Why pray...

It seems the closer we get to the holiday season, which should be such a joyful time, I see so many people hurting… sick family members, financial difficulty, job loss, sick children, home losses…. I am surrounded by so many that are in the midst of hurtful situations. I could not even count the number of people I have prayed for in the past few weeks, because that is sometimes the only thing to offer. I was talking to one of my friends last week, who is not a Christian,and she asked me why I prayed if I thought God already knew the outcome. Good question, but I did not have a good answer. I know why I pray, and I have seen God answer prayers, but I have also seen them not be answered in the way I wanted. Why pray? Tonight I am sitting at the side of someone who brought me one of my soul mates and best friends, Jen and I have been praying. Her father is very sick, and the only thing I can offer is to sit with him while his wife has to work, and pray. I have been praying quietly, I have been praying out loud, and I have been praying feeling helpless. But for what? If God knows the outcome, as I believe he does, then why would I even bother? I can quote many scriptures as to how God commands prayer (I Thessalonians 5:17) and how God does answer prayers (I John 14:13-14, John 15:17), but to answer to someone who does not believe the Bible is difficult. I simply told her I could not get through life without it. I have never thought I had a difficult life, but I have been in many situations where my faith has been tested and I now I am finding myself there again. I find myself digging my feet in the ground thinking I can get through this on my own, and I am gently reminded that I can’t. Unfortunately my gentle reminding likes to come at 4 am, but when it does I pray. I pray for help through difficult situations, I pray for healing of those around me, I pray for my family, I pray for forgiveness, I pray that God will help me to rely on Him rather than getting out my super woman cape and trying to do it all, only to fail in the end…. I pray. Here I am sitting now and it is 2 am and I am praying. Tonight I am praying out of out of a sense of love, respect and helplessness, because there is nothing else I can do but pray with every ounce of my being for my friends dad. He is quite sedated now on the ventilator, and doesn’t know I am even sitting with him, but I will continue to pray.