I’ve heard the question asked: Since God knows the future and what He is going to do, what is the point of praying? Whatever will happen is going to happen.

I think the best answer to this is the answer that Jesus gave to the Sadducees – Ye do err, not knowing the Scriptures, or the power of God.

Let us consider 2 Kings chapter 20: In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live. Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the LORD, saying, I beseech thee, O LORD, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore. And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, that the word of the LORD came to him, saying, Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the LORD. And I will add unto thy days fifteen years; and I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for mine own sake, and for my servant David’s sake. 

Hezekiah had a fatal disease; it’s very rough to have a doctor pronounce that one has a fatal disease with little time left, but consider that this was no doctor, but God Himself that told Hezekiah that he would not recover. I would be discouraged in such a situation, wouldn’t you? Hezekiah did not decide that whatever was going to happen would happen; he prayed to God, and God not only healed Hezekiah, but granted him another 15 years. So much for fatalism!

This passage is a great encouragement to pray, no matter how dark our circumstances may be — and this is confirmed in many places in the Bible: “…men ought always to pray…” (Luke 18:1) and “…ye have not, because ye ask not…” We have the example of Moses, when he was receiving the ten commandments, and the people turned to idolatry while he was away. God told Moses that He would consume that nation and raise up a new nation from Moses, but Moses prayed and “changed” God’s mind (Exodus 32). These are just a few examples.

Related to this thought is the question: If God never changes, how we we “change” His mind through prayer?

To answer this properly, we must understand God’s omnipresence – not merely that He is in all places at the same time, but that He simultaneously exists in all times, but we live inside time. God has a never-changing plan as to how things will unfold. However, we live one day at a time. So, when the Scriptures say that God changed His mind, this is from our perspective. To take the case with Hezekiah above, Hezekiah would have died if he had not prayed to God, but God, knowing that Hezekiah prayed, has always determined that He would answer that prayer and grant 15 more years to Hezekiah. God cannot be surprised. We, on the other hand, cannot see what lies ahead: let us trust Him… and pray.