Can someone explain the notion of prayer?

[brooklynite]

Having watched the video and pictures of those outside Terri Schiavo's Hospice for the past two weeks, it was impossible to miss the continual instance of people fervently praying for "a miracle". Needless to say, nothing turned out the way they would have wanted it to: no dramatic rescue, no medical recovery, no change of heart by any of the participants. Accepting as a given the devoutness of those praying, I would need to assume, analytically, that one of four things had been established:

1. There is no God
2. There is a God, but he can't/won't listen to prayers or can't/won't intercede.
3. There is a God who listens and can intercede, but the supplicants are unworthy of intercession.
4. There is a God who works in mysterious ways, and nobody will ever be able establish a relationship between prayer and intercession.

None of these four outcomes would lead me to believe that prayer in the future would be a useful undertaking, but I'm willing to believe that the folks at the Hospice are still praying for something today, and will continue to do so tomorrow.

Would someone care to take a stab at explaining this mindset?

[rockymountaindem]

1. Sometimes we pray, and God doesn't answer because we should

do things on our own.

Sometimes we pray, and we are praying for the wrong thing, i.e. what God doesn't want to happen.

[RoyGBiv]

2. A cliche' ...

The following is a common cliche' used to address your question briefly, and while it has its limitations, it gets to the heart of the matter.

God answers all prayers. Sometimes the answer is "no."

Or, if you want to get more ridiculous with it, think of the movie _Bruce Almighty_ and what happens when God answers "yes" to everyone: chaos.

So, you ask, what's the point? The point is communion with the Creator and deepening one's spiritual understanding and thus bettering the soul. In the above situation, a person truly in touch with God would understand that he or she had undertaken a spiritual conversation with the Creator and that said Creator had, for the betterment of all according to the Mysterious Plan, indeed given an answer to the prayer that should teacher the person engaging in the praryer something about his relationship with God and the Universe. That's a trite explanation that of course doens't take into account all views on the subject, but it works. Prayer is about or is supposed to be about reflection and "getting in touch," not asking for favors.

Those people you see in Florida are asking for favors and as such not actually praying.

[insanity]

3. There is more then one form of prayer

When I pray, I don't nessecarily ask for things (except that my loved ones are kept in his protection), but I just try and listen; its a deeper relationship that way.

[morcatknits]

4. The Prayer Example

We need to be able to pray that God's will be done, just as in the Lord's Prayer, not the goals of our own agendas and biases. The New Testament is clear that we often ask "amiss," and thus don't receive what we thought we should receive. My experience is that God always gives me what I need. The act of prayer alone gives me something far beyond any requests I might make.
MEM

[drhilarius]

5. Praying is pointless...

I'm not saying it doesn't have a certain psychological benefit, but logically it doesn't make a lot of sense. For instance, I apply to the U. of Chicago. I pray everyday to get in. However, before I was born God decided I was going to Loyola. God, being omniscient and omnipotent, has already decided, already knows, what will happen, your prayer won't change that. You can't, in short, change God's mind.

[Solomon]

7. I look at prayer on an entirely different level than most people.

I believe that when you pray, you invoke the God like powers within yourself and you activate your subconscious as well as consciousness towards achieving the thing that you are praying for. Given your example above, if you had prayed to go to the U. of Chicago years before applying, then your consciousnesses would have conspired to give you the best chances of getting there.

And look at it this way as well. If, for example, you did indeed yearn to go to U. of Chicago for years before applying, you still got the benefit of it, anyway. Shooting for the U. of Chicago made you prepared and qualified for Loyola. (As well as any other University or College).

One day you will know doubt come to see why it is that you wound up at Loyola, and why it is better that it happened that way. I'd like to see the smile of wonderment on your face when that happens. :)

[seabeyond]

6. if you believe in the divine plan, then i dont get prayer either

i just have never gotten it. please god save someones life. what if in the scheme of things, this is perfectly happening as it should, not how we think, but divine plan. then we are questioning god. saying no we dont want your way we want ours?????

or lord, please let me have a car,.....

i personally dont get prayer.

i may ask to be able to see clearly, but then we dont have to ask, cause it is always there for us, we just have to acknowledge it

i mostly use prayer to say, thank you thank you thank you

life is a kick, i enjoy it so, thank you

[H2O Man]

8. Interesting question.

I was raised to only say prayers of thanks.

