Kitty Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 Inspired by Hassan's thread in the Lame board, I thought it could be a Lame-less (?) topic here. People who pray/are prayed for by someone else are just as likely to die in an accident than people who do not pray or who are not prayed for by someone. Therefore, prayer doesn't really do anything. It is just a way to lift people's spirits when there really is no hope, and it's a way for people to feel like they are "helping" the person out. What's the purpose of prayer? Does someone actually hear prayers? If they do, do they care? Does prayer work? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dairygirl4u2c Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 i still say there are a lot of miracles that don't happen to the non-prayer folks. sure, there's things like cancer remissions, that could and does happen to non-prayer folk. this stuff isn't measured enough to compare the rate between the groups. but, i've heard of things like corneas developing where there were none, it's not like we're starfish where that's possible. it's not even plausible. for example, padre pio. i think some of these act as miracles. or incorruptibles, if not from prayer for someone per se, close second. course, these things like corneas developing, are very rare. so rare, it's hard to say whether it happens in nonprayer folks. i've never heard anything like it, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightofChrist Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 I've always have had my prayers answered. I am happy when the answer is yes, and accept when the answer is no. Many times people pray for things that are simply not the will of God. We must learn to accept that we do not always get what we pray. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinytherese Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 God is not a genie that grants our every wish. Sometimes He says yes, other times no, and other times He says yes but not now. Do parents always say yes and give us what we want right then and there all of the time? No, they do not. God does the same for us and He is Our Heavenly Father. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitty Posted August 14, 2009 Author Share Posted August 14, 2009 [quote name='KnightofChrist' post='1948367' date='Aug 13 2009, 08:53 PM']I've always have had my prayers answered. I am happy when the answer is yes, and accept when the answer is no.[/quote] So esentially, you could not pray at all and the same events would occur at their own will. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinytherese Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 [quote name='Kitty' post='1948376' date='Aug 13 2009, 10:05 PM']So esentially, you could not pray at all and the same events would occur at their own will.[/quote] Not necessarily. Sometimes God is moved by prayers so as to make the situation better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightofChrist Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 (edited) [quote name='Kitty' post='1948376' date='Aug 13 2009, 10:05 PM']So esentially, you could not pray at all and the same events would occur at their own will.[/quote] No. For what I pray for and the answer is yes, then that would not be true. For what I pray for and the answer is no, I learn how to pray correctly so hopefully the answer will be yes the next time I pray. I hope this does not offend. But you are still hurting because the prayer you prayed for your loved one was no. I can see why people hate and deny God after such an answer, but I do not understand it. Denying God denies the soul, the immortal soul of the person who went through so much pain on earth. Denying God, denies heaven the place of eternal happiness and goodness. I have seen people die very painful deaths even after much prayer that, that would not happen. I will also likely die such a death, given the problems I deal with health wise. People who go through such pain can offer it up to God as Christ did, and receive graces for it. But to deny God is an affront to the person who went through so much and is now on the other side with God. Edited August 14, 2009 by KnightofChrist Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resurrexi Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 I believe what God Himself said about prayer: Ask, and it shall be given you: seek, and you shall find: knock, and it shall be opened to you. For every one that asketh, receiveth: and he that seeketh, findeth: and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitty Posted August 14, 2009 Author Share Posted August 14, 2009 But if "God's will be done"...then everything will happen regardless of how many people pray/how hard you pray/how often you pray. If God's will can be swayed by a few prayers, then God's will really isn't God's will...I mean, really, God could be "moved" by a college student praying to pass a difficult test, but he isn't moved when a family prays that a loved one is saved from a terminal illness? That doesn't make sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resurrexi Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 [quote name='Kitty' post='1948399' date='Aug 13 2009, 09:23 PM']But if "God's will be done"...then everything will happen regardless of how many people pray/how hard you pray/how often you pray. If God's will can be swayed by a few prayers, then God's will really isn't God's will...I mean, really, God could be "moved" by a college student praying to pass a difficult test, but he isn't moved when a family prays that a loved one is saved from a terminal illness? That doesn't make sense.[/quote] Have you ever considered that maybe God permits someone to die of an illness, even when many have prayed that he would not die of the illness, because greater good comes out of his dying at that time? Perhaps, because the person dies of the illness, he will be able to be absolved of his sins and receive his God before his death, while otherwise the person would have died in a car accident while in mortal sin. (Obviously I am speaking of a completely hypothetical situation.