The Purpose of a Prayer Request

[Coexist]

Hello to all of you beautiful people!

First question that has been on my mind recently: is the purpose of a prayer request misinterpreted?

What I mean is, why do people pray for each other? I understand the meaning behind it as far as giving the asker a sense of comfort because others are thinking about them in their time of need. HOWEVER, why should the prayers of others alter a situation they are not involved in? Every day I hear and see prayer requests (i.e. "Please pray for my sick father," "About to head out to my interview... pray for me!" "Trying to find peace and love in my heart, prayers appreciated").

Isn't what really is going on here "please think about me" ?
Because the idea of God keeping a tally of how many prayers he has gotten for something does not seem to follow the ideals God has set forth about Himself in His Word, or what I feel Him to be in my heart.

Any thoughts on the topic of prayer requests?

Thank you

 

[aspen]

Prayer changes us - it does not change God. I think of prayer as practicing love, which is the reason we were created.

 

[rand]

i think we should pray like Mary (Jesus' mother) did when she told him about the wedding party being out of wine. He said what has that got to do with me? My time has not yet come. Then she--pretty much ignoring what He told her--told the servants to listen to him and do exactly what He tells them to do. Think about that. His time had not yet come, however, a believer (Mary) asked Him, believed He could and expected He could and expected He would. And guess what--He did. The prayer of a righteous man avails much, and Romans 10:4 tells us that if we believe, we are righteous. But I don't look at prayer as a way to get things or to get God to move or to inform God of things going on down here, I think of prayer as talking to Him, about everything and I do it throughout the day everyday. I rarely bow my head and close my eyes to talk to Him, I just talk to him as I'm working, or driving, or doing whatever I'm doing. Sometimes I do just sit and talk to Him like He's right there in the room with me, because He is.

But when we pray for request for someone else, we should pray in faith just like Mary did. If we ask God to act if it be His will, That's not faith, that's hope.