Why do we pray?

[mamike]

Hi everyone, new member here. I joined because I have been struggling with a thought recently and wanted to see what others thought.

I often find myself asking God for non-spiritual things, as I imagine a lot of people do; financial or job security, good decision on a big purchase, healing, etc. recently, I have been wondering if it makes any difference.

I'm convinced of the need to pray for spiritual development but even the Bible says that that's all we need to ask for "and all these things shall be added unto you." God knows me and my future and always has even before I was born. If He truly loves me (which He does) then He will do whatever is best for me and my family in the big picture. If that's not in line with what I see as good in my nearsighted vision, God won't grant me my request. What would be the point of specific prayer then? Should I simply ask God to do what's best? Could I possibly change God's mind about whether someone receiving healing or passing on? Getting a promotion or not? Moving or not? Any thoughts are appreciated.

 

[Dialogist]

Hi everyone, new member here. I joined because I have been struggling with a thought recently and wanted to see what others thought.

I often find myself asking God for non-spiritual things, as I imagine a lot of people do; financial or job security, good decision on a big purchase, healing, etc. recently, I have been wondering if it makes any difference.

I'm convinced of the need to pray for spiritual development but even the Bible says that that's all we need to ask for "and all these things shall be added unto you." God knows me and my future and always has even before I was born. If He truly loves me (which He does) then He will do whatever is best for me and my family in the big picture. If that's not in line with what I see as good in my nearsighted vision, God won't grant me my request. What would be the point of specific prayer then? Should I simply ask God to do what's best? Could I possibly change God's mind about whether someone receiving healing or passing on? Getting a promotion or not? Moving or not? Any thoughts are appreciated.

Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10)

In the Orthodox Church we are taught that above all we should ask that we understand His will for us - no matter how difficult it may be for us to accept - and pray that His will be accomplished and that we be given whatever strength we need. If we receive hardship and adversity instead of emotional and material comforts, then, trying to follow the example of Job, we bless God and thank Him and say "Glory to God" instead of lamenting our fate (Orthodox Christians had a lot of occasions to practice this under Stalin and Ceaucescu and other Communist leaders in the 20th century and now when confronted with ISIS).

We are sometimes fixated on the world, but as Christians we sometimes forget that we are set apart from the world and should not be so concerned with it. Our earthly life is a miniscule, transient event. Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him, John wrote; He that doeth the will of God abideth for ever (1 John 2:15, 17).

 

[brinny]

Why do we pray?

Hi everyone, new member here. I joined because I have been struggling with a thought recently and wanted to see what others thought.

I often find myself asking God for non-spiritual things, as I imagine a lot of people do; financial or job security, good decision on a big purchase, healing, etc. recently, I have been wondering if it makes any difference.

I'm convinced of the need to pray for spiritual development but even the Bible says that that's all we need to ask for "and all these things shall be added unto you." God knows me and my future and always has even before I was born. If He truly loves me (which He does) then He will do whatever is best for me and my family in the big picture. If that's not in line with what I see as good in my nearsighted vision, God won't grant me my request. What would be the point of specific prayer then? Should I simply ask God to do what's best? Could I possibly change God's mind about whether someone receiving healing or passing on? Getting a promotion or not? Moving or not? Any thoughts are appreciated.

Praying is communicating/talking to the living God of the Bible. Is that the God you are referring to?

If so, praying to this God is "communing" because we LOVE Him and LONG to be in His presence, and to seek His face, just like David in the Old Testament did, who loved God with all his heart, mind, soul, and strength, did.

I can elaborate if you wish.

Thank you kindly.

 

[juvenissun]

Hi everyone, new member here. I joined because I have been struggling with a thought recently and wanted to see what others thought.

I often find myself asking God for non-spiritual things, as I imagine a lot of people do; financial or job security, good decision on a big purchase, healing, etc. recently, I have been wondering if it makes any difference.

