Praying into sovereignty

Two considerations have been brought up recently when talking to people about God being sovereign - in complete control of everything that happens. One is a direct question, the other is my own thought.

1. What is the point of praying if God has already determined everything he is going to do? If he already knows the end of all things, what difference do our prayers make?

I think that this question is reasonable but answerable fairly quickly. God is clearly using men and women to fulfil the plan which will lead to the new creation. We're not just kicking around, getting in the way as God goes about his business, but his business is being done through us. Also, if God knows everything that will happen, prayer does not come outside that. God knew if you were going to pray and knew the effect he would bring from that prayer. Sovereignty is not an excuse for not praying! God may be at the end, all time might be present to him, but the same is not true of us. We are in his chronology.
I think it shows us just how sinful we are that our almost immediate reaction is:
'Oh, well God's doing to do what he wants with or without me!'
He has chosen to do it with you! Be honoured!

2. God, in his sovereignty, shows us what to pray for.

The things that stay with us, touch our hearts and come into our minds are all directed by God. He also leads us into certain situations and faces us with certain issues that need prayer. He is in complete control and is engineering the universe to bring about these situations. I'll get to the point really quickly. In a sentence...

You are wasting the opportunities and situations which God, in his sovereignty, lays before you when you fail to return them to him in prayer.

Prayer stimulates not only God's actions (however predetermined) but also ignites our hearts for the situations we pray into. If we are not praying into the areas that God has made present to us, we might as well ignore him!

Prayer is one of the areas of my life I personally struggle in commitment towards but this revelation really struck me when thinking of sovereignty and challenged me to take prayer more seriously. Praying into sovereignty is praying into a securely-rooted, eternally-triumphing, unshakable God, but one who listens and acts on the prayers of his people.