Except to be heard! You want God to acknowledge your prayer. Surely you don't pray to a wall.
Well, that's fine, but I don't count that as supplication, do you? Maybe we use the word differently. Besides, the Bible already says He hears my prayers. I don't worry about that.
Why is [prayer] good if it cannot change something, or fulfill something other than what was determined?
I've already answered this. Prayer is still good because it is an obedience to God, and it is a communication with God. Communication with God from the true believer is almost always good for the person making it, barring sinful communication. Changing what is preordained is never my intellectual aim. The prayer itself was also preordained, so what am I to do, attempt to refuse it? Of course not. I don't believe myself to be in the business of changing God's mind, I believe my business is in obedience to Him.
[Prayer] doesn't merit anything. It doesn't earn you anything.
It should never be done for "merit", but in the reward judgment higher prayer could be given "credit" for obedience, since God clearly commands it. In addition, whether one gets "merits" or "credits" is really irrelevant as a reason for us to think about now. The Christian who prays more is a better off Christian on earth. Prayer is good for him.
But you will be sanctified whether you pray for it or not if God predestined you to be sanctified. If not, no amount of prayer will result in your sanctification.
As I said, the prayer itself is part of the preordination. I don't believe it is possible for God to sanctify a person, without also preordaining that person to prayer. That is, in whatever form if we want to include unusual cases. That would make no sense for God to talk to us, but not arrange for us to talk to Him.
Chances are those who choose satan as their master will be praying to him and not to God.
I was speaking of only to our God. However, I would say that in some form or another, I agree with you fully on this.
FK: "Prayer is for OUR benefit during our lives here on earth. With more prayer comes a better quality of life while we are here."
How so? What does it change, what does it accomplish? What does it get you that God didn't already decide to give you? How does it make your quality of life better?
What? How could you ask such a thing? :) Does your prayer life not enrich you in ways you were not expecting or asking for? While God gives me what He has already decided to give me, it will be after I pray this time, or that time, or some other time. He betters my life after I complete within time what He has ordained. For me, within time, it IS a real change.
Really? And your prayers that He may continue to sanctify you is not about change?
Change for me, but not for Him. And whenever I pray about anything in this type of category it is never like "Please God continue to sanctify me, because you might stop at any moment except for a prayer like this". No, no. Those kind of prayers are really all in the mode of thanksgiving and my communicating to Him that I DO rely on the promises He has already made to me. I reaffirm that I still believe in those promises, thanks to Him. IOW, I am giving glory.
What do you communicate with God? Baseball scores?
Well, I did thank Him after the Series last year, but ... :) Anyway, as I surmised above, we apparently use the word "supplicate" differently, and that's OK. To me it means: "I don't have 'X', please give me 'X'". I think that "prayer" certainly includes that, but it is also much more, including thanksgiving, and also what you might consider idle talk. While some of my prayer is of the normal, "official" type, it is not above me at all to talk to God about "nothing", in the Seinfeldian sense.
It is perfectly normal for me to give a quick thanks to God for allowing me to duck at the right time to avoid bumping into the weird neighbor lady in the grocery store, or that kind of thing. I talk to Him in short spurts all the time, in addition to what you may call more normal, formal prayer. I don't think it is possible for me to waste God's time at all. My view is that whenever it occurs to me to talk to God for any Biblical reason, such as thanksgiving over "nothing", He would rather me do that at that particular moment than anything else in the world. There are bigger issues involved, and I have explained.
We communicate on the FR, back and forth, trying to outwit each other. Certainly that's not the "communication" we have with God (or at least I should hope it's not!).
That's right! Certainly there are many things you say to me that are much more stimulating than many things I say to God! :)
I am serious about that, but I have to include that I do not know how other Reformers see this. So, for now, this is all just me. :) My being able to take a single thought to God, of any importance, is what I call a personal relationship. He already knows me, He already knows what I'm thinking. I figure: How can I lose by choosing to bring it to Him? I want to tell Him myself. He'll make "time" to listen to me. I'm His child. :)
Where does it say in the Scriptures that the prayer was preordained?
You keep saying this, but you offer no evidence or even reason for it. There are people who never pray and enjoy fantastic blessings.
Huh? Where do you get that from?
And raising people from the dead "makes sense?" Since when is "making sense" a pre-condition for God's work?
You are asking someone with a completely different mindset. Of course I would say it enriches my life, but in my case this makes sense. Looking through the prism of the Reformed theology doesn't.
Thanksgiving is not a supplication, FK.
It's not a favor, FK. And what would you have said if He didn't let you duck? Shake your fist at Him? Seems like you give thanks for "getting" something, and then you call it supplication, which is preordained, so you have no choice but to press the "Play" button. Yet you never talk about disasters. Do you give thanks for bad days too? Should you? I think you should give thanks to the Lord for every day of your life that you know Him, not only when he helps you duck.
He knows your thoughts whether you have a personal relationship with God or not. Him knowing them does not constitute a personal relationship with you. You bringing them to Him is also "preordained" in your theology, so it is not your decision but His. Ergo, what you have is instructions to bring your thoughts to God and you simply react as told.
I wouldn't call that a personal relationship. That's something you may have with your boss, or a superior officer in the military. Obedience is not a personal relationship.
Personal relationships are spontaneous and personal. In your case they are preprogrammed instructions.
Sounds like you are describing your therapist, save for the child part.