I'm convinced of the need to pray for spiritual development but even the Bible says that that's all we need to ask for "and all these things shall be added unto you." God knows me and my future and always has even before I was born. If He truly loves me (which He does) then He will do whatever is best for me and my family in the big picture. If that's not in line with what I see as good in my nearsighted vision, God won't grant me my request. What would be the point of specific prayer then? Should I simply ask God to do what's best? Could I possibly change God's mind about whether someone receiving healing or passing on? Getting a promotion or not? Moving or not? Any thoughts are appreciated.

God loves us like a father. That should answer many of your questions.

How often a child give thanks to his father? Very rare. Right? This should also tell us what we should do to God. Like a kid, we can not really help our Father. But we certainly can make Him happier. Yes, the almighty God wants us to make Him happier.

 

[Ana the Ist]

Hi everyone, new member here. I joined because I have been struggling with a thought recently and wanted to see what others thought.

I often find myself asking God for non-spiritual things, as I imagine a lot of people do; financial or job security, good decision on a big purchase, healing, etc. recently, I have been wondering if it makes any difference.

I'm convinced of the need to pray for spiritual development but even the Bible says that that's all we need to ask for "and all these things shall be added unto you." God knows me and my future and always has even before I was born. If He truly loves me (which He does) then He will do whatever is best for me and my family in the big picture. If that's not in line with what I see as good in my nearsighted vision, God won't grant me my request. What would be the point of specific prayer then? Should I simply ask God to do what's best? Could I possibly change God's mind about whether someone receiving healing or passing on? Getting a promotion or not? Moving or not? Any thoughts are appreciated.

I know exactly what problem you're talking about....

As an atheist, whenever I ask christians questions about prayer I will inevitably get answers like, "You're not supposed to ask god for things...he's not a genie, he doesn't grant wishes."

Yet, you can look up the threads that most of those christians make and you'll find more than one asking for prayers because "my husband lost his job and we're really struggling financially" or "my aunt is really sick and in the hospital and needs your prayers". The same people who tell you god doesn't grant wishes ask for stuff from god all the time.

Other people will answer that all you can pray for is for "his will to be done". Yet, like you say...he's god...won't all things happen according to his will anyway?

Also...Why would you need to pray to give him thanks? Doesn't he already know all your thoughts? Apparently, god knows whenever you think lustful or impure thoughts...surely he can tell whenever you feel thankful without you needing to pray it to him?

People pray for basically one reason...control. They've lost control of some aspect of their life, or something bad happened to them and it's beyond their control to fix it, or they think that by thanking him for something they can keep that thing in their life.

Life is unpredictable...lots of things that are beyond your control will happen to you. Prayer won't give you control...but it's comforting in that if offers the illusion of control.

Of course, it can offer a lot of confusion as well...especially if you believe it can affect things. There is (was?) a poster on this forum who was gay, but didn't want to be and he didn't act on it. He prayed and prayed for god to make him straight because he was taught that god would help him. This never happened...so he blamed himself, and the cycle of self-loathing and despair continued. Its a shame really.

 

[sunshineforJesus]

Why do we pray?


Praying is communicating/talking to the living God of the Bible. Is that the God you are referring to?

If so, praying to this God is "communing" because we LOVE Him and LONG to be in His presence, and to seek His face, just like David in the Old Testament did, who loved God with all his heart, mind, soul, and strength, did.

I can elaborate if you wish.

Thank you kindly.

Exactly!

 

[GrowingSmaller]

Inagine everyone brain wise entangled in a neural web of (insert self, society etc concept here). <-sticky this bit.

Stage two: zoom in attention wise on the prayer and topic, and focus mentally, probably fancily named brain area relations (aha!) thus producing dendrites and growth horemones (important functional brain bits) in the local area network (especially yourself). With maybe a bit of epigenetic (DNA switch) manouvering thrown into the mix too.

Brain wise, and social neuroscience wise I mean. Like a bit of social chemistry, or psychological engineering in a religious vogue.


