What's the point of praying? [Spirituality & Religion]

[i]For those of you who are religious...[/i]Religious views depict God as all-knowing, so what difference does it make if you pray? Wouldn't he already know what's going on?

This post isn't meant to bash religious people (my whole family is religious) , so I'm not looking for negative replies. Just wondering about the mindset behind this. This is something they didn't ever really seem to explain lol

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JBird · F

I am atheist. As much as I see that praying is useless in some situations, it can have a calming effect

AmmieBell · 18-21, F

@JBird Right, like maybe admitting that it's out of your hands and that you're putting your faith in someone else's hands that you trust. That would definitely make sense

JBird · F

@AmmieBell exactly. But some people see it as making your wish come true type of deal.

canusernamebemyusername · M

@JBird There has been a study suggesting prayer may actually be worse for some people. Here is the case in question.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/04/060403133554.htm

AmmieBell · 18-21, F

@JBird That's definitely what I thought growing up. I'd see people praying for selfish reasons and that's probably where I started not understanding the point of praying lol

JBird · F

@canusernamebemyusername prayers don't work on some people including me. When I pray, I think of bad memories and start to cry, making the whole day worse. That's why I don't pray.

canusernamebemyusername · M

@JBird Yeah. I notice a similar effect for me. Like things seem worse when ever I have prayed. So if I really care about something I wont pray. I know that is probably some type of hypervigilant bias on my part but I have learned to work through it the best way I know how. Which is not to pray. lol