Dear Chas:

This is a common question and an important one in understanding the economy of God and our relationship to Him.

It is an old argument in philosophy between determinism and free will. Determinism proposes that we have no free will, but rather we react according to stimuli that presupposes us to act one way as opposed to another, to make one decision as opposed to another.

Religious determinism is best illustrated by John Calvin, who along with Martin Luther, change the course of Christian thought. In Calvin's economy everyone is predestined to heaven or to hell. There is no action on the part of the individual for its been determined for him by God what is eternal destiny will be. The individual can do nothing about it.

This is a radical notion and a complete misunderstanding of predestination. In John Callens economy we simply have no ability to choose to love God or to reject God. Calvin suggests that God's grace is irresistible, that we cannot resist it or choose against. If we are on the list for heaven then we will, whether we like it or not,  the graces of God.

This is not, of course, the position of the Catholic Church. In fact, it is not the position of most denominations. The Christian world believes in free will. Amongst all of the various teachings of more than 30,000 denominations Calvin's proposal is accepted only by a minority. That is, hard-core Calvinism is a minority. Many more denominations adopt and adapt some part of his theology. But that is another discussion.

Why Do We Pray when God already Knows Our Needs?

In human life we can always find corollaries to the attributes of God. After all, we are made in His image.

A human father may know what his child wants, so why does he not go ahead and give the child what he wants? Because the father is waiting for his child to ask.

Allowing the child to ask for what he wants builds a bond between the father and the child. The child knows he can come to his father who will lovingly give the child what he asks for according to what is best for that child.  The child builds a sense of love, trust, dependence, and affection for his Father

For the father, the child asking him to fulfill his wants gives the father the pleasure of giving to his child, seeing his child respect and trust him. Love and affection grows between them

This is what our Heavenly Father does for us.

Prayer affirms our dependence upon Him. It is also an act of humility; that He is in control of our life. James 4:6 tells us, “God opposes the proud but gives grace the humble.” 

Dominican and doctor of philosophy, Fr. Bernard Bro has been a professor at the Pontifical Faculties of Saulchoir, preacher at Notre Dame in Paris, remarks:

The purpose of prayer is not to change the order established by God, but to obtain what God has decided to accomplish by means of our prayer. God wants the working out of certain things to depend on our desire and our prayer (Fr. Bernard Bro, O.P., Magnificat, Ocotber 2011, p99)

We do not know what our real needs are, and we must learn them all over again each day. Prayer brings us back to what is most authentic in man's quest for happiness. Prayer makes us free; it preserves what is most fragile and most precious in us: the integrity of our desire, that desire which, in final analysis, is nothing but the need for God. This is what prayer preserves in us, and must teach us every day, this need for God, which is the distinctive, most profound trait that separates man from the animals. Man is the only being who turns to God to obtain what is lacking for his own fulfillment. (Fr. Bernard Bro, O.P., Magnificat, February 2011, p.386-387)

As for God knowing know all and never changing His mind: This is a true statement. God lives in the eternal now. The past, the present, and the future are all now to God. Thus, He knows what we will do 20 years from now, but this does not mean we lose free will.

Even though God knows what we will do, we must still make the decision. We are free to choose as we will. This is not unlike a old married couple who know each other so well that they can "know" what the other thinks, know what they will do, know what they will say, all before the spouse does it. The wife, for example, does not force her hushand to do this or that, she merely knows him well enough to predict what he will do with a great deal of acccuracy.

This is an imperfect analogy since with God it is not a preduction but an absolute knowing, nevertheless it gives us a hint about knowing in advance what someone will do in the future without violating his free will.

God does not determine our lives or micro-manage our lives, as that would be unloving. Rather, God allows us to make up our own minds. That is the nature of free will. We seek in prayer that we will do His will.

Because of the gift of free will, we can choose against God. Sin is not God's will, but He permits it because of free will. As a result, God often does not get His way. Everytime we sin we are violating God's will.

In terms of God's Salvation Plan, God's plan for history cannot be twarted even by free will. God knows the precise moment He will send His Son back to earth (Second Coming). Nothing, not even the antiChrist can stop it. 

God has decided out of love to give us Free Will. He gave us that gift so we could love Him and each other. The nature of Love is that it is mutual self-giving that me must choose. We cannot be forced to love as that would not be love.

God has not changed His mind. He still allows us Free Will even when we use it for evil.

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary