Is prayer of any value?

[quandary121]

prayer

Hello China in my mind GOD answers the important prayers of people and it is only when you have the need to pray yourself or find that it is because of this need to pray that it will be heard, and just because we don't like the answer does not mean that the praying was for nothing we do to much asking and not enough thanking

 

[china]

Hello quandary121

Hello China in my mind GOD answers the important prayers of people and it is only when you have the need to pray yourself or find that it is because of this need to pray that it will be heard, and just because we don't like the answer does not mean that the praying was for nothing we do to much asking and not enough thanking

I don't know q121, I think that in most cases we answer our own prayers .

 

[karrie]

I know I'm late to the game, but, prayer is of great value.

It's HOW we pray that makes a difference I think. Personally, I don't pray for things, I pray in thanks of them. Prayer is a calm, meditative time for me to reflect on all of the positive things in my life, and offer the world my joy and thanks for what I have. It's highly beneficial to me, both for my sanity, my health, and my relationships with those around me.

 

[china]

Prayer is a calm, meditative time for me to reflect on all of the positive things in my life, and offer the world my joy and thanks for what I have. It's highly beneficial to me, both for my sanity, my health, and my relationships with those around me.

Hi Karrie, Thanks for the beautiful post.

 

[quandary121]

when you pray to god

Hello quandary121

I don't know q121, I think that in most cases we answer our own prayers .

I know it must seem to you that your talking to yourself when you pray to god sometimes, but like karrie says i pray to give thanks most of the time, and when i do need to be consoled, having god there to hear them makes it so much easier ,the act of praying means different things to different folks ,and when i ask god to bless someone or take care of them, i really mean it and believe that somewhere out there he hears me, and even though i do not see a miraculous change right away, i hope and believe that by praying some good has come about even if it is just to put positive energy's into the world, karrie is right when she says it is meditative and through prayer we all become a little humbled so if there's no harm in praying why not pray as we could all do with some humility in life people blame god for so many things when if they think about it he would not do what there suggesting it would be the fallen angel that has caused the pain and suffering and adversity not god.!!:lol:

 

[darkbeaver]

I don't "pray". In my POV there is no "higher power" to pray to. I have utilized a few methods of solving problems, such as meditation for example. Conceptualisation of a problem, submitting it to my subconscious, and it's subsequent aid in forming a decision is quite useful. My consciousness deals with how to implement the decision.

Your point of view is limited, I am one of those higher powers that your shortsightedness does not allow you to see. haha honest I wouldn't lie about stuff like that really

 

[talloola]

Your point of view is limited, I am one of those higher powers that your shortsightedness does not allow you to see. haha honest I wouldn't lie about stuff like that really

I see your point isn't being taken seriously, maybe if you change your name to
'White Beaver', it will work.;-)

 

[quandary121]

Question: "Why pray?

Is it of any value to pray to the Great Intelligences, God whatever , for help in our daily life? Don't think so, I will explain what I mean. What causes misery, conflict, suffering in our daily life? Traditions, selfish moral values, impositions of vested interest, attachment, acquisitiveness: these create conditions which prevent human happiness. And what is the use of praying to someone when you, through your own intelligence, can alter all this awful mess? Being unwilling to face suffering, we try to escape through prayer. You may escape momentarily, but the strength of your desire asserts itself again, plunging the mind into misery and confusion. So what matters is, not whether it is of value to pray, but to awaken that intelligence which alone will solve our human miseries. A mind and a heart that are hardened, that have limited themselves through their egotistic fears, pray. But if there were love, then you would free the mind from its own egotistic fears, and this alone can bring about intelligence and happy order.

Why pray?

​

Question: "Why pray? What is the point of prayer when God knows the future and is already in control of everything. If we cannot change God's mind, why should we pray?"

Answer: Why pray? Why pray when God is already in perfect control of everything? Why pray when God knows what we are going to ask before we ask it?

(1) Prayer is a form of serving God (Luke 2:36-38). We pray because God commands us to pray (Philippians 4:6-7).

(2) Prayer is exemplified for us by Christ and the early church (Mark 1:35; Acts 1:14; 2:42; 3:1; 4:23-31; 6:4; 13:1-3). If Jesus thought it was worthwhile to pray, we should also.

(3) God intends for prayer to be the means of obtaining His solutions in a number of situations:

a) Preparation for major decisions (Luke 6:12-13)
b) Overcoming demonic barriers in lives (Matthew 17:14-21)
c) The gathering of workers for the spiritual harvest (Luke 10:2)
d) The gaining of strength to overcome temptation (Matthew 26:41)
e) The means of strengthening others spiritually (Ephesians 6:18-19)

(4) We have God's promise that our prayers are not in vain, even if we don't receive specifically what we asked for (Matthew 6:6; Romans 8:26-27).

(5) He has promised that when we ask for things that are in accordance with His will, He will give us what we ask for (1 John 5:14-15).

Sometimes He delays His answers according to His wisdom and for our benefit. In these situations, we are to be diligent and persistent in prayer (Matthew 7:7; Luke 18:1-8). Prayer should not be seen as our means of getting God to do our will on earth, but rather as a means of getting God's will done on earth. God’s wisdom far exceeds our own.

