Prayer...huh....yeah....what is it good for?

[AzzurroRainrebor]

I am new to this section. I looked about and I have yet to see a topic on this point exactly. Please forgive if this was already spoken about...

Okay, why do people pray? Everything one prays for is, when you think about it, selfish. If you pray for your town to receive rain, you could flood another area; when you wish it snows tomorrow so you won't have to go to school or work, you may have made several homeless people's problems worse...

Also, why do people pray for things, and someone else in the world is praying against it(unbeknown st to them), thus , canceling it out (sorta)?. e.g. praying for world peace and there are terrorist praying for destruction with good intent (in their regard); they're supposedly fighting for Allah(God).

Lastly, why would God listen to one person? Granting your prayer is obviously causing chaos by the ways of cause and effect (as, partly, aforementioned)...Wouldn't it, also, take the whole world to pray for the betterment of the world? You know, the centuries old "World Peace wish"? How could ¼ of the world expect to have peace when most of the world doesn't really care for it?

Go easy on me........please.........whatever you do......no flames!!!!!(Y_Y)

[Sean]

It's pretty much human nature. We can't help the fact to think about what benefits us most and takes away from others. Although, all prayers aren't selfish at all. As for me, I try not to pray for things such as snow, money, or rain. I just ask for strength, knowledge and forgiveness. But I am now focusing on thanking God, for giving those gifts.

Also, since God is omnipresent, you have to act as if he is your God, so our human nature (again) is to become upset with him, and to keep praying. Plus, most prayers are one in the same so, doing one miracle can help thousands in a way.

[AzzurroRainrebor]

Originally Posted by RADIance

It's pretty much human nature. We can't help the fact to think about what benefits us most and takes away from others. Although, all prayers aren't selfish at all. As for me, I try not to pray for things such as snow, money, or rain. I just ask for strength, knowledge and forgiveness. But I am now focusing on thanking God, for giving those gifts.

Also, since God is omnipresent, you have to act as if he is your God, so our human nature (again) is to become upset with him, and to keep praying. Plus, most prayers are one in the same so, doing one miracle can help thousands in a way.

Well, I suppose that is 'cause and effect' in a way. Pray for strength to speak up for yourself; you could end up being a humanitarian, helping thousands. On the other hand, if you pray for a hospital to close because you don't like how they treated a few people: close it down to several hundreds of people who rely on the hospital's services..........hmmm...conundrum?

[Sean]

True, but you'd really be going out on a limb to ask God to take out a hospital.

[Donna da Ragione]

It's purely psychological. Meditation is better.

[AzzurroRainrebor]

I meditated once, and I couldn't move during the session. I have not a clue why...but I know it scared the living hell out of me.... Perhaps, it was 'astral projection'.

[Donna da Ragione]

It happens to me, it's just your mind.

[Forever Atlas]

Originally Posted by AzzurroRainrebor

I am new to this section. I looked about and I have yet to see a topic on this point exactly. Please forgive if this was already spoken about...

No worries, the religious section is pretty redundant anyway.

Okay, why do people pray?

Well, we couldn't answer that for everyone. There are many reasons people pray as there are billions of people with various beliefs. As you mentioned it could be for selfish reasons. It could be to help or harm others. Some people pray for knowledge, others wealth. Some people pray for better health or to be healed. Others pray for the strength just to get through the day. It really all depends on who you ask. Prayers can change from day to day with many people.

Everything one prays for is, when you think about it, selfish.

We can't really jump to those conclusions. Sure some people pray for things that are selfish.

If you pray for your town to receive rain, you could flood another area; when you wish it snows tomorrow so you won't have to go to school or work, you may have made several homeless people's problems worse...

God (the God of the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures) doesn't answer prayers for trivial matters or matters that conflict with his will. He's not going to make it snow because you don't want to go to school or work.

Also, why do people pray for things, and someone else in the world is praying against it(unbeknown st to them), thus , canceling it out (sorta)?. e.g. praying for world peace and there are terrorist praying for destruction with good intent (in their regard); they're supposedly fighting for Allah(God).

Well not everyone can be right. Sure people pray for various things. Question is, do their prayers really matter?

Lastly, why would God listen to one person? Granting your prayer is obviously causing chaos by the ways of cause and effect (as, partly, aforementioned)...

