Prayer

[Oni]

Why Pray?
Is there Power in Prayers?
Does your God answer Prayers?
What is Prayer?
What happens if God does not answer Prayer?
How Should you pray?
What is the right way to pray?
Is there a point to prayer?
Is there a diffrence in Prayer and just talking to your god?

[chuckhart]

Why Pray?  To make requests, for devine intervention, to think a problem through.  Often when I pray about a difficult I am facing I find that suddenly I will solve my dilema.  It maybe a prayer answered, or it just maybe me focusing my mind, whatever it is it frequently works for me.  I also pray to say thank you for an answered prayer, or a beautiful sunset.  I prayed big teary-eyed thank yous silently for the safe birth of all three of my children.

Is there Power in Prayers?  There can be, but don't expect it to be like Harry Potter casting a patronus spell.  Much of the power in prayers comes in the form of calming anxiety, or giving a person the courage to do something that would normally scare them to death.

Does your God answer Prayers?  Mine does.  Sometimes dramatically, sometimes subtly.

What is Prayer?  Prayer is thanking, or making a request of God, Jesus, or the Holy Ghost, either aloud, or in your thoughts.

What happens if God does not answer Prayer?  Perhaps the prayer was for something that would harm you in ways that you can not understand.

How Should you pray?  Sincerely, and not in ways that make a public spectacle of yourself.  I'm not talking about praying out loud for a group like Rev. Johnathan does, but when someone prays to impress others around themself.  You can pray out loud or in your quietest thoughts.

What is the right way to pray?  There are a million right ways to pray, as long as you are humble, and sincere.

Is there a point to prayer?  Yes, the point is to make contact with God/Jesus/the Holy Ghost to voice your desires, concerns, and gratitude.

Is there a diffrence in Prayer and just talking to your god?  I think the prayer is more of the thank you or request talk.  Just talking to God is just that, talking to God.  When I was angry at God, I still talked to Him everyday to express my rage at my uncle's premature death.

[Oni]

I wonder what other views on this are? Even from an athiest point of view. I would love to hear what others think and feel about prayer.

[Oni]

Prayer,
   I often wonder if it is worth it to pray to a higher deity if people just ask for stuff and thank then for what they got. I wonder how many people actually talk to there deity with out having some type of hidden agenda. Like Because he is my deity I should talk to them to get in there good grace. I pray because I am suppose to, Because it is what I am told to do. Ya know if I was a god I would hate prayer as it is given. People only talk to you when they want something or to thank you for what has been given to them. They never just talk to you. Maybe I feelings and thoughts that I would like to convay to you. Vent a bit. If your deity is your friend, then why only talk to them when you need something, whey not just talk to them. Would you do that to your friend, just call them up and say “hay it would be really nice if you could fix my computer.” Then after they do “you say thanks” and don’t call them up again till ya need something. I think that’s one of the more selfish ways human kind treats there deities.
   Though in no way I am saying that people praying is wrong, if it works for your religioun use it. Go with it, and if it helps, HAY that’s even better.
   I think its funny that when people pray for something and they get it they are happy, but when they pray for something and they don’t get it. It falls under “It’s Gods will.” Wow that has to be the best way for religion to get out of anything isn’t it. “It’s gods will” No one knows whats Gods will. It is argued that man makes there own choices, and that human kind though created by God, were given Free will by God. Therefor how can it be in his devine plan for a young child to get run over? Espeically if you had just prayed for your child to have a safe day and have no harm come to them. Or is that Satin working there? Mmm well if Satin can control things in this world and so can God. Does that not make them both gods.
   Ya know in all my life I don’t think I have asked any god for anything. Talked with them from time to time, let my mind walk with theres. Heard them rant and rave, tell me stories, but don’t think I have ever asked for anything…well wait that’s not true when I was a young child I always asked for the normal things like a good will and all that, but I could never just ask it for meself or good health or anything just for me, I had to ask it for others, and it got to the point to were I was asking for it for the whole world. Then I realized that simply by asking I was selfish still. So I just started talking. Stoped getting down on my knee’s stoped folding my hands together. Stoped “praying” and started talking, and treating them like … well like a human being. Like a friend, a brother, like some one more that I go to only when I am in need. Treating whom ever is out there just like they treat us.
Well that was my intro rant. Now let us move on to the questions.
 
Why Pray?        
- To ask for stuff, to thank for stuff, to seek guidance and understanding, to think, to meditate. There are many reasons for prayer. It is something that is personal to you. If you feel that prayer works, and will help you on your journey in life. They I say do it. Pray. Pray in what ever form you use. Pray for what ever reason you need to, wether its simply to talk, or to ask for help for a  loved one. Pray.

Is there Power in Prayers?        
- MMMmmm I guess that depends on how you view that. From a spiritual point of view there is, from a psycolicaly point of view I would say that it is all in the head of the person who is praying.

Does your God answer Prayers?   
- Well with my view of God and my the fact that I don’t pray to God. I would say that God and I talk. So he answers the same way you and I would in a conversation. So in a way ya he answers.