[Lerkfish]

9. Prayer is not a negotiation: you do not coerce God....

Prayer is instead a communion with God, to discover HIS purpose, to be still and LISTEN as well as talk.
The problem with the concept of "praying will get you rich, etc." , is that it assumes that whatever you ask is automatically in God's will because you ask it...therefore what happens next determines whether it was "answered".

The best example in the Bible for how prayer, and faith should be viewed, is when Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were going to be tossed into the furnace for not bowing down to the king. Their repsonse was "Know this, that our God is CAPABLE of delivering us from the fire, but EVEN IF HE DOES NOT, we will not bow down to you."

The point was doing the right thing: in this case being true to God, was more important than whether than act was recognized or rewarded.

Those who prayer, seeking an outcome are not praying, but hoping to coerce God's power to achieve one end or another...its the same as that brother in law that's always bumming money off you...after a while, that's all he comes to you for...he no longer just stops by to talk or visit with the kids or whatnot.

Its not love or fellowship to view prayer as transaction, and if God does not hold up his part of the bargain, he's a cheat or a scam. God never promised us everything we wanted.

So, then, what is the PURPOSE of prayer? To commune with God. the more we do, the more we understand his purpose, and how we may align ourselves with God's plan, instead of trying to make God align with ours.

Additionally, prayer is a comfort and a strength the person praying, its also a way to redirect your thoughts to the problem so that a solution may present itself, OR a better understanding of the reality of the situation...

Lord, Help me to change the things I can
to accept the things I cannot
and the wisdom to know the difference.

[Tux]

10. Prayer

Used to be a method to connect a person to god but now means "god I want stuff". God doesn't care about our material needs at all but will let us connect to it so we can get the spiritual stuff we need.

[imenja]

11. prayer is communion with God

it is how the faithful communicate with God. Prayer need not be about asking God to do something. It is also a way to give thanks. It can also serve the same function as meditation, that many new are found of. Repeat Hail Marys and Our Fathers serves a purpose similar to Buddhist chants in that it frees your conscious mind to enter a higher level of consciousness and thus communion with God.

As to God's answers to our prayers. Terri's family is surely praying for more than her to rise from the dead, a coma, or have a tube inserted. They are now praying that she be safe with God, that God accept and love her as one of his children. They pray to ask strength for themselves in dealing with the loss of their child.

Prayer isn't like asking your mother for a new toy. It's purposes extend far beyond what one might receive in result.

[supernova]

12. Prayer is simply a way to talk to God

on a one-to-one level.

It's not just about enumerating you problems and saying "here God, fix this."

It's a way to have a heart to heart talk with God. That's all. And sometimes the answers are surprising.

But those who use prayer only as a means of asking God to please, pretty please, FIX THIS! are unclear on the concept.

[tjdee]

13. Intercession is not the only purpose.

As others have said, it's more of a one to one talk/communing thing.

I struggle mightily with this--it's what I understand least about my own faith!

[libodem]

14. I don't believe in God , per say{sic}

but you pose an interesting question. Reason still exists to pray. I believe prayer is a function of anatomy and psychologically involved with the access to our higher consciousness. It's thinking outside the box and factoring in the unknown. Bouncing our thought processes off a third option engages our imagination. It may be all fantasy but the irrational mind has power, also. Value in visioning our future and knowing what you want, increases personal power and success in endeavors. Even if a person just hooks in to the collective unconscious, follows his own conscious, or asks to himself, what would someone else do, is asking for guidance, and being receptive to new information, whether by design or imagination. I believe answers come to you, not just from your own, gray matter, but by a little voltage from everybody's gray matter.

[Dunedain]

15. To surrender unto him that which we ourselves cannot bear.