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Are there any PRAYERS for agnostics....?

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I myself have to admit that I am going through some tough times right now. I have thought about PRAYING but since I am very confused spiritually about whether there's a God, how he manifests himself, whether or not Christ is the son of God etc.... I feel kinda funny praying.

After all, how can someone who is agnostic and confused expect a God who you basically are saying "well, if you're there, I hope you hear my prayers" to be there for you?

This whole thing is driving me nuts. I mean, I spend most of my waking hours in a state of confusion over issues like this. Sure... I'm probably suffering from depression and maybe a little SAD (seasonal affective disorder) because of the short winter days but believe me, I have had these issues for a long time and am reaching out for help.

Is it OK for an agnostic to pray to God even if he's not sure he's there? Would it be wrong for me to even try unless I just wake up one day, and through blind faith say... "OK, I guess I'll believe" ... and then start praying?

In closing... I am looking to find if there's a God and try and develop some kind of relationship with him and just wanted to know if there are any prayers for people in the same boat as myself.

Thank You

DAVID

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Whatcha got to lose, dude? If there's a God, maybe he'll hear you. If there isn't, he probably won't. Asking for understanding here is no better use of your time, so you may as well go for it. I sincerely wish you the best of luck... and welcome to A2K!

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It ain't likely to hurt anything one way or the other. Besides, seems like you want to believe in some deity, even think you believe in some deity, but you're looking for excuses not to. Thats silly ... excuses get you nowhere; look for answers.

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Re: Are there any PRAYERS for agnostics....?

Lost TeddyBear wrote:

I myself have to admit that I am going through some tough times right now. I have thought about PRAYING but since I am very confused spiritually about whether there's a God, how he manifests himself, whether or not Christ is the son of God etc.... I feel kinda funny praying.

After all, how can someone who is agnostic and confused expect a God who you basically are saying "well, if you're there, I hope you hear my prayers" to be there for you?

This whole thing is driving me nuts. I mean, I spend most of my waking hours in a state of confusion over issues like this. Sure... I'm probably suffering from depression and maybe a little SAD (seasonal affective disorder) because of the short winter days but believe me, I have had these issues for a long time and am reaching out for help.

Is it OK for an agnostic to pray to God even if he's not sure he's there? Would it be wrong for me to even try unless I just wake up one day, and through blind faith say... "OK, I guess I'll believe" ... and then start praying?

In closing... I am looking to find if there's a God and try and develop some kind of relationship with him and just wanted to know if there are any prayers for people in the same boat as myself.

Thank You

DAVID

A prayer (more like supplication) comes from the heart, not only the tongue. You have to believe whole-heartidly that He does exist and that He sees and hears everything you say or do.

God never said believe in Him blindly, He said question and think about all the signs before you and ask who created it? Why I am here? Who controls my fate?

Say: "Who provides for you out of heaven and Earth? Who controls hearing and sight? Who brings forth the living from the dead and the dead from the living? Who directs the whole affair?" They will say, "Allah." Say, "So will you not guard against evil? That is Allah, your Lord, the Truth, and what is there after truth except misguidance? So how have you been distracted?" (Surah Yunus: 31-32)

May you be guided and may your prayers be answered. Be patient, God is with those who remain patient.

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As an agnostic, I could not imagine praying to a deity. Instead, in times of trouble, when I am feeling that the world is upon me, I will meditate.

To a believer, prayer may be helpful, even if only as a placebo effect. To a non-believer, or someone is unsure, it seems to me that prayer would be an exercise in futility.

To me, there is one major difference between praying and meditating. Praying is looking for guidance outside of yourself. Meditating is looking for strength from within. IMO, it is the latter which is most helpful, especially for someone who has not committed himself to the concept of a god.

There are many good books and tapes with which you can learn to meditate. It is not a difficult thing to do, and can be very satisfying and calming. I used to meditate a lot when I was going through a life threatening illness, and I do believe that it had a positive effect on the outcome.

Believe in yourself, and you will do just fine. In addition, if you to have SAD, there are both chemical and environmental ways to deal with that condition. Check with a doctor who works with people who suffer from depression. The best to you!

Check out the lights that are designed for helping people with S.A.D.:

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/seasonalaffectivedisorder.html

BTW, Welcome to A2K!

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Re: Are there any PRAYERS for agnostics....?

Lost TeddyBear wrote:

I...Is it OK for an agnostic to pray to God even if he's not sure he's there? ...
DAVID

Sure, David, and welcome to A2K.

A prayer can be a lot like a wish or a meditation or a thank you. It doesn't need to specifically mention God. Just think to yourself, I hope my family is okay today. or Yes, it's cold out, but the trees are really beautiful, I'm so glad I can see that, and I'm here to see it. Something like that. Nothing fancy. If there is a God, he or she isn't going to stand on ceremony. If there isn't, then there's nothing wrong with pleasant thoughts and, given the mind-body connection, pleasant thoughts will probably help your health anyway.