What is Prayer?   
-There are hundreds of definitions of prayer. As once told to me by a preacher it is “Talking with God” So then I asked if I could talk to God with out prayer and with out asking for things of thanking him, just hold a conversation with God” And I was told no, the only people who can speak to God are prophets. … I laughed at him, and told him that he had no right to speak for God if he wasn’t even considered a Prophet in his religion and could not talk to god. 
What happens if God does not answer Prayer?   
- The famious saying “It’s god’s will” hehe. Ya well some times I think that even God has the right to ignore human kind.

How Should you pray?      
-How ever you need to. Folding your hands, down on your knee’s, or in a form of meditation, simply talking. It’s all up to you really.

What is the right way to pray?   
-That goes back to How should you pray. The right way and the wrong way. How ever you think your deity wants you to pray for them.

Is there a point to prayer?      
- For some. Could be to get help with something, for a blessing, for a gift, wisdom, knowledge, or simply a better understanding, to thank, and to talk. Kinda makes me wonder if God has a Spam filter on Prayers. That rejects all the stupid prayers out there.

Is there a diffrence in Prayer and just talking to your god?   
-Depends who you ask. Talking to God directly for some is showing him disrespect, and it is not actually praying.Praying seems to normaly have a goal, were as Talking, is just talking, Like I would talk to you or my cat.

I wonder if what I said made anysense or just falls into the relm of cat logic and thinking.

[Eternimus]

I suppose I'll answer this as I did in a bible study when I went to a Christian Church.

Why Pray? Pray for whatever, but if you pray for arbitrary things, then it'll have no meaning. Completely useless.
Is there Power in Prayers? The power is not in the words, but in the meaning.
Does your God answer Prayers? I believe the bible is quoted as saying "For You have been a defense for the helpless, A defense for the needy in his distress, A refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat; For the breath of the ruthless Is like a rain storm against a wall." Isaiah I believe. 25th chapter ah... 4th or 5th verse... it's been awhile since I read the bible so if someone can confirm please do so. But the point is that would suggest God does answer.
What is Prayer? Prayer is sending your hope or wish to God.
What happens if God does not answer Prayer? Then you didn't need God to answer anything, cause you could have solved the issue yourself.
How Should you pray? Honestly, without personal gain. Faithfully, knowing your words do not fall on deaf ears.
What is the right way to pray? There is no such thing. A prayer is simply making a heartfelt request to your deity. There aren't proper steps or channels to go through.
Is there a point to prayer? If nothing else to hold on to that hope that something will improve. Though unfortunately most people pray then stop trying to fix whatever themselves, expecting God to do all the work.
Is there a diffrence in Prayer and just talking to your god? Sure there is. A prayer is a heartfelt request, as I have stated. To help someone through surgury, over a sickness, etcetera. Just speaking to your deity wuld be like a casual conversation with a close friend. Your deity won't reveal your secrets.

[Rachael]

I don't think there's anything wrong with praying to ask God for something.  I mean, if it's something like a Playstation, yeah, I can see the problem...but if it's something like "Please let my child get through surgery"...I don't see a problem.

I somewhat disagree with what Oni said...If believing the bad thing that happened was "God's will" will comfort you when it happens, then what's wrong with that?  I do, however, think it's rude and presumptuous to say "It was God's will" to someone ELSE, though.  Or even worse, that saying, "Never put a question mark where God has put a period."  I was reading a review of the movie "Patch Adams," and one of the reviewers said, "The scene where he's angry with God, is very shameful...Who is man, that they should speak to God in that way."

Who indeed?  Man is MAN.  Questioning God, even getting angry at him, is a very human thing to do.  I'm sure God understands. (Actually, I didn't really like the movie either, but that had nothing to do with it.)

Anyway, on to the paradox of prayer.  Many people say that prayer is pointless, because if you ask for something along with the phrase "if you will it," then there's no point in praying.  If it's God's will, then you'll get what you want, even if you don't pray.  If it's not God's will, then you can pray for hours, but you still won't get it.

I don't see things as that black-and-white.  I look at it this way: Say there's a kid who wants the new Valkyrie Profile game.  Here are the possible outcomes:

1. The kid asks for the game, and he gets it.
2. The kid asks for the game, and he does not get it.
3. The kid does not ask for the game, and he does not get it.
4. The kid asks for the game, and he gets it anyway (for his birthday, maybe).

Now look at this from the mother's point of view.  Say she would not mind buying the game for the kid, but she is not going to buy it for him if he does not at least communicate to her that he wants it.  After all, it's awfully presumptuous for the kid to assume that she'll just get him whatever he wants without him even asking.

I see God in the same way.  There are things he could do for us that will not interfere with his plan, but he is not going to just give them to us.  We have to ask, and in most cases, we have to put forth some effort for ourselves, just as the mother might tell the kid she'll buy the game for him if he washes the car.

Sometimes, God will not grant our request because he knows it is not best for us.  If the kid is the type who does not get his schoolwork done when he has a new video game to play, she might decline his request.  Or maybe she'll postpone getting the game for him until summer vacation, when he has no schoolwork to do.

So even when you're asking for something, there's more to prayer than just whether God "wills" it or not.  We are not God's puppets; we are his children.  I truly believe he wants us to communicate to him.

