Prayer mystifies me. I love to pray, love to talk to God about things, but I often wonder what the point is.
Is it about persuading God to agree with me? Hardly.
Is it like giving obeisance to a great cosmic vending machine? I don’t think so.
Is it acting like a voter in a democracy, where the majority wins, so if more people pray, the more effective it is? That doesn’t sound like God.
I have more questions than answers. But Luke frequently wrote how Jesus spent the night in prayer, and if He was God, and needed a lot of time to pray, well, how can I think I can function well without it?
I do think that it may be time to reword the cliche prayer changes things. I find that prayer changes me. And maybe that’s why God asks us to pray. There is something beautiful and exciting, to think that we are still people in process, still being changed more and more into His image!
Tis a Gift to Receive 
I’ve wondered the same thing. I realize God wants to hear from us and we need to talk to Him but He knows everything we tell him anyway. Recently I was praying for one of my friends and I used her last name to make sure God didn’t confuse her with another of my friends with the same name 🙂 After I thought that through, I had to giggle because God doesn’t need last names!
Keep posting, I love to read your thoughts and questions. Oh, did you read the May 19 Slice of Infinity? That was really good and I’d love for the rest of the writing class to see it. Maybe I’ll post it on the blog.
Vicki
Have you ever read the book “The Papa Prayer” by Larry Crabb? Judging by your questions and ponderings, I think you would enjoy it. I enjoy your posts—the ponderings and the everyday life stuff. You have a way of making everyday things come alive.