Pray what? What are you praying for? For God to change His mind? For God to un-ordianed that which He ordianed before the foundations of the world, accoridng to your theology?
Prayer is not just praise, but supplication. You are asking for a favor. Whe yu rpay for others (no knowing who is elect and who isn't) you are asking God for soemthing on their behalf. That soemthing is soemthing God determined is due to them before your ever lived and will nto change no matter how much you pray.
However, if God has already predestined everything then your prayer will change nothing. Those who are destined to hell will go to hell and those destined to heaven will go to heaven with or without your prayer.
Pray what? What are you praying for? For God to change His mind? For God to un-ordain that which He ordained before the foundations of the world, according to your theology?
I'm not praying for God to change His mind because that is impossible. I'm praying for God's will just as in the Lord's Prayer. God ordained that praying for His will to be done is good prayer, so I do it. :)
Prayer is not just praise, but supplication. You are asking for a favor.
I agree. God tells us to bring our requests to Him.
When you pray for others (not knowing who is elect and who isn't) you are asking God for something on their behalf. That something is something God determined is due to them before your ever lived and will not change no matter how much you pray.
[There were a couple of typos here, so I did my best. Please correct as needed. :)] Your statement is correct. We are taught that this is still good because Jesus prayed for the cup to be taken away. He then qualified by asking for the Father's will to decide. We imitate that. Jesus didn't get what He asked for, so when that happens to us it is no reflection on whether the prayer should have been made in the first place.
However, if God has already predestined everything then your prayer will change nothing. Those who are destined to hell will go to hell and those destined to heaven will go to heaven with or without your prayer.
That is true in a sense, since God is sovereign and doesn't change His mind. However, remember that our own prayers as they are made are also a part of God's plan. God wishes us to pray and in fact commands that we do. Therefore, there is never a "wasted effort" any more than Jesus' prayer was "wasted" when He asked about the cup.