You’re right, there’s something else fantastic about prayer for Christians beyond simply expressing our true thoughts. God knows our true thoughts, needs, and desires, even without us telling him! As we pray, we participate in a relationship with God. Christians pray about various things, including praising God for who he is and what he’s done for us, thanking him, confessing and repenting (saying sorry for our disobedience and hurting him, and asking for his help to stop and change), asking for things for others, and even asking for things for ourselves. God actually invites us to ask him for things. Philippians 4:6 says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” This is also the model Jesus sets for us. Jesus, who is God himself, still prayed to the Father and asked him for things (e.g., Mark 14:36), showing us that prayer is part of a relationship. The fact that God knows better than us what we need, want, and what’s good for us shouldn’t stop us from talking with him about those things. When we do ask God for things, we’re also expressing our dependence on him, acknowledging that he is in control of all the details of our lives and that we need his involvement. All true prayer is faith in action. God has chosen prayer as one of the ways he will work in his world. When we pray, we genuinely become involved in God’s work on earth. Praying for others is one way we can love and serve them. As we examine the prayers of people like Jesus and the Apostle Paul in the Bible (e.g., Colossians 1:3-14, Ephesians 1:15-19, 3:14-19, and Philippians 1:3-11), we can see that their prayers reflect God’s priorities. This serves as a model for us, showing that while we are free to pray about anything, it is beneficial to pray for things we know God wants and are good for us and others. This is less about asking for ‘favours’ (like winning the lottery) and more about asking God’s will to be done (growing in faith and godliness, persevering in adversity, relief from suffering, and spreading the gospel, among other things). We can trust that God answers our prayers according to his good purposes rather than acting like a magic genie, so we won’t thwart his plans when we pray. However, God has decided to use our prayers, so in a sense, we work together in bringing these things about. The fact that he is sovereign doesn’t negate our human responsibility to act. Just as we work in partnership with God in growing in godliness, evangelism, and creating new life, so too do we work together in bringing these things about. So, enjoy your freedom to ask God for things, trusting and thanking him as the good God he is!