I'm also not a fan of the cold, and it's mondo cold today, but the middle of winter (Groundhog Day) will be here in a few weeks, and then it's really pretty quick until the ground thaws and you can start to smell grass. Hang in there.

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I agree with jespah

Hearken to the little things. Even though there might be a lot of things going wrong in you life there is always something that's going right. Focus on these things, it has healing power on the spirit.

We often tend to be consumed by our problems. I have mine, and have experienced how easy it is. But now I try to think about the problems when I have the oportunity to do something about it. When there is nothing I can do I try to put them aside until it is time to address them.

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LT,
(Welcome) I think if the truth be told, many who profess one religion or another begin their prayers with "If you are listening...", whether they do it consciously or not. The way I learned things, doubt is actually a part of faith, not necessarily opposite to it.

Yes, pray - like everyone is saying, it couldn't hurt.

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If I were an agnostic, I would select some sort of prayer to say, depending on which religious thought I favored. As an atheist, I don't have that dilemma.

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Praying is the least you can do. That's the problem.

Anyone facing real problems can't afford to close one's eyes and fold one's hands.

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I think that's a little ridiculous. There are some problems that aren't moveable by our exerting ourselves. There is no harm in praying about those things we don't have the power to change.

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Snood- Personally, I have enough on my plate, that I don't have time to bother myself over things of which I have no control. I think that it is much more important for people to focus over things of which people have control, even if only in a small way.

To waste emotional energy over something that one cannot change is to me, IMO, intellectual masturbation. It solves nothing, and uses energy better spent productively.

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I sometimes speak to my father, who is long dead in body. I don't believe nor disbelieve one way or the other in his actual presence, as in a spiritual force or anything tangible.

But I do it anyways. Sometimes it helps me to access some of those better parts of myself that I often ignore or forget. It has been more positive an experience than not for me.

So, if you think praying helps you in some real way moreso than it harms you, I don't think the details are important.
The important thing is to carry on and get strong for the enormous questions that are on your mind. No need to decide everything all at once. Getting through wicked winters need energy enough!

It is so dreary here that I saw a sign today advertising "Free Vitamin D with purchase!!!" Weird and made me laugh.

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flushd- Speaking with your father, IMO, is a totally different experience than praying, and I think a valuable one. The two of you have had history together, and you learned to be who you are to a great extent, from him.

I think that it might be very positive for a person to "speak" with a dead relative. I think that it might be a way to refresh one's memory of why that person was important to you, and how he impacted on your life.

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Phoenix32890 wrote:

Snood- Personally, I have enough on my plate, that I don't have time to bother myself over things of which I have no control. I think that it is much more important for people to focus over things of which people have control, even if only in a small way.

To waste emotional energy over something that one cannot change is to me, IMO, intellectual masturbation. It solves nothing, and uses energy better spent productively.

Phoenix... In truth none of us, you nor any of us, are truly in control of anything. Oh sure, we think we are and we surge forward in this belief. The power of prayer controls more than you may think, or admit. Prayer can, and does, initiate change.

Intellectual masturbation, as you call it, may waste energy but it can also renew one's interest in the intellectual. And, yes, maybe even the spiritual.

I haven't been around for a while. Nice to see you. Very Happy

Very Happy

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Phoenix, you might be right about it being a different experience.

Praying never did quite 'click' for me. Talking to the dead has made sense to me, though, and this was even as a young one 'speaking' to a grandmother and uncle who I who had passed when I was infant.
I had the history, the stories, that passed on from family to connect to there.

Haven't spoken about this much but I wonder if many others do this?

Well, perhaps this is another option for Teddybear to consider.

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Intrepid,

I'm interested to hear how praying can help renew one's interest in the intellectual?

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flushd wrote:

Intrepid,

I'm interested to hear how praying can help renew one's interest in the intellectual?

I mean in the sense of opening yourself up to all influences. Many people find peace, comfort and joy in praying. The fact that some do not agree with it does not limit the effect it has on those who do.

The fact that you talk to your deceased father may be odd to some. I do not see anything wrong with it and I am sure that it brings you a measure of peace and comfort. It is no different to those who pray.

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Thanks, Intrepid.

Actually, I think there is some connection between speaking to deceased relatives and speaking to a god.
Lots of people used to pray to ancestors. Probably, some still do. As far I understand it, praying and worshiping ancestors is not the same thing as I practice. The difference being I don't believe I am speaking to someone (or however it would be termed) who has actual influence over life right now.
It is more like consulting a memory bank.
Some others do strongly believe that there is a collective force of ancestor spirits which can influence how things go down here on earth. They have power.

Somewhat similiar to a god. Or simply, for you I suppose, God.

............

When the OP started this thread, I noticed that he spoke about being agnostic as though the decision was between "The God" - singular, and of a Christian variety - or none whatsoever.

Maybe something of a different flavour will work for him. I guess I just wanted to provide an alternate view on it.

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If there is a god, and if he is all-powerful, he already knows what you are going to do.

So don't sweat it, it won't make any difference if you pray or you don't pray, as god already knows what you are going to do.

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