Why does God need prayers/sacrifices in order to act?

[300WhiteKnights]

It has been said often that we should pray for people. We pray for people to get better, for relationships to improve, and for people to convert. But my question is WHY? I understand that these are all good things, but why does God need us to ask Him to convert an atheist? Why cant he just do it?

People have also told me that there are people in Hell right now because no one prayed for them. If people had only prayed for them, they would have been in heaven. But my question is WHY would I have to pray for atheists in order for them to convert? Why does God need prayers in order to be motivated to act? This question has always confused me for a long time.

 

[bobballen_18]

I am going to relate to you my very limited knowledge on it, but here’s my vague understanding of it: God knows what’s going to happen, regardless, but I think I once heard that God takes our prayers into account. That is, he predetermines that if someone prays for that person, then so and so will happen, but if one does not pray for that person, then something else will happen.

And then you would probably ask, WHY does he make it that way? Probably because He wants us to realize the importance of prayer. Prayer is a way for us to speak to God and grow in our relationship with Him.

That is my short answer of limited knowledge. Does it make sense?

 

[Nom_the_Wise]

God does not want anything. If God wanted anything then that would mean that there was something lacking in God; God is fullness overflowing.

God has a Will. Part of God’s Will for us is to pray, to God and for other people. It is partly a matter of obedience, and as bobballen_18 said, God takes our prayers into account. So it is obedience and also cooperation with the Divine Economy. Prayer and sacrifice for others also feeds us quite literally: food for the spirit.

Somewhere in scripture it says (John?) that it is the Holy Spirit that helps our prayer (implying, essentially, that we’re no good at it). God doesn’t “need” prayers and sacrifices: we do.

 

[Nom_the_Wise]

There’s also a whole section on this in the Catechism. I need to stop coming on here late.

 

[greenwoj]

Matthew 9:1-2 (NAB Revised Edition):

The Healing of a Paralytic
1 He entered a boat, made the crossing, and came into his own town.
2 And there people brought to him a paralytic lying on a stretcher. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Courage, child, your sins are forgiven.”

Jesus healed the paralytic when he saw “their” faith. Scripture doesn’t specify who they are… friends? sympathizers? Who knows. But Jesus used one of His first miracles to make the point that prayerful charity carries weight in spiritual matters. Perhaps this reflects the nature of reality in the Body of Christ. Perhaps this is yet another means that the Lord chooses to make His mercy available to us. We don’t deserve any of it of course, but He offers it to us anyway-- praise be to Jesus Christ!