What do you get out of prayer?

[Union Scribe]

1. An increased peace with that which I cannot control

It's a way for me to enact my philosophy of doing what you can and hoping to God for the rest; a way of letting go of worry about things that are out of my hands.

It's also an opportunity to reflect on positive things, things to be grateful for. Such a focus cultivates better thought patterns in the brain and yields an extensive crop of benefits.

How prayer ties in to God's behavior is unclear to me. I thank God for blessings, but would they have been bestowed had I not prayed? I don't know. I think many people, including many non-religious people, think of prayer as a way to coerce God into doing things and that prayer is only meaningful if such efforts work to change how things unfold. I don't agree with that. When I pray, I know that God doesn't need my advice or even my bringing something to the divine's attention. There may very well be a part of the timeless will of God that has incorporated a role for our supplications--maybe before we even make them, knowing that we will. In that way, perhaps future outcomes don't need to change (and special intervention isn't necessary) because those outcomes never existed in a way that was not already affected by the interaction between the one(s) praying and the one prayed to.