Prayer requests...

What is the point of a prayer request?

Are some people better at praying than others?  Or if more people pray for something, does that have more of an effect?

Or is it strictly a Catholic thing?  I'm not too clear on the differences between Catholics and Protestants, but I think my understanding is that Catholics need to route their spiritual matters through their priest.  That is, they can confess their sins directly through God, but instead need to go through the church itself.

If that's the case, then maybe it makes some sense that Catholics can't directly pray themselves...?  But that can't be right, can it?

I am confuse.

I did some searching and found this page.

It pretty much blew my mind.  Here's an example:

I ask that the Lord Jesus would grant me a decent-paying job (I have one specifically in mind at Smucker's here in Orrville, OH) to be able to properly support all of us (we have a 15-year old daughter). I also ask for healing for my wife (Denise is her name). I'm asking that the Lord Jesus would push away the enemy from her dreams and that HE would speak to her in them. I'm asking for a restored tolerance in my heart and mind as well. Give me back my household, filthy devils, in Jesus' name!!!

It's the little details that are so interesting to me.  Like the naming of the specific job, and the reminder of his wife's name.  As if the all-powerful God he's praying to doesn't know these things?!

I'm not trying to make fun, but it is so weird to me.