Stage three: Re-enter (reality) with the new "stage II program" in effect, and youre a conscientious, re-formed, re-directed (insert new cognitive paradigm here). Thats what prayer does, it rehabilitates the subcoonscious ad rewires the social psyche, especially the owner of the prayer and his or her intuitions, I believe.

Like a kind of " 'non-rational' emotional behavioral therapy and learning".



Now the crystal lattice has been reprogrammed and gemmified hopefully. With spiritual riches.

<- this looks cool.

If you are used to stage 2, say at church - and it is not changing things - you may have an ingrained, re-enternched non-max prayer strategy. Running over the same old ground hoping for fresh fruit is a misteke. Try a forest, or a castle, or an "new church" instead.

If youre sincere, beware of Harry Potter programming, because wands tend to sink...

Pooh sticks is not a game of luck but rather depends on choosing the optimum stick, according to research from a leading scientist.

 

[asherahSamaria]

Praying seems to give some people a sense that they are doing something positive for someone else when in reality they aren't doing anything at all.

 

[ananda]

I believe that most of the power behind "prayer" is actually the power of self-affirmation. Each individual possesses incredible creative powers through the use of volitional choice and intention, and in belief associated with all of that.

 

[zippy2006]

Hi everyone, new member here. I joined because I have been struggling with a thought recently and wanted to see what others thought.

I often find myself asking God for non-spiritual things, as I imagine a lot of people do; financial or job security, good decision on a big purchase, healing, etc. recently, I have been wondering if it makes any difference.

I'm convinced of the need to pray for spiritual development but even the Bible says that that's all we need to ask for "and all these things shall be added unto you." God knows me and my future and always has even before I was born. If He truly loves me (which He does) then He will do whatever is best for me and my family in the big picture. If that's not in line with what I see as good in my nearsighted vision, God won't grant me my request. What would be the point of specific prayer then? Should I simply ask God to do what's best? Could I possibly change God's mind about whether someone receiving healing or passing on? Getting a promotion or not? Moving or not? Any thoughts are appreciated.

Mamike, this is a wonderful question. You are wondering about petitionary prayer. There are two basic questions you raise:

1. If God loves me and will do what is best for me, then what reason would I have to petition Him? Nothing I ask for could be better than what he has already planned!
2. God is supremely intelligent, omnipotent, immutable, etc. Therefore, will my prayer really change God's mind?

In essence you are thinking about prayer and life in too much of a way that focuses on "results," on getting things that you want, achieving goals in the world. But think about it. What is the supreme and most important goal of our life? It is to go to heaven. What is heaven? It is an intimate, exalted, loving relationship with the One who created everything, including us. This is what God desires, and it is what we ought to desire.

So let's look at your first question. It only makes sense if you forget about our final goal: relationship with God. We petition God to learn to trust Him, to better understand his will, to come to understand how much he loves and cares about us--how much he is willing to give us. This is why God wants us to petition Him (Matthew 7:7)! This is why he wants us to dialogue with him, to question him, to thank him. God's plan is that you would petition him and come to rely upon him--scripture is clear. When you fail to petition God you fail to adhere to the plan he desires for you. A very important part of God's plan involves you, He, and your relationship together, and this part cannot be effected without your cooperation. To say that "God will give me what is best, I don't have to ask for anything" tends to miss the vital point of God's actual desires for your relationship with him. Indeed, God may well be withholding certain blessings until you muster the courage to ask for them. Even human parents will do this at times. God will answer your petition not only to give you good things, but also so that you might know where these gifts come from and learn to rely on the Giver of all good things! It also teaches us that, to a certain extent, God respects our will and will allow us to influence his ongoing plan of creation.

Your second question is related to my last few sentences. God's perfect plan has within it your cooperation, your actions. Your prayer will change God's mind in the sense that he desperately wants to give you certain things, but will only give them if you ask. If you do not ask, then God will resort to plan B.

God bless,
zip

 

[zippy2006]

People pray for basically one reason...control. They've lost control of some aspect of their life, or something bad happened to them and it's beyond their control to fix it, or they think that by thanking him for something they can keep that thing in their life.

