Why does Jesus tell us to go pray in secret? Remember Jesus also says in Matthew 6: for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. So- Why go to our secret place and petition God if he already knows our petitions and our needs? The point is this- Prayer doesn’t change God, it changes us. The point of petition is not to pray fervently for what we want. It’s a time to allow God to work on our hearts so our petitions come in line with what God wants.