Does God need our prayers?

Sometimes God is imagined as someone demanding worship, as if he needed applause to be happy. It is not like that. God gains nothing from your prayer; he lacks nothing. So why pray, give thanks, or go to Mass? Because it orders you. Acknowledging that there is Someone greater, being grateful for what you have, asking for help: that does not change God; it changes you. It brings down your pride, fills you with gratitude, and reminds you who you are. Worship does not meet a need of his, but cures one of yours. It is like saying thank you to someone who loves you: you do not do it because they need it, but because withholding it would make you worse. Praying is one of the few things that does you good precisely because you do not do it out of self-interest.