Life is unpredictable...lots of things that are beyond your control will happen to you. Prayer won't give you control...but it's comforting in that if offers the illusion of control.

Silly atheist! Prayer includes no guarantee of control. Just the opposite. This is how a Christian prays:

Father, if thou art willing, remove this cup from me; nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. (Luke 22:42 )​

The Christian who prays for reason of complete control has made the same fundamental mistake that the atheist makes: they think they are God. They think that, at the end of the day, it depends on them alone.

 

[Ana the Ist]

Silly atheist! Prayer includes no guarantee of control. Just the opposite. This is how a Christian prays:

Father, if thou art willing, remove this cup from me; nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. (Luke 22:42 )​

The Christian who prays for reason of complete control has made the same fundamental mistake that the atheist makes: they think they are God. They think that, at the end of the day, it depends on them alone.

Then you should be sharing this knowledge with all those people who keep calling themselves christians. They're doing it wrong.

If you like, I can direct you to some of those threads where they're getting it all wrong. I'm sure your expertise on this subject will be much appreciated.

 

[GrowingSmaller]

Praying seems to give some people a sense that they are doing something positive for someone else when in reality they aren't doing anything at all.

The proof being? If people didn't pray for progress, would it still be in vogue?

Rather, prayer is part of rewiring the social connectome.

zappppp-o-logical vectors etc...

 

[GrowingSmaller]

Up to the left a bit, no right, warmer, yes, there. Thats prayer.

Mizan (scales of justice):

Mizan literally means a device used for weighing something, weighing device, scale. In Islamic terms, it is a spiritual scale which will be used to weigh one’s good deeds and sins in the Hereafter. Mizan is not a device that just weighs materials. There are also devices for measuring hotness, coldness and speed. Besides being used to weigh materials and some symptoms, Mizan is also used allegorically in law to weigh badness and goodness. Such as scale of law, scale of goodness, scale of truth, scale of reasoning…

source: http://www.questionsonislam.com/question/what-mizan-scale

 

[SkyWriting]

Hi everyone, new member here. I joined because I have been struggling with a thought recently and wanted to see what others thought.

I often find myself asking God for non-spiritual things, as I imagine a lot of people do; financial or job security, good decision on a big purchase, healing, etc. recently, I have been wondering if it makes any difference.

I'm convinced of the need to pray for spiritual development but even the Bible says that that's all we need to ask for "and all these things shall be added unto you." God knows me and my future and always has even before I was born. If He truly loves me (which He does) then He will do whatever is best for me and my family in the big picture. If that's not in line with what I see as good in my nearsighted vision, God won't grant me my request. What would be the point of specific prayer then? Should I simply ask God to do what's best? Could I possibly change God's mind about whether someone receiving healing or passing on? Getting a promotion or not? Moving or not? Any thoughts are appreciated.

ALL prayer is appreciated by God. It's His only real request of us.
As you "get better" at prayer, you learn that His will should be
guiding your thoughts. When that happens, prayers are instantly
answered.....in my experience.

 

[Willis Gravning]

Up to the left a bit, no right, warmer, yes, there. Thats prayer.

Mizan (scales of justice):

Awesome images. I work on medical imaging equipment.

 

[GrowingSmaller]

Pax Christie then, latino.

 

[SamuelTP1977]

For me, prayer helps me feel like somebody is watching over me, like someone has my back, especially in the afterlife. I hope so anyways. I feel prayer offers hope, and can calm the mind before doing what one has to do to solve a problem.

Hang in there,

Sam

 

[SkyWriting]

Praying seems to give some people a sense that they are doing something positive for someone else when in reality they aren't doing anything at all.

Until it does. Then you think different.

 

[asherahSamaria]

Until it does. Then you think different.

Confirmation bias?

I often wonder what's stopping Christians - or believers of any faith for that matter - in asking for a end to world hunger, poverty, cancer, etc when they pray. After all, Mathew 18.19 is pretty clear that you just ask.