Prayer (2) Whats The Point?

[nailit]

Many people pray for frivolous things (God please grant me a parking space at Tesco)
Many people pray for something far more serious (God please save my dying child)
The frivolous prayers seem to get answered far more than the serious prayers.
(Maybe something to do with the fact that you are more likely to find a parking lot at Tesco than you are of finding your terminally ill child miraculously cured of a terminal illness)

Its been said that prayer doesnt change circumstances, it changes you.
So why pray in the first place?
As an ex-christian, I really dont get it? I prayed for stuff to happen, which I. knew wasn't going to happen anyway, but then came the excuses. It wasnt Gods will etc. If God's will is paramount then prayer is a waste of time, he aint going to change his mind as to who suffers and who he replies to...

Didnt the Pope a while back say that he was going to ask God to remove Covid? If God didnt listen to the Pope asking for a pandemic to be erradicated then he's not going to listen to you asking for a parking space at bloody Tesco.

So whats the point? Seriously!

[Theland]

I'll pray to cope with whatever comes.

[HansUrbancka]

Theland.....Are you not praying for the cessation of Covid along with other God loving folk.?

I must admit that I find a lot of your comments very very strange.

Hans

[Old_Geezer]

If you see no value in it then maybe there is no point for you.
Others feel differently and who knows if any prayers are granted or not. Maybe some are, maybe none are. Doesn't hurt to ask.

[Theland]

Maybe I am strange?

[Old_Geezer]

Good evening Dr. Strange.

[Barmaid]

I have moved away from religion as I have got older. But to me, prayer wasnt simply about asking for stuff. I see it more as contemplative.

Every day, I tend to feel grateful for what I have. I do not feel the need to offer thanks to anyone - particularly a deity; but others do. Many seek solace in prayer and their beliefs. And if they derive comfort from that, who am I to judge?

I think it is very personal. If it is not for you - fine. But others derive many things from prayer which is personal to them. Consequently, I do not consider it pointless.

[Bigbad]

What’s the point?
There is no point to a non-believer, but if someone gets something out of it, and they are not trying to ram it down your throat, then what difference does it make to you?
As a life long atheist, and believer that all religion is claptrap, I can still see that a private prayer does no harm to anyone. It’s not the same as trying to force a belief on anyone, or committing an evil act in the name of religion.

“I pray for a sick boy I have never met, and his mother, an ABer. “
I think that’s very kind of you, Theland.

[JimF]

"I think that’s very kind of you, Theland."

And I'm sure everyone hopes that the boy in question pulls through.

If he does, no doubt it will be claimed that the prayers were answered.

If he doesn't, then it must have been God's will anyway.

The standard Christian get-out clause.

[Bigbad]

I agree with you about the “get out clause” JimF, but I’ve often seen Theland ask the AB’er in question how her son is, and I just see it as a kind gesture.

[douglas9401]

Nailit old bean, if you were to research your family tree I'm pretty sure you'd find some groundhog in there.

[tamborine]

You pray when theres no alternative. thankyou theland for your prayers. Frazer is gaining weight slowly but surely. I feel other abers pass him good wishes too & thankyou all. Last night his precious van/hearse (he is an undertaker) was stolen from the care home, with his stock of body bags in a coffin, lucky it wasnt occupied but someones in for a shock :(

[HansUrbancka]

Theland.......It is the case that you are now well known in AB for avoiding questions. However, as you appear to have raised a question by your posting at 20.33' I will give an answer.

Yes you are strange and could become a stranger amongst friends.

Hans.

[Mamyalynne]

Glad Frazer is showing some improvement Tambo.

[tamborine]

If anyone is interested the van theft is on my facebook page

[tamborine]

thanx mamya, his IVs are being changed tonight as theyve deteriorated & new inserted.

[naomi24]

Theland, //often pray for two ABers, that God will open their eyes to His reality.//

Clearly those two ABers disagree with you - which they are perfectly at liberty to do. Therefore that kind of arrogance is an insult.

A very good friend of mine is an Anglican vicar and at what I can only describe as the most devastating time of my life she had her whole congregation praying Sunday after Sunday for me and mine. I told her it wouldn’t work - and I was right. It didn’t.

To answer the question, if on a personal level prayer gives comfort to those who need comfort, I won’t complain.

[goodlife]

But what I see in you is this, without faith it is impossible to win his good pleasure, for he that approaches God must believe that he is and that he becomes the rewarder of those earnestly seeking him.Heb 11:6.

So before any one embark on any endeavor, you might wonder, ‘What’s in it for me?’ Is it selfish is it for selfish reason,though, to ask this about prayer? Not necessarily. We naturally want to know whether it does any good. Even the good man Job once asked: “If I call out to him, will he answer me?”—Job 9:16.

[naomi24]

Goodlife, if the price for impressing him is the cowardly sycophancy of the self-obsessed, he, as far as I’m concerned, can remain unimpressed. I can live - and die - with that.

[goodlife]

Noomi it's your choice the shame with everybody else, but the Bible was written for nothing even though you can mock and do what you like, It said what happened in the past and the same will be for you lot today.

[SparklyKid]

Millions prayed for Ken Bigley, that did not end well.