"Why pray? What is the point of prayer when God knows the future and is already in control of everything. If we cannot change God's mind, why should we pray?"

Why pray? Why pray when God is already in perfect control of everything? Why pray when God knows what we are going to ask before we ask it?

(1) Prayer is a form of serving God (Luke 2:36-38). We pray because God commands us to pray (Philippians 4:6-7).

(2) Prayer is exemplified for us by Christ and the early church (Mark 1:35; Acts 1:14; 2:42; 3:1; 4:23-31; 6:4; 13:1-3). If Jesus thought it was worthwhile to pray, we should also.

(3) God intends for prayer to be the means of obtaining His solutions in a number of situations:

a) Preparation for major decisions (Luke 6:12-13)
b) Overcoming demonic barriers in lives (Matthew 17:14-21)
c) The gathering of workers for the spiritual harvest (Luke 10:2)
d) The gaining of strength to overcome temptation (Matthew 26:41)
e) The means of strengthening others spiritually (Ephesians 6:18-19)

(4) We have God's promise that our prayers are not in vain, even if we don't receive specifically what we asked for (Matthew 6:6; Romans 8:26-27).

(5) He has promised that when we ask for things that are in accordance with His will, He will give us what we ask for (1 John 5:14-15).

Sometimes He delays His answers according to His wisdom and for our benefit. In these situations, we are to be diligent and persistent in prayer (Matthew 7:7; Luke 18:1-8). Prayer should not be seen as our means of getting God to do our will on earth, but rather as a means of getting God's will done on earth. God’s wisdom far exceeds our own.

In situations for which we do not know specifically what God's will is, prayer is a means of discerning God’s will. If Peter had not asked for Jesus to call for him to come out of the boat and onto the water, he would have missed that opportunity (Matthew 14:28-29). If the Syrian woman with the demon-influenced daughter had not prayed to Christ, her daughter would not have been made whole (Mark 7:26-30). If the blind man outside of Jericho would not have called out to Christ, he would have still been blind (Luke 18:35-43). God has said that often we go without because we do not ask (James 4:2). In one sense, prayer is like sharing the gospel with people. We do not know who will respond to the message of the gospel until we share it. It is the same with prayer: we will never see the results of answered prayer until we pray.

A lack of prayer demonstrates the a lack of faith and a lack of trust in God’s Word. We pray to demonstrate our faith in God, that He will do as He has promised in His Word, and will bless our lives abundantly more than we could ask or hope for (Ephesians 3:20). Prayer is our primary means of seeing God work in others' lives. Because it is our means of "plugging into" God's power, it is our means of defeating a foe and his army (Satan and his army) that we are powerless to overcome by ourselves. Therefore, may God find us often before His throne, for we have a High Priest in heaven who can identify with all that we go through (Hebrews 4:15-16). We have His promise that the fervent prayer of a righteous man accomplishes much (James 5:16-18). May God glorify His name in our lives as we believe in Him enough to come to Him often in prayer.

Article by gotquestions.org

I agree that it 'plugs' us into God.
Whenever I think about how important it is for us to talk to God, and whether it changes His mind or not, think about you as a parent, or your own parents.
I think of my children- asking me for something that I had not considered giving to them, and when they ask, knowing I could say yes or no, it is a blessing to me. I may give it or I may not, but they have given the choice to me and are not holding back.
I wonder if God feels like that when we ask from Him.

I also think of Abraham, hearing that God is going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah and knowing that Lot lived there, he was bold enough to approach God. God allowed Abraham to talk him down from total destruction, to not destroying it if 50, then 45, then 40, then 30, then 20, then 10 righteous people could be found there. God could have told Abraham to stay out of His business, but He didn't. He let Abraham determine the amount of righteous people needed to save those towns. (Genesis 18) --sure the towns were still destroyed, but God stayed by His word. Ten righteous people were not found.
Lot negotiated for his own life and his family's lives with the angels. They told Lot that they could not destroy the town until he was in the mountains (God destroyed the towns but did not destroy one righteous person, going further than Abraham considered doing). Lot did not think he could make it to the mountains before the destruction overtook him, and asked to go to the little town of Zoar. And the angels agreed. They are the voice box of God, so to speak, so it was okay with God that Lot negotiated a different escape route. (Genesis 19)
I think prayer has more power than we can possibly imagine, especially when we are praying God's will and for intercession for others. Just because we can't see the results doesn't mean they aren't there. I am glad that people take the time to pray for me!!

They are right reasons for sure and in Egypt we also pray so God help us against poverty, diseases and to soften rulers hearts, Give them wisdom.

I think praying is like crying, Some people cry because of some troubles that will never be solved and despite that, they just keep on crying because tears help them somehow to stand or tolerate an endless pain, I believe craying is synonymous to praying and we usually use the word cry to mean that we pray so when I say I cry to the Lord, I mean I pray strongly to the Lord.
I think love and pain are reasons too for praying, tears is a need especially in hard times even if there is no hope that God will change his decision.

Very good Chad.

"Prayer should be as natural as breathing" E W Kenyon

That's a beautiful and profound description of prayer. Whatever is deepest in our heart - joy or pain - finds its expression in prayer. I'll read the Psalms with new eyes from now.

Thank you

Thank you very much for your encourgement and pray for me.

The bible tells us prayer is communicating with God.
The first mention of prayer is found in Genesis 4:26
And we see it continual throughout the bible.
In Luke 18:1The bible tells us men are always to pray and not to faint.
Jesus our example showed us He prayed in Mark 1:35
Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.

Amen Chad Very nice!!And Larry!! Prayer should be as natural as breathing!! VERY NICE!! I will write that one down as well!Ramy love and tears,nice!! And sweetygrowing not to faint,and another excellent example as well!! Mark 1:35 I for one am so thankful to all of you!! Sometimes I am not always up to snuff!! LOL But LOVE is here,because I see Jesus in each one of you!! Matt 7:7-9!! we get what we expect,Praise God!! an answer!!

thank you so much Chad and the others as well, the importance of prayer can never be over-emphasized. I still have more to say on this topic........