Tefilla/Davening

Davening is a very big part of Judaism, 3 times a day. However, most people don't really think about the obvious issues with davening to God.

According to traditional Judaism, God is omniscient (knows everything that can be known), omnibenevolent (perfectly good), omnipotent (can do everything that is compatible with the other attributes mentioned above), impassible (unable to be affected by an outside source), immutable (unchanging), and free.

Assuming the above, we can ask the following questions about davening:

1. Why do we need to daven to God at all? Since he is omniscient he knows exactly what we need so why do we need to ask?
2. How can we ask a perfect God to change his decree for us? God's decrees are perfect and just so how can we daven to change them?
3. How can God be affected by our prayer if he is immutable and impassible?

There are a number of approaches to answer this question:

1. The purpose of davening is to contemplate God (Rambam) and/or to change us
2. This is the system that God setup

Lets take a closer look at both approaches.

I. The purpose of davening is to contemplate God (Rambam) and/or to change us

The first thing we have to realize is that the Gemara does not really address this question. There is no philosophy of Tefilla found in the Gemara. This issue is first discussed in the Rishonim. 

This approach is taken by many of the philosophical Rishonim like the Rambam. They explain that the purpose of davening is for us to get closer to God by contemplating God and realizing that everything is from God. 

The way davening works is that the person who davens changes and is not the same person and therefore whatever decree was on the person was on the old version not the new improved version. 

There are a number of issues with this approach:

1. Why does shemoneh esrei have 12 berachos in the middle in which we ask God for things? How does asking God for health, income, etc. get you closer to God? Why would we ask for anything?
2. How can I daven for someone else? If the purpose of davening is to get closer to God how can my prayer for someone else help them? My prayer certainly can't help them get closer to God?
3. In many of the tefilos found in Chumash we find the various biblical figures making logical arguments to God. For example, Avraham in his tefilla to God about Sedom asks God how a just God could kill Tzadikkim along with Reshaim. Another example is when God wants to destroy the Jewish people after the חטא העגל Moshe davens to God and says, what will the Egyptians say if you destroy the Jews in the desert? They will say that you took the Jews out of Egypt to kill them in the desert. To make logical arguments to God makes no sense whatsoever.  God is omniscient and clearly took these arguments into account already. Of course this is also makes no sense if the purpose of Tefilla is to contemplate God or get closer to God. 

II. That is the system that God setup

This is the kabbalistic approach, that God set up the world that to get anything you need to ask for it. This approach turns davening into a magical experience and answers the first 2 questions above. We ask for things because that is how God set up the system, no matter how strange that sounds. There is not much to say here you either take it or leave it.

However, the third question above still stands. Moshe's prayer with logical arguments to God makes no sense.