Article
Q: "If God knows everything, why should we talk to Him?"
A: Another great question! I'll try and keep this answer short and sweet. Here it is in a nutshell:
First of all, in any relationship communication is super important. Whether it is a boyfriend/girlfriend, husband/wife, parent/kid, we all have to communicate, or there is no relationship. Sometimes you talk because there is an important piece of information to communicate, but other times it is just because you want to talk.
Sometimes when I come home at night and I've had a hard day, I want to talk to my wife. I guarantee that sometimes some of the things I am saying are things Peichi already knows, doesn't really care about, or she is too tired herself to really want to hear. But, she listens to me anyway. She does this for 2 reasons: First, she loves me and she knows that listening to me talk brings us closer together, even if she already knows what I'm going to say. Second, she knows that sometimes she comes home wanting to talk, and I listen to her. That is how a relationship works.
Now, imagine that every day I came home from work and just talked non-stop at my wife about all the things I wanted her to do for me. I told her all that I needed her to do, all the things that were bothering me, everything that hurt, and wanted to know when she'd get to doing all that I wanted done. Then I'd fall asleep. How long would our marriage last? Not long, probably, because that wouldn't really be communicating. It has to go both ways.
Why is it that some of us do that same thing with God? We just tell Him all we want. Yes, He already knows all that, but He loves just hearing us tell Him what is in our heads and hearts. But He also has a lot that He wants to tell us. Isn't it interesting that we spend 90%+ of our time talking at Him and less than 10% listening to Him, when we can't really tell Him anything He doesn't know, and almost everything He could tell us is something that we don't know? Maybe we have things backwards.
So how should we pray then? Well, there are many ways. I often write things down and then change pen colors and just wait and listen, and I feel God whispering into my heart. Or sometimes I just stop and quiet myself. Either way, the Bible says to "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." (Ps 37:4) That means that when you get really close to God you begin to value the things that He values. You will desire the things of God, and He will give them to you in abundance.