prayer is communication, not just a way to get things you want like a vending machine, God is personal and has a prescriptive purpose for your life. Prayer is to align yourself with God's will, to sort yourself out, not to just get things you want from God. The most common prayer is "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner", said in many different ways but it's always the same concept. Sin isn't a legal on/off switch that God just has to punish you for, sin is a moral sickness we are ill with and God is the healer offering to heal you if you willingly participate. The point of prayer is to align yourself with God, to seek the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and to express that same will on others. To forgive those who trespass you, as you are to be forgiven by your heavenly Father.
Praying for the sick is good, and physical death is not the end. Death, decay, illness, are not God's design, but a consequence of our decision to distance ourself from the provider of Life and in that distance our good nature became tainted. I would not despair that your loved ones have died, though it may be hard now, rejoice for they are with the Lord. Your prayers do heal, your participation with the divine life is how you become good ontologically, how you heal the flawed human nature(by participating in what Christ accomplished to be clear, it is not something you do alone without God. There is no man-made salvation, it is only in willingly participating with Him) In other words, you don't just 'do' good things to please God, you stay close to God so that His goodness actually starts to live inside you and change what you are.
It is only through a good God we can become good ourselves, else if there is no good God there is no real "good", just a preference to not murder, and everything is a meaningless accident that we cannot even know.
what I said above might be complicated or not properly explained, if you have other questions or want to take apart the idea go ahead and i'll respond
Terrible analogy. Do not insult Vending machines by comparing them to an invisible magician who doesn’t even exist but people still give donations, spend time on their knees or sacrifice some offering to in the hopes he hears them.
No Vending machines actually work you select your beverage/snack put money in and it will give you what you want at a push of a button. Praying is about as effective as passing gas.
Communication to some all powerful all knowing being is redundant since he should know all outcomes, your every decision. Also if his will cannot be changed so why even bother? Its like talking to a wall and expecting it to hear you.
If you are using god as some sort of a sound board so that you may take upon certain qualities like goodness, humility, generosity etc then its not really god doing the changing it is you. God is just an avatar or a rolemodel that you like to mirror. Nothing wrong with using the bible as some kind of inspiration book to better yourself. There are plenty works of fictions that are used in this exact way. So let's not pretend like he is real or is the only way you can be good.
