Does anyone know how prayer is supposed to work?

by onintwo 11 Replies latest jw friends

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  onintwo

  I never did get it. Is God so (pick one) blind, dumb, arrogant, confused, uninterested...that he needs to actually hear people beseech him for help before He'll actually do anything to help?

  Or how about when people group together and all pray for one thing? Is it kind of like a barn raising? Get enough people together and the chore goes along easier? Exactly how many people must ask God something before he'll do it? Does he pick and choose? How about prayers that are for diametrically opposing ideas? Prayers for things that are mutually exclusive?

  Does a very pious person's prayer trump a less pious person's prayer?

  I guess these questions are best put to religious persons....

  Just wondering.

  Onintwo
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  myelaine

  so (pick one) blind, dumb, arrogant, confused, uninterested...that he needs to actually hear people beseech him for help before He'll actually do anything to help?

  dear onintwo,

  If I knew that you talked like that behind my back I'd hesitate to help you too.

  michelle
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  Satanus

  Being of rather surley and molassosey nature, it takes a lot, and sometimes innovative actions on the part of humans to move him. For instance, if one the faithful will torment/degrade himself in a way that has never been done before, or to a greater extent than done before, sometimes this will get the attention of the allseeing eyed one. If the flagelante is able to maintain his actions after getting the cosmic switch board operators attention, then as a response of recognition that he was relieved of his endless boredom, the almighty may send an answer. However, that answer takes some time to reach the supplicant, as his greatness must summon an angel, give him the message, and then the angel must traverse eons of space at hyperlight speeds to reach the dust mote called earth.

  All too often his hurtling trajectory is thrown off by pesky interferring demons. The resulting struggle can add days, or even months to the time of transition. Lastly, the answer could be 'no' as the omniscient one knows so much better what is good for his humble servant than the servant himself does.

  I hope this helps.

  Sincerely s
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  onintwo

  Thank you Satanus, very enlightening description of the physical mechanics of prayer!

  Myelaine, I wasn't referring to help for myself. What if, just what if, a person wanted to see the suffering of others relieved? Besides, you didn't answer the basic question. You only foiled around it with your comment.

  Onintwo
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  Satanus

  No problem.

  There is another wrinkle, which i should hasten to add. Ascending prayers must pass through the officiating hands of the mediator, jesus of nazoreth. It is not clear if he is in earth's vicinity or in the heavens w his father. At any rate, should the utterer lack faith in the person of jesus, in his power, in his existence, in his godhood part of the trinity, in the personhood of the holy spirit, in the power of the holy spirit, in the power of the death/blood of jesus, in the fact that jesus took his body of flesh w him, etc, this may cause jesus to react negatively, stopping the prayer short, as it were.

  S
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  ezekiel3

  There goes Peoria!

  I pray and I find it a very spiritual experience. I do believe that personal prayer is essentially a placebo, a crutch to get us in touch with something less physical then our mundane existance.

  If you believe in a personal God, you may consider why you are so motivated to pray for others. Do you think your prayer is needed to call attention to a problem? You might consider that God already knows. But what if the situation troubles you? Then prayer is useful to reconcile those emotions. (I know, cut and dry, sorry.)

  As an alternative to devine interaction, there is growing evidence that we are more than meat, that our thoughts are "things", and that our collective thoughts can produce action. Some call this "prayer" or "prayer circles". This sort of thing was conducted by members of this board for Dansk recently.

  For me, I refuse to pray for others. Not out of lack of love or concern. Each of us have a personal journey, that includes sickness and death. I learned this lesson from a dear but terminally ill friend. He accepted his lot and asked me to do the same.

  And don't forget, prayer is just one half of a conversation.
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  Satanus

  Ok, enough holes poked in the silly christian contruct. I actually think that prayer is basically an interaction w our communal subconscious here on the earth and it's vicinity. And/or, as ezekial3 said, it's a tool use on your own mind.

  S
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  ezekiel3

  Get behind me Satan! (I always wanted to say that...)
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  Satanus

  Eze

  Lol. I think it was a game they used to play; whose turn it was to carry the other

  S
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  christopherrobin

  Well !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!--It seems confusing, but I believe that if you want something, audibly asking for it affirms your need and reinforces the gap between WANTING something and HAVING something. If you were a kid, your parents would ask you ( if you weren't raised JW ) " What would you like for Christmas"?--------Your parents ALREADY KNEW what you wanted, but They wanted to HEAR it so that, at the moment you actually GOT IT, the fun of communicating it made it more exiting when you recieved it.

  This analogy only works if there is an ideal situation w/ balanced spirituality (which most JW's are NOT).

  It is almost like some prominent athletes who always bring spirituality into the sporting dimension. I think ----- They don't do this thinking God actually DOES something to make you prevail, it is more a case of -- "If 'I BELIEVE' something that gives my goal more than just a human element, I have a more dynamic edge because of my attatchment to something greater than myself".

  That, and the fact !!!! -- sometimes it's good to talk to SOMEBODY-------even if it is an invisible spirit entity that may or may not actually intervene directly for your requests.