If you think it works, what is your evidence outside of possible coincidence?
What Does Prayer Actually Do?
by punkofnice 39 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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truth_b_known
This is what it does for me in my practice -
In Buddhism, prayer is primarily utilized for its internal purposes. It is practiced to awaken the practitioner’s inner bodhicitta, or Buddha nature. This concept can be defined as the fundamental compassionate vital energy; an energy that is as much present in the cosmos as it is within the individual. The process of prayer aids the practitioner in uniting himself with the cosmos by awakening this inner energy and consequently tapping into otherwise unused sources of wisdom, empathy and knowledge. The various types of meditative Buddhist prayer serve to calm the mind; bringing it to a state conducive to developing a strong and compassionate heart.
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pontoon
I never felt prayer did anything for me and I did try to pray sincerely and make it work.
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punkofnice
PtB - A rose by any other name. Thorny charachter.
TBK - Pontoon - I often felt that prayer was me talking to myself, trying to convince myself of something.
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truth_b_known
TBK - Pontoon - I often felt that prayer was me talking to myself, trying to convince myself of something.
That's pretty much it, Punk. Prayer is the practice of setting an intention, usually to benefit the self and others through compassionate action.
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pontoon
A Like to punk. -
mickbobcat
Not a god damn thing -
LoveUniHateExams
I haven't seen any evidence that prayer does anything concrete.
However, if it puts religious people's minds at rest, or somehow makes them feel better, then prayer could have a benefit basically identical to a placebo.
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Anony Mous
Proper prayer is basically a form of meditation. It can take many forms, such as chanting, reciting, reflection, group prayers. Hence why Catholic and other classic prayers are so prevalent and powerful, there is a form of repetition in it with the goal of transcendence, it can put your mind at ease by concentrating on things that aren't your ideas and things like the Lord's Prayer remind you that you MAY get the things you need if you work hard and do things for others.
The prayer you learn as a JW however isn't that at all, it's a wish list for Santa basically, it is very self-centered and prayer as a form of meditation is actually eschewed. As a JW you pray for yourself, other JW's and for Armageddon to come and other such nonsense, it is totally debased.
Compare the phrase "Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors." with any JW prayer you've ever heard from the stage. There is virtually nobody that ties your past actions towards your fellow person to the provision of the daily needs, you're not telling God in the Lord's Prayer that you need help forgiving another person, when the prayer starts, it's presumed you have already forgiven the person, only then can you ask for your own forgiveness and daily bread. It's an entirely different mindset than "please give me my food for the day, and help me overcome with the struggles I'm having with person x or y" - which is how the JW's teach you to pray, to ask for help without putting any action in yourself.