If God Already Knows, Why Pray?

The Bible teaches that God is all-powerful and sovereign over his creation. But the Bible also teaches that prayer is commanded by God and is a tangible way by which we can affect ourselves and creation. How can we hold such seemingly contradictory ideas at the same time? This week, Vince is joined by Kathy Branzell, President of the National Day of Prayer Task Force, to discuss some of the practical realities of prayer in the midst of trials. What do we do when prayer seems hopeless?

Question Asked in This Episode: "A friend of mine was recently diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer at age 24, and I'm having a difficult time praying about it. I don't see the point of praying if the outcome is already determined. Prayer is something that I have always struggled with. If God is all-knowing and he has the future mapped out, what is the purpose of prayer? Does prayer really have any influence on God? In addition, if he already knows all of our thoughts and ways, as is said in Psalm 139:1-3, what is the purpose of expressing them to him verbally?"

Have a question you want Ask Away to cover? Email us at [email protected] or use the hashtag #askrzim on Twitter. You can also talk about this episode with fellow podcast listeners and the RZIM team on our online community.Find out more about the National Day of Prayer here: https://www.nationaldayofprayer.org/

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Vince Vitale - @VinceRVitaleJo Vitale - @Joanna_VitaleMichael Davis - @mdav1979