In situations for which we do not know specifically what God's will is, prayer is a means of discerning God’s will. If Peter had not asked for Jesus to call for him to come out of the boat and onto the water, he would have missed that opportunity (Matthew 14:28-29). If the Syrian woman with the demon-influenced daughter had not prayed to Christ, her daughter would not have been made whole (Mark 7:26-30). If the blind man outside of Jericho would not have called out to Christ, he would have still been blind (Luke 18:35-43). God has said that often we go without because we do not ask (James 4:2). In one sense, prayer is like sharing the gospel with people. We do not know who will respond to the message of the gospel until we share it. It is the same with prayer: we will never see the results of answered prayer until we pray.

A lack of prayer demonstrates the a lack of faith and a lack of trust in God’s Word. We pray to demonstrate our faith in God, that He will do as He has promised in His Word, and will bless our lives abundantly more than we could ask or hope for (Ephesians 3:20). Prayer is our primary means of seeing God work in others' lives. Because it is our means of "plugging into" God's power, it is our means of defeating a foe and his army (Satan and his army) that we are powerless to overcome by ourselves. Therefore, may God find us often before His throne, for we have a High Priest in heaven who can identify with all that we go through (Hebrews 4:15-16). We have His promise that the fervent prayer of a righteous man accomplishes much (James 5:16-18). May God glorify His name in our lives as we believe in Him enough to come to Him often in prayer.

 

[goamn]

Goamn

Welcome!

I don't personally believe in the existence of a creator being....which probably doesn't influence the creator one bit ...if he/she exists.... but I agree with some other folks observations regarding the potential benefits of kneeling or sitting quietly and gathering one's thoughts and contemplating the dynamic of life. If prayer answers a need for you then you should be free to practice, if prayer is a means of inculcating fear and hatred I'd just as soon see it atrophy into dust.

Can you provide me with some insights regarding the near absence of more tolerant voices from Islam speaking out against those who've highjacked your beliefs to practice terror and war?

Hi Mikey,
Thanks for the welcome, I'm not sure exactly what it is that you are inquiring about. From what I can see, you either want to know more about Muslims opinions toward hijackers of islam? Or the writing from the Quran about the hijackers? Or simply my opinion? lol

Dear Goamn
I am not denying God - it would be foolish to do so. Only the man who does not know reality indulges in meaningless words. The man who says he knows, does not know; the man who is experiencing reality from moment to moment has no means of communicating that reality.Please understand .
Belief is a denial of truth, belief hinders truth; to believe in God is not to find God. Neither the believer nor the non-believer will find God; because reality is the unknown, and your belief or non-belief in the unknown is merely a self-projection and therefore not real. I know you believe and I know it has very little meaning in your life. There are many people who believe; millions believe in God and take consolation. First of all, why do you believe? You believe because it gives you satisfaction, consolation, hope, and you say it gives significance to life. Actually your belief has very little significance, because you believe and exploit, you believe and kill, you believe in a universal God and murder each other. The rich man also believes in God; he exploits ruthlessly, accumulates money, and then builds a temple or becomes a philanthropist.
The men who dropped the atomic bomb on Hirosh1ma said that God was with them; those who flew from England to destroy Germany said that God was their co-pilot.The people who say they believe in God have destroyed half the world and the world is in complete misery. Through religious intolerance there are divisions of people as believers and non-believers, leading to religious wars. It indicates how extraordinarily politically-minded you are.
Is belief in God "a powerful incentive to better living"? Why do you want an incentive to better living? Surely, your incentive must be your own desire to live cleanly and simply, must it not ,not because someone else ;church or what ever tells you .If you look to an incentive you are not interested in making life possible for all, you are merely interested in your incentive, which is different from mine - and we will quarrel over the incentive. If we live happily together not because we believe in God but because we are human beings, then we will share the entire means of production in order to produce things for all. Through lack of intelligence we accept the idea of a super-intelligence which we call `God; but this `God', this super-intelligence, is not going to give us a better life. What leads to a better life is intelligence; and there cannot be intelligence if there is belief, if there are class divisions, if the means of production are in the hands of a few, if there are isolated nationalities and sovereign governments. All this obviously indicates lack of intelligence and it is the lack of intelligence that is preventing a better living, not non-belief in God.
You all believe in different ways, but your belief has no reality whatsoever. Reality is what you are, what you do, what you think, and your belief in God is merely an escape from your monotonous, stupid and cruel life. Furthermore, belief invariably divides people: there is the Hindu, the Buddhist, the Christian, the communist, the socialist, the capitalist and so on. Belief, idea, divides; it never brings people together. You may bring a few people together in a group but that group is opposed to another group. Ideas and beliefs are never unifying; on the contrary, they are separative, disintegrating and destructive. Therefore your belief in God is really spreading misery in the world; though it may have brought you momentary consolation, in actuality it has brought you more misery and destruction in the form of wars, famines, class divisions and the ruthless action of separate individuals. So your belief has no validity at all. If you really believed in God, if it were a real experience to you, then your face would have a smile; you would not be destroying human beings.

Hey china,
quote:"It indicates how extraordinarily politically-minded you are." Haha my friend said the same things about me (he's Chinese too), but then he withdrew the statement after I reminded him of how bad I am about geography and anything to do with countries/politics.
Regarding the (rather large post ..) part where you speak of incentives. Incentives are a perfect example of materialism ... I'm not quite sure how you managed to miss that. (from my perspective thats the only significant thing I need to address).

 

[china]

Goamn

part where you speak of incentives. Incentives are a perfect example of materialism ... I'm not quite sure how you managed to miss that

I haven't missed that ,I am bin in business since teenage hood .It's a common word in business.But ,so what? Word is only a word ;and the word surly is not that what it describes .Try to go beyond the word Goamn