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havok579257 Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 maybe because it was that family members time to go? God has a plan for all of us. Everything happens for a reason. this family member dying happened for a reason. just because one can not yet see why this happened, does not mean it did not happen for a reason. I pray to God all the time. Although almost all of my prayer's are thanking God and asking God to show me my path in life, the path that will lead me to him when I die. I ask God for guidance so I can be an instrument of him. i try not to pray asking for things because who am I to know if that is the best thing for me. Only God knows. I just ask him to show me the path to rightousness and I will follow. I ask for God;s guiadance in my life and not my own petty needs and wants. plus prayer is a time to give God thanks for everything he has done for you and your family. Most of us don't really see all the wonderful things we really have. We only see what we don't have. Everything happens for a reason. Nothing is by accident or chance. If it is someone's time to go, then it is their time to go. If they are going to heaven, then what is there really to be sad about? they are going to a better place. Yes, be said you can not be with them now, but if they lived a good life and are now going to meet God, what is there to be upset about? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightofChrist Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 (edited) [quote name='Kitty' post='1948399' date='Aug 13 2009, 10:23 PM']But if "God's will be done"...then everything will happen regardless of how many people pray/how hard you pray/how often you pray. If God's will can be swayed by a few prayers, then God's will really isn't God's will...I mean, really, God could be "moved" by a college student praying to pass a difficult test, but he isn't moved when a family prays that a loved one is saved from a terminal illness? That doesn't make sense.[/quote] For some graces it is the will of God that we pray to receive a certain grace to receive it. Some times we simply ask for things that are not meant to be. Take your example, sometimes it is the reverse. The student prays and the answer is no, and the family prayers and the answer is yes. But in the case you bring up, the person that dies if they have kept the faith are more happy than anything you could imagine. As for the student he could go on and become a doctor and save the lives of like the one that die, all because of a chain reaction caused by passing a test. We will all die, some die much sooner than others, but death will come for us all. But to deny God, denies the souls of those that have died. It seems selfish to reject God because the answer we wanted was not the answer, and because of that we also hurt the very person that already went through so much pain. Saying God does not exist is telling that person that they no longer exist. Denying someone existence is well mean. Edited August 14, 2009 by KnightofChrist Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caritas Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 Prayer helps us to know both God and ourselves... We are the ones who need prayer-- we are trying to be one with God, to have God's Will and our will become the same, and how else can we achieve this but through prayer? As for praying for others, I think it makes us more attune to them and to their needs, and if we are going to chalk up everything to God's knowledge and Will, then I suppose we are fulfilling His Will by praying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregorius Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 I would also like to add that prayer is not always asking for specific things. Prayer is communication with God. It helps you to know His will, even if you don't necessarily understand it at the time. Whenever I perform or compete, I pray that I play to the glory of His name, good or bad. I find that I usually do well afterward, but then there are of course times where I don't do so well. I am assured that I am loved and that my performance was indeed pleasing, and I also am able to be pleased with the performance. Practically, it helps me to connect with others around me as well as with God. There are moments in my life where I am just astounded by what's around me. I thank God for what's around me, and I just... bask in His warmth. And I find I can be more easily astounded. Awe provokes imagination, imagination can lead to some profound thoughts, and I am able to experience things that just can't be described in words, and that most of my peers would only begin to dream of. Then there are moments in life where I have chosen and choose poorly. After so long of making bad choices and trying to correct them by myself and failing, I expressed my sorrow to God and He helped me come back to Him. It is freedom, freedom to do right that can only be obtained only if you pray to be enslaved no more. Even if you don't ask for them, God gives you many gifts believe it or not. God loves you so much that He gave you Himself. He gives Himself to all that seek it. This is ultimately expressed in the Eucharist, a word that means "thanksgiving". But anyway, after such gifts, I can only thank Him, and in return offer the gift of myself to Him. I don't know what your experience says to you, but in my experience, prayer definitely works. So let me ask you: have you prayed or ever prayed in the past? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatherineM Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 Sometimes my prayers are answered best when God says no, I just don't realize it at the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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