[Oni]

Could it be possible then to say that God does not actually grant our requests but we grant our own. By setting up a psychological senerio were we believe that we will get it if we are good, and there for subconsciously set up a chain of events for that to happen.

[Rachael]

That works too.  I pray before tests at school sometimes, and I know that even if God doesn't magically zap my brain so I'll know all the answers, praying does calm my nerves, and therefore help me to concentrate better.

[chuckhart]

I think we grant some of our own just by the act of prayer giving our minds a different angle to look at a problem and see a solution.  But some only God can do, like when the doctors say there is no hope, that there is nothing they can do, and through no human intervention a life and death medical problem gets better.  I'll save you the gory details, but it happened for my son in the womb.

[Oni]

Meow,
I meet some people once who came to my door and asked me if i had seen a mirical. I forget what I said, but I also asked them the same questions. This is what was told to me.


"My uncle was ill, he had cancer, and because of that we prayed for god to remove the cancer from him. For a time about 6 months the cancer was gone. The doc's said there was no trace of it, and that his body was healthy again. Then about 6 months later the cancer came back harder than before. My uncle was in more pain than before, and the cancer was eating him alive. And so we prayed again. This time nothing happened. No cure happened. So then we prayed for God to let him go in piece. 3 months later he died at the hosipital with tubes and a live machine."

Some how I miss the mirical in that. Because one prayer didnt work lets use another.

[Goman Fox]

Some how I miss the mirical in that. Because one prayer didnt work lets use another.

Well if you pray for all possibilities then at least one prayer will be granted.  How this could be considered a miracle or work of god, I don't know, but to some people it makes sense.  Others kinda see through it though.  You can't ask for everything and claim that getting something is proof of the existance of god or anything.

[electrolass]

I find my form of prayer takes place when I am able to find silence.  I try to stick to the basic construction of the prayer that Jesus taught us, applying my personal thoughts to it as I progress through the prayer.  Ex:  Our father (I just meditate on that word), who art in heaven (I meditate on that word as well.  The images can sometime be serious, sometimes silly), hallowed be thy name (I think about what makes God special to me - recounting the good things that have happened to me and how grateful I am to have them), thy kingdom come (what kingdom does God want for me, his/her plan), thy will be done (acknowledging that I accept the need for this plan, and let the strength of the acknowledgement fill me - I try to create a quiet spot in my head so that answers can come to me and sometime they don't come for a long time), give us this day our daily bread (I don't know, I guess I think of this a my time to ask God to take care of me based on my faith that God will), and forgive us our tresspasses (like working the steps n AA, I think about those things I have done that don't quite meet up to the standards that Jesus set in his gospel), as we forgive those who trespass against us (I think about the people or things against whom I am harboring ill will or withholding forgiveness and GET OVER IT.), lead us not into temptation (Hmmm, what act of selfishness am I in danger of committing), but deliver us from evil (letting God know that I believe in God's power to help me overcome temptation, ignorance, evil - yes, I often think of the "evil" as the danger of thinking to much of myself or that I have all the answers), for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. (the kingdom is love, the power is grace and the glory is the eternal cycle of life sustained by faith).  Well, anyway, that's my version, but then I am a baby in Christ.  I guess for me an answer to a prayer is an answer to a problem.  I have to admit to myself that I don't have all the answers, find a quiet place, get rid of all the petty battles I fight in my life, and let the answers come.  I really can't recall a prayer that wasn't in some way answered.  I might not have recognized the answer at first, but it did come.  Great topic. 

[Oni]

Do you just use that prayer or do you use other prayers?

[Oni]

http://www.prayerpartners.com/HowTo/PrayerTypes.htm

There is the link that I took this from. I thought it was fitting and informative.

1. Prayer of Praise and Adoration:

We find many prayers of this type in the Bible. This is prayer centered wholly upon God and His eternal characteristics-His majesty, glory, and power; His beauty and lavish love; His mercy and grace. Personal devotional prayer should begin with this type of prayer.

Click here for a Biblical Prayer of Praise and Adoration.

2. Prayer of Penitence:

This is the next step in personal prayer, asking for forgiveness of sin. Psalm 51 is our best known prayer of penitence in the Bible.

Click here to read Psalm 51.

3. Prayer of Petition:

Petition means to ask for something. Because we are wholly dependent upon God for life He loves to have us ask for things. Perhaps this is the most used and misused prayer of all time. We all want material prosperity and popularity-but whenever we ask for material things we should remember to add, "Your will be done." Although God cares about anything that concerns us and He wants us to ask Him for what we need, yet it pleases Him most when we ask for the Holy Spirit and the characteristics of Jesus.

4. Prayer of Thanksgiving:

This is a prayer of appreciation for the gifts God has given us. Learning to be thankful is one of the best ways to combat depression and self-pity. Thanksgiving should be a part of every prayer.

5. Prayer of Intercession:

When we intercede for others we come closest to God's heart. Jesus, in heaven, is our High Priest and His ministry is to intercede with the Father for mankind. When we join Him in praying for others we are most like Him.