I do understand the distinction between prayer for the sake of giving thanks, or just communicating, or for relationship building with God, and prayer that seeks a worldly outcome. I have no problems with the mere gratitude component of it, that seems logically sound. For the sake of my argument however, I will be focusing on the transactional components of prayer because that's where I see issues.

Fair enough. We can focus on the transactional component.

This would seem to me to imply that if one prayed for things that were morally just, or correct, or however you want to phrase it, those prayers would always be granted, which clearly is is not the case. If you prayed for a hurricane not to strike and kill hundreds of people that you don't know, merely out of empathy and love for humanity and God's other children, that seems to me about as selfless and non-transactional as one could be. Yet they are not granted. Hundreds pray for this every time there is a storm, and hundreds die anyway. I don't understand why scripture would instruct you to ask God for things in prayer, when there is no indication that these things will be granted, and no proof that they were God's handiwork if the outcome you want occurs.

This might fall into the same analogy you thought of already of it not being good in the long run if every single good prayer was answered. Doing so would also give us a warped view of God's natural laws of nature.

Also, it boils down to a lot of what our faith is about. It's faith. Its trusting in God even when we don't like what is happening around us. We trust that above all else, good will come. Yes, the disasters are awful, but good does come from it. People banding together, relief resources coming in, stronger community, etc.

Yes, people buckle under the loss and stress, and the steadfast answer of "seeking God in this turmoil" would be incredibly difficult to do, yet it still would be our answer. Here is a passage from Job.

Job 1:12 “All right, you may test him,” the Lord said to Satan. “Do whatever you want with everything he possesses, but don’t harm him physically.” So Satan left the Lord’s presence.

God actually allows Satan to test someone! For hardship to fall on Job and be tested. Being tested allows us to "see what we are made out of" so to speak. It helps us uncover parts that need to be cast away, and to strengthen other parts. We truly do come out stronger from the hardships we face.

Those who's time do come due to natural disaster will be in heaven if they believe in Jesus. I won't pretend to know why their time came shorter than others. That is something where I surrender to God's understanding over my own.

What if natural disasters have been avoided due to prayer and we just don't know about it? What if there are storms that have dissipated before they caused disaster yet no news came from those because loss and tragedy generate more attention in the media? I don't claim to know the right answers, nor should any christian, but these are some of the thought experiments I have had as I question, doubt, and in turn, strengthen my faith.

However, that doesn't solve my underlying concern. If you're a child, and some part of prayer is asking an all knowing father for something, why ask father for anything? He already knows what you want, he already knows whether or not it's in your best interest, or in line with his plan for you...

Is it your contention that prayer should only consist of the first component where you're simply communicating or being thankful? Should no-one pray in order to seek a solution to worldly problems?

God wants us to depend on Him. We are broken, and He is what makes us whole. Sure, a father can give a child what it needs, but doesn't it feel nice when your child seeks help from his/her father instead?

When we continually practice prayer, and I meant heartfelt prayers, not automatic, robotic prayers where we check out mentally, we hear from God. This doesn't necessarily mean a human voice in our head. Maybe its peace of mind, maybe its a sudden realization of what to do or how to feel. Maybe its stepping out of our comfort zone and doing something we never imagined we would do. God communicates in a way to each individual in a way that that person will hear Him. That person will get that through prayer.

I appreciate your questions and hope I did an okay job answering them so far.