If God answers a prayer, he has the ability to control other matters as well. However he isn't going to answer a prayer that would cause "chaos" as you put it.

Wouldn't it, also, take the whole world to pray for the betterment of the world? You know, the centuries old "World Peace wish"? How could ¼ of the world expect to have peace when most of the world doesn't really care for it?

Go easy on me........please.........whatever you do......no flames!!!!!(Y_Y)

Even if the whole world, every single person prayed for the world to be a better place God is going to do what he has purposed. He doesn't need our prayers for that to happen. People praying for things to get better is not the only thing that needs to be done for the world to become a better place. Action is required on part of everyone and everyone would have to live in harmony. That's quite unlikely to happen by means of humans alone.

Anyway, it is almost 3 am, I'm not thinking straight, and to be quite frank, your questions are sorta hmm, well they are just hard to answer without considering the many factors.

So while I get some rest and come back around maybe to answer these questions more clearly I'll post these. These are from a religious standpoint. Links:

Does Praying Do Any Good? - This one covers: Why Do People Pray? Does Anyone Hear? Are All Prayers Heard? and other topics.

How Should We Pray

The Power of Prayer

Once again at the bottom of each page are white navigation arrows that will take you to the next page in the article.


I do agree with a lot of the comments here though. A lot of time prayer is a psychological thing. Meditation has been proven to promote mental health (depending on what you meditate on of course). It can be good for your psyche among other health benefits completely separate from anything divine.

Still, I do believe personally that prayer when done right works quite well and that God does answer those prayers he approves of.

[Donna da Ragione]

Originally Posted by Forever Atlas

Still, I do believe personally that prayer when done right works quite well and that God does answer those prayers he approves of.

Wouldn't "listen" be a better word to describe it than "answer"? As you said, if the Christian God does exist, nothing will change his ultimate plan, so prayer for the sake of results is useless.

[Forever Atlas]

Originally Posted by Donna da Ragione

Wouldn't "listen" be a better word to describe it than "answer"? As you said, if the Christian God does exist, nothing will change his ultimate plan, so prayer for the sake of results is useless.

I do not believe God has a plan, rather he has a purpose and has purposed for certain things to take place. Yes he does listen to prayers from honest hearted individuals who follow (or want to follow) His word. But I'm not going to change my use of the word "answer" because he does also answer prayers as long as they are within the bounds of reasonableness and His will.

We may not always get the exact answer we are looking for and sometimes it may take much longer than we personally want to wait, however God does answer many prayers. I wouldn't say prayer for the sake of results is useless. My example in the previous post was directed to the "make the world a better place" statement. According to the scriptures, God is going to make the world a better place anyway. That's what he has purposed and that is what he is going to do. Us praying for it shows our faith and support for Him but everyone on earth praying for it isn't going to make Him take action solely because we are praying for it and it wont make Him change it any faster because the scriptures say God has a set time when he will take care of all matters. That will be a time that, while we have signs of its nearness, we do not know. Once again it all depends on what that prayer is about and who the person is that makes the prayer which determines if it will be answered or not.

[Phoenix]

Prayer is asking for something you think you can't get for yourself.

[Forever Atlas]

Originally Posted by Phoenix

Prayer is asking for something you think you can't get for yourself.

I agree that a lot of people use prayer in that way. But prayer can also be used for giving thanks, sanctification, blessings, a deep pouring out of the heart with a personal God, etcetera. Not only asking.

[Phoenix]

That's talking.

[Forever Atlas]

Prayer

NOUN:

1. A reverent petition made to God, a god, or another object of worship.
2. The act of making a reverent petition to God, a god, or another object of worship.

2. An act of communion with God, a god, or another object of worship, such as in devotion, confession, praise, or thanksgiving
3. A specially worded form used to address God, a god, or another object of worship.

Prayer

Definition: Worshipful address, whether aloud or silently in one’s thoughts, to the true God or to false gods.

Originally Posted by Phoenix

That's talking.

Talking denotes the use of the tongue and lips in a way that causes audible words to come out. You can pray out loud but you can also pray silently, with your heart and mind. And hey, there's nothing wrong with talking to God.

I guess you could say, yes - Prayer is a form of talking with God.

[Donna da Ragione]

But what about all the "reasonable prayers" made by the faithful that go "unanswered"?