Keep me safe, my God, for in you I take refuge. I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing. … Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure.” (Psalm 16:1-2,5)
Why pray at all if God already knows what I need? Good question.
The answer is partly clear and partly a mystery. The clear part is that prayer is a declaration of dependence on God. It is an acknowledgement that, whatever the specific answer to the prayer is, we are dependent on God - apart from him we have no good thing. It is a declaration that he alone is our portion and our cup and that our safety and security is in him. We can always count on receiving the answer of dependence on God no matter what else we are praying for. Maybe this is the part of prayer that God is most interested in. He wants us to come to a point of trust and dependence in every answer - acknowledging that his answer is the one we really desire.
It is also true that praying to a sovereign God matters and moves things - even if this is a mystery. We know God is sovereign, that He is the king - and we know that our prayer matters even if we can’t explain how that works. We are back to faith and dependence and submitting ourselves to Him.
I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord …”
Action: Pray
“Father in heaven, in you I take refuge. You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing. You alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure. Teach me to wait on you and depend on you and to trust you.”