What is the logic behind prayer?

[whyskyhigh]

healing

[Raag]

God has a perfect plan.

I want something ==> I pray for the things I want, not knowing it is or is not in god's perfect plan (but I assert my personal desire anyway).

My wish was in god's plan and I got what I wanted ==> Thank god for providing it.

My wish wasn't in god's plan ==> Well, thy will be done. You are the lord, I will not intervene in your divine plan.

My wish is delayed ==> God tests me and my patience. I love god and pray to him daily so that my wish will be heard and granted.

...a win-win-win nutcase scenario that any dumb person can be a part of, selling it and buying it alike.

[Daniel]

To ask god and plead him to do something and help you..... studies have proven that it actually works as a placebo effect.

[john b. loved]

There is no logic in your logic. God gives men autonomy to live their life as they please, but will call all men to judgment. God tells us to pray because unless we express our desire before Him He will leave things as they are. It has nothing to do with changing the will of God, but affirming it.
Concerning free will, you are free as a citizen to do what you like unless it violates the law of the land, in which case you will pay the penalty. If you violate the command of God, how much more severe will be the punishment, and especially if you violate the rights of those who God loves ?

Now the reason it makes no sense to you is because you have no faith. You believe your own opinion more than the word of God, and the result is you are in darkness, and those in darkness cannot see where they came from or where they are going.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3KU-fvd6lc

[Brent Oh]

. . God. Help someone.

. . Blankprayer is the blank check.
. . God will write the name of someone and the help content.
. . Supply God with Blankprayer.
. . Blankprayer is the new love. Blankprayer is the new heaven.
. . Who can understand the mystery of Blankprayer?

. . Mufillyou 740

[Love Thy Neighbor]

Prayer is a conversation with God. No one should only go to God to ask for things. We should also praise Him, repent, and thank Him. When I pray, I talk to God. He is my father, my Lord, my Savior, my best friend, my provider, my comforter, my professor, my doctor, my lawyer, my sword against evil, my glass of wine after a long tough day, my EVERYTHING and the only thing I can show off and be proud of... Why would I not want to communicate with the Almighty God who is everything to me??

[Astrid]

It really depends on who you're asking. Some people pray to feel connected to a higher power. Some people pray to attempt to change a situation that is out of their control. And some people pray for show.
The philosophy behind prayer in the Judeo-Christian, American context has been marred by the popular culture of "what I want is right, all pain is bad" and the fallacy of the prosperity gospel.
Prayer is meant to be a conversation between you and the divine. Prayer can be supplication, as you see constantly on facebook (i.e. "i have a job interview/big test/date/surgery/etc tomorrow. Pray it goes well!"), but when prayer is ONLY attempting to turn one's situation to outcomes that boost the social standing and ease of one's life, the point is missed.
Prayer is talking to God. It can be yelling or thankful or pleading or questioning or conversational. There is a large debate between free-will and predestination (feel free to look that up if you want...it's much to complicated to answer here), but if we take the concept of free-will then you are correct: we make our choices and deal with the positive or negative consequences of those decisions. That does not cut out the possibility of God intervening should we make the decision to pray for a certain situation. While everything may have meaning if we take the time to determine what the event brought to us, that does not mean that everything that happens was for good.
If you are truly curious about these sorts of questions, I would suggest either taking a few religious studies courses or speaking with pastors/priests/rabbis/seminarians/yogis/etc. You will probably get a better understanding or at least have a real conversation where you can come to your own conclusions.

[skinnycar787]

There is no logic to prayer. Talking to imaginary invisible people is an irrational act.

[robert c]

communication with God , prayer is any , thought, word, or deed done for the glory of God

[Ahmed]

Muslims (are obligated atleast) pray five times a day (commonly takes 25 minutes) through those five prayers, one thanks God minimum of 34 times so that not a single day passes when one doesnt thank God at least that much.

Its impossible to count the blessings in out lives as most are blessed but very few realize it. {Say, “He is the One who has originated you, and made for you ears and eyes and hearts. How little you pay gratitude!} (67:23) so the least we can do is pray that much, not just for the blessings, but having the patience during hardships and that the hardships arent harder.

With this much prayer, ur faith will become increasingly stronger in God which is to our benefit that we spend that much time with God praying directly to him, otherwise faith will not hold up during a lifetime