What do you think about prayers?

[awitch]

Those from abusive families? Yes. Sadly so. I've often wondered how they would relate to God as "father"

I meant the perspective of God's personality.
Many people say He's loving, but that's not at all the impression I get from either scripture or from many Christians' testimonies. I would argue that an eternal punishment for anything other than full loyalty and faithfulness is sufficient to convince me that His motivations are not influenced by love.

 

[Rachel20]

... for anything other than full loyalty and faithfulness

To righteousness? It's the opposite of oppression, which I hate too. I guess it depends what you love and what you hate determines where your loyalty will be.

... and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry. Isaiah 5:7

 

[awitch]

To righteousness? It's the opposite of oppression, which I hate too. I guess it depends what you love and what you hate determines where your loyalty will be.

It also depends on how you define righteousness. I don't believe that just because it is said that some deity claims something is righteous that it necessarily is so.

 

[Rachel20]

It also depends on how you define righteousness. I don't believe that just because it is said that some deity claims something is righteous that it necessarily is so.

Believe what you want, but I doubt the God of Christianity is a pragmatist who'll change his definition to match yours, no matter how noble you think yours.

And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. John 3:19-20

 

[Rachel20]

Believe what you want, but I doubt the God of Christianity is a pragmatist who'll change his definition of righteousness to match yours, no matter how noble you think yours.

And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. John 3:19-20

 

[awitch]

Believe what you want, but I doubt the God of Christianity is a pragmatist who'll change his definition to match yours, no matter how noble you think yours.

Then you agree that the drowning of a planet, firebombing of cities, the sanctioning of slavery and setting up a system of eternal torment that hinges on accepting beliefs that cannot be substantiated is noble? I don't expect any deity to change for me, but I expect their followers to be honest about it.

And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. John 3:19-20

So I am evil because I disagree? Do you personally believe I deserve an eternal torment for that?

 

[Rachel20]

So I am evil because I disagree? Do you personally believe I deserve an eternal torment for that?

The verse was to contrast the reason scripture gives for people rejecting God, with the reason those people give themselves. Make of it what you will, but don't put words in my mouth.

 

[awitch]

The verse was to contrast the reason scripture gives for people rejecting God, with the reason those people give themselves. Make of it what you will, but don't put words in my mouth.

That's what happens when people drop seemingly random passages of scripture with no context or explanation.

 

[Rachel20]

That's what happens when people drop seemingly random passages of scripture with no context or explanation.

hmmm OK lol

 

[hluke]

(1) I don't know what is best for me and I know even less about what is best for the universe. Should I actually ask God for what I want?

You can.

(2) Does God actually respond to prayer? Maybe God as the master engineer has the best compromise plan to benefit the entire universe, so is there any wiggle room for change in that plan?

Yes he does. Prayer aligned with his will is answered.

(3) Why should I pray if God already knows what I intend to say in prayer?

Confirmation and acknowledgement. Just like giving loving reassurance to a person weeping about their sin. Or finishing a task and ticking it off the checklist

(4) If a prayer is granted does God actually alter his plan according to my request or is it simply that my wishes coincided with God's master plan?

If your prayer is alligned to his will, then he will answer it according to your request. Asking for his presence for example is more likely to be answered than asking for a buggati.

(5) Shouldn't God help people in need regardless of whether anybody asks for help?

He does help people in need and is doing so to millions of people at this moment. If a person had only a phone and needed urgent medical assistance, it would be better to call someone for help, right?

I can tell you briefly about a testimony. A Muslim man was repeatedly raped and sexually abused by his father, he would cry out to allah everyday and asked god for help to stop his father from abusing him. He got no answer. His pain and trauma was so unbearable he wanted to commit suicide. He got a rope and pulled it around his neck. Just before he did this he gave god one last chance. He asked "If there is a living God out there, show yourself to me." He put the rope around his neck and blacked out. Moments later he looked down and saw the rope on the floor and Jesus standing there with his alms wide open. He wept on Jesus' shoulder and now has a loving Father for eternity. He preaches in Irans underground church.

 

[sunshineforJesus]

I love the power of prayer.

 

[hluke]

I love the power of prayer.

And the feeling of love and inexpressible peace dripping down and fulfilling the deepest desires of the soul!!

 

[sunshineforJesus]

And the feeling of love and inexpressible peace dripping down and fulfilling the deepest desires of the soul!!

Amen!

 

[Arthra]

Hello Cloudy Day!

