Can prayer change God's perfect plan?

[Catholic_Lady]

A few things.

First, what do you mean exactly by "God's perfect plan?"

God's plan for us the big picture, and that is that we live this life in a way that reflects love and goodness in our hearts so that we can go on to enjoy it to its fullest in the afterlife. We can choose to follow that plan or not, but that is up to us.

Some people like to think that every little thing that happens was purposely made to happen by the hand of God Himself. But that is simply not true. God is not a micromanager. He created this world with us in it and allows nature to happen as it will, and allows us to make our own choices. I know many Christians buy into this "everything happens for a reason" mentality, but that is simply not true, imho. God's plan is with the eternal result, big picture. Not with details of this life which are insignificant when put into perspective.

Second, God exists in a dimension that is outside of time. So He already knows that we will pray before we do so because He has already seen us do it. Think of it as looking at a cube - you can see all 3 dimensions at one glance. If time is a fourth dimension, imagine that God can see all of it at once, in a similar way.

So for example: a couple wants a child but is battling infertility, and they pray to God every day asking to be blessed with a child. They end up getting pregnant with a healthy baby against all odds. God answered their prayer. But God already knew ahead of time that this child would come into existence because He already knew that the parents would pray for one and that their prayers would be answered. This child didn't change anything. God already knew the parents would pray and He already knew He would answer those prayers.

bold mine

I'm really confused. First it does not micro manage or predict the future and lets nature take it's course, then in your scenario it micro manages, the future is known, and there is a predetermined outcome.  

If it already knows that a single person will pray and what will be prayed for and how the prayer will be answered (micro manage a detail of one persons life), the person has no free will. They are simply following a predetermined path.

I don't see how that's contrary to free will. My belief is that God knows what will happen because he can see all of time happening all at once, not because He is controlling everything that is happening. We still choose our actions 100%. He just knows what those actions will be because He is seeing us do it, not because He controls what we do.