed the entire rosary, 15 decades, every day. Is any of our scheduals busier than his was?

One 5 decade rosary takes between 15-20 minutes on the average. Our Lady said to pray her rosary.

We have people all the time who give reasons why they drifted off from practise of their faith: Mass is boring, Sunday is the only day I have for me, didn’t see any need for it anymore, the scandals were too much, I lost my enthusiasm, Sermons aren’t interesting, I don’t know anybody, I don’t agree with everything, …

But it would be interesting to ask the question, have you been praying 15-20 minutes a day?

Someone once said that reading about our faith, or thinking about our faith is not enough to gain the graces we need. We have to ask for them in prayer. In the hail mary of the rosary we ask Mary to pray for us NOW and at the hour of our death. In the litany of the saints, we ask each saint to pray for us. We must ask for grace. It isn’t enough to think and ponder, which is good at times. But it isn’t asking. We need to pray for our children and for one another, and ask for blessings. In the Mass, we are constantly asking.

Here is what Mary explained to Catherine Laboure in 1830 about the picture of her on her Miraculous Medal she wanted everyone to wear.

During this apparition, Mary’s hands had 3 rings on each finger. Each ring gave off rays of colored light. A few rings did not. Mary said that the lights radiating from the rings are graces that people ASK for. The rings that didn’t radiate light she said were graces not given because they were NOT asked for.

How many people have said, I don’t feel right about my faith any more, or I’ve changed and I’m not quite as dedicated as I was. Grace is essential, there is no way around it, and it is gotten thru prayer every day.

There may be a sneaky feeling by some that I’m over doing this a bit. Not at all. No prayer, no life. Just that simple. How many people do you think left the faith when praying 20-30 minutes a day? And that is minimum. How many people do you think would stay away if they prayed 20-30 minutes a day?
 
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