Baha'is offer prayers daily but among them we have obligatory prayers:

"Obligatory prayer is the very foundation of the Cause of God. Through it joy and vitality infuse the heart. Even if every grief should surround Me, as soon as I engage in conversing with God in obligatory prayer, all My sorrows disappear and I attain joy and gladness. A condition descendeth upon Me which I am unable to describe or express. Whenever, with full awareness and humility, we undertake to perform the Obligatory Prayer before God, and recite it with heartfelt tenderness, we shall taste such sweetness as to endow all existence with eternal life."

(Abdu’l-Baha, IOPF, 2, XIV) [Emphasis added.]

Finally there is a prayer I'll share here:

"O my God, O my Lord, O my Master! I beg Thee to forgive me for seeking any pleasure save Thy love, or any comfort except Thy nearness, or any delight besides Thy good-pleasure, or any existence other than communion with Thee."

The Báb

Selections from the Writings of the Báb, p. 216

As a Baha'i I would say that in answer to your last question.. I believe God watches over us whether we ask for help or not. God is Most Merciful ...

 

[cloudyday2]

Finally there is a prayer I'll share here:

"O my God, O my Lord, O my Master! I beg Thee to forgive me for seeking any pleasure save Thy love, or any comfort except Thy nearness, or any delight besides Thy good-pleasure, or any existence other than communion with Thee."

The Báb

Selections from the Writings of the Báb, p. 216

I like that prayer.

As a Baha'i I would say that in answer to your last question.. I believe God watches over us whether we ask for help or not. God is Most Merciful ...

That makes sense to me too.

 

[JackRT]

During the late 1940's and well into the 1950's Charles Templeton was one of the leading evangelists in North America. He was a contemporary and close friend of Billy Graham and even travelled and roomed with him on joint crusades. Some, at the time, regarded him as a greater evangelist than Graham himself. In 1957, just following his greatest crusade ever, and after a long period of soul searching, he turned his back on his ministry and walked away from it. He said to himself, in effect, “how can I stand here and preach passionately to these people when I know that I am not preaching the truth.”

He wrote in “Farewell to God” --- “According to Christian theology, God is omniscient and exists apart from time. Being omniscient he knows the end from the beginning. But if true, would this not mean that all temporal life is predetermined? If God knows the end from the beginning then nothing is subject to change --- otherwise it would not have been known from the beginning. This being so, prayer cannot possibly change anything and there is no point to it. Apart from its function as worship, prayer is based on the premise that God can be talked into running the universe according to the wishes of a devout person on his knees. But, again, try to imagine the chaos if every devout person's prayers were answered! Belief in the efficacy of prayer is a form of self-delusion. Our real prayers are not what we say while on our knees --- the facile words whispered during a prayer. They are the aspirations, attitudes, and desires that motivate our daily lives. It is easy to prime the pump and have the words gush forth in a torrent of pious phrases but the proof of what we really want, regardless of what we say we want, is evident in the way we live. “

 

[FireDragon76]

During the late 1940's and well into the 1950's Charles Templeton was one of the leading evangelists in North America. He was a contemporary and close friend of Billy Graham and even travelled and roomed with him on joint crusades. Some, at the time, regarded him as a greater evangelist than Graham himself. In 1957, just following his greatest crusade ever, and after a long period of soul searching, he turned his back on his ministry and walked away from it. He said to himself, in effect, “how can I stand here and preach passionately to these people when I know that I am not preaching the truth.”

He wrote in “Farewell to God” --- “According to Christian theology, God is omniscient and exists apart from time. Being omniscient he knows the end from the beginning. But if true, would this not mean that all temporal life is predetermined? If God knows the end from the beginning then nothing is subject to change --- otherwise it would not have been known from the beginning. This being so, prayer cannot possibly change anything and there is no point to it. Apart from its function as worship, prayer is based on the premise that God can be talked into running the universe according to the wishes of a devout person on his knees. But, again, try to imagine the chaos if every devout person's prayers were answered! Belief in the efficacy of prayer is a form of self-delusion. Our real prayers are not what we say while on our knees --- the facile words whispered during a prayer. They are the aspirations, attitudes, and desires that motivate our daily lives. It is easy to prime the pump and have the words gush forth in a torrent of pious phrases but the proof of what we really want, regardless of what we say we want, is evident in the way we live. “

With all respect to Templeton, today even from a secular perspective, we know better. When people spend time setting their intentions, they tend to find it easier to realize them. This is for instance why some sports athletes engage in visualization to try to increase their performance (for instance, in scoring goals or hoops), and it has been demonstrated to increase their performance.