Who Benefits from Prayer - Certainly, Not God

I grew up believing that prayer was a kind of heavenly transaction — you speak, God listens, and maybe, just maybe, things change. I prayed when I was scared, when I wanted something, when I didn’t know what else to do. And sometimes, I still do.

But somewhere along the way, I started asking myself a quieter, deeper question: Who is this really for?

Because if God is truly all-knowing — if God already sees everything, understands everything, and lacks nothing — then what exactly is my little prayer adding? Am I telling God something He doesn’t already know? Am I reminding Him to care?

That idea doesn’t sit well with me anymore.

It feels more honest to say: prayer doesn’t change God. It changes me.

God knows all — all that’s in our hearts, all that’s in our minds, even the things we haven’t yet figured out how to say. So when we speak to Him, it’s not because He needs the information. It’s because we need the clarity. Prayer helps us to understand ourselves. And somehow, through that process, it deepens our relationship with Him.

When I pray, I slow down. I notice what’s been bubbling beneath the surface — the worries I’ve been ignoring, the gratitude I haven’t expressed, the grief I haven’t allowed myself to feel. I start to see my own heart more clearly. Not because someone is listening, but because I am.

Prayer, for me now, isn’t about asking for things. It’s about naming things. Naming what hurts. Naming what matters. Naming who I love. It’s less of a message to the heavens and more of a mirror held up to myself.

And sometimes, in that quiet space, I find a strange kind of peace. Not because the world has changed — it hasn’t — but because I have.

I’ve come to believe that prayer is less about reaching God and more about reaching inward. It gives me a place to rest my thoughts, my hopes, my fears. It reminds me that I’m not just a machine moving through tasks — I’m a human being trying to make sense of things.

And in that sense, prayer still matters. Not because God needs it, but because we do.

We need places to be honest. We need ways to feel less alone. We need rituals that help us connect — to ourselves, to others, and yes, even to God. Because every time we open ourselves in prayer, that vulnerability, that sincerity — it draws us closer to Him. Not because He’s moved by new information, but because we are moved by the act of showing up.

So if you pray, keep praying. Just know that it’s okay if it’s not about convincing a divine being to act on your behalf. It’s okay if it’s simply about being still long enough to hear your own soul speak — and in that stillness, to sense the presence of the One who already knows you completely.

Because at the end of the day, prayer doesn’t benefit God.

It benefits us — and it draws us closer to Him.