IS PRAYER USEFUL?

Welcome to A2K, K.VEE.SHANKER but if your not familiar with cyberspace, using all caps is SHOUTING.

I think it depends on what one is praying for. It seems some may be praying for something material and selfish (like winning a sports event) and get their wish granted. It is a wish, after all.
A resident genie may works just as well.

Prayer is worthless for a number of reasons.

1. If there is a God, God is traditionally thought to be omniscient. He knows everything. As such, you don't need to tell him what you want, he already knows and you're just wasting his time.

2. If there is no God, then you're just talking to yourself. You already know what you want, so you're just wasting your own time.

3. If people would stop wasting their own time and just work toward their goals, maybe they wouldn't have so much to pray about in the first place.

Cephus,

Even though he's omniscient he reportedly is jelous and vain so the prayer can serve as pleading non?

I am an atheist so I obviously have no use for prayer but as long as one believes that their god needs goading then maybe prayer is worthwhile.

If there is a God -- and is the God is like the god of the Bible -- I suspect prayer is not only useful, but probably essential.

If there is a God -- and if the God is like the god of the Bible -- I think sucking up to it should probably occupy most of your waking moments.

Of course, I am assuming here that you are talking about prayer of adoration.

If you really mean to fix only on prayer of supplication -- then who knows???

Religious people like to say that ALL prayers are answered, but not all are answered "Yes." Some are answered "No" or "Maybe later."

Smart move on their part. Saves them a lot of explaining.

It sure does help, if nothing else.

well hmm...
My first reaction =
God is omnicient (abrahamic) Do you guys know the passage of the tabernacle where people try to hide a relic away from others to allow only their prayers to be heard? well you cant because god loves everyone adn cannot be contained by mere wishes and hopes...

My Irrelevant reaction =
On the Lincoln Memorial there is an inscription about how noone can bless people more because we are already so holy etc.. loook into it it's amazing

My Second (antihipocrytical) reaction =
I commune with my god through deep thought and pensive relaxation. Research reveals that when you meditate adn pray you have clearer mental activity which allows people to reach goals quicker. Whether or not this is gods blessing for praying, is up to you to decide.

I guess as a lapsed Catholic, I see prayer more as meditation, than as actual supernatural event.

IS PRAYER USEFUL?
I thank all of you who've tried to reply my question.Still I feel that my questions are'nt answered.The purpose of my questions is to be sure about the value of prayer.What I want is that someone will clearly show me that "THIS IS IT" so that the question vanishes.I'll keep asking the questions because I'm disappointed with what I've been hearing about.

Prayer helps me to refine and affirm what I want out of my life. I pray because I am thankful to God for the things that have been given to me all blessings (in trial and celebrations), I pray from my heart and soul. I have a sincere desire to have God through the Holy Spirit continually be active in my day to day life.
Psalm 50
14 Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High:
15 And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.

Matthew 7
7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

Nearly as I can tell -- there are two kinds of prayer:

Prayers of thanksgiving and Prayers of beseechment..

Either one in excess is an insult to any god that might actually exist.

Prayer utterd today:
"pleeeeeeease god, let me make the bus...pleeeeease pleeease pleeease god, let me make the bus,
No bus, I want a refund!

Welcome KV

Prayer has an important place in my life. Being thankful for all the blessings bestowed upon me. Grateful for questions answered and comfort in the Spirit's guidance during times of tribulation.

Daily prayer and meditation is an essential part of my life.

I can tell you a few things that prayer is not . . .

It is not a way to get God to finally see things your way.
It is not a way to convince God to do things your way.
It is not a place where you drive up to window number 1, place your order, then drive up to window number 2 to pick it up.

Prayer is a lot of things, but not one of those.

Yes, in my life I consider prayer most important. It is the place where I get my orders for the day. It is also where I spend time in cultivating a relationship with someone I love.

Hard to say you love someone, then never talk with them, don't know what makes them laugh or what makes them sad, what pleases them or what they disapprove of. On the other hand, maybe there are too many marriages like that today already, and maybe that is why they are failing. No communications to God, or between each other.

Peter Gregg

Be careful for what you pray for, you may get it!

Does it mean that if your pray didn't get answered, that your god is the weaker, that you are the weaker, or you just didn't put in enough money?

Welcome KV and Peter

KV, I do not think there is an easy answer to your question, and I do not think anyone can answer it for you. I personally believe prayer is essential...it is in my life, when I leave off praying, everything goes awry. People have commented about how silly to pray to an omniscient god, but the prayer is not really for him/her, it is for me...it lines me up somehow and gives me focus. But, this has happened over years of searching.

I was told as a child what to believe and how to pray, and what to pray for, but until I decided to look for myself and find my own answers, those things meant nothing to me.

Keep searching...you will find your answer and your place!

Welcome Greg and Petunia

Bill W ~ prayers are always answered.

Has nothing to do with weak or strong, money, or where a person prays or meditates.

Prayer is about guidance, peace, and balance in ones life.

In some ways I'm an atheist, but I certainly believe in God and prayer!
In other ways I'm the most devout and spiritual person most of my friends know, although religion seems antispiritual to me.

To me, prayer does *not* involved God in the slightest. It is a focussing of attention, introspection to know my own foundation, values and desires, consideration of the world around me, and a visualization of a succesful outcome.

It gets me focussed on a task (for ME to do), and sharpens my intuition about what that task is -- revealing why, how, and what I should do.

Prayer gets a lot of work done very quickly! It's incredibly useful and powerful to sharpen my own heart, mind and also my soul.
If God told me to stop praying I would refuse, that's how useful it is!


One example:

When making fire with two sticks, it's very difficult to get the right combination of factors to get that spark going. I work on it. I picture it. I visualize it. Nothing. Then I ask the sticks to give me fire. And I swear to God, the sticks then give me fire, but only when I pray and ask for it. No hocus-pocus is involved. It was just me. I sharpened my connection to the environment by focussing my complete attention and intuition on it.
Through prayer.

God is everywhere around us, even in two small sticks.
That is why an atheist prays, not to God but to the sticks themselves.
They are the same thing.



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Literally and figuratively, through spiritual work I can be warm anywhere I go.

Stradee, I guess you could say I was being quite cynical. I actually believe very much in the power of pray. So many people do not see or realize the actually results - because it isn't what they "wanted". Many, many times the results are choices; then the choice made was not one of the above and that person then claims God failed them.

If it helps the person praying it's helpful. Even if it's a psycological placebo.