Foo - Prayer: Why, What, How?

I'm hoping we can keep this all civil like and not get it knocked over to P&R.

With all the things going on in our personal lives and the world around us, there seems to be an abundance of prayer going around.

Why is it people pray? Do they pray for something? Do they pray to someone/thing?

I 'pray' as a grounding mechanisim. To center and focus myself on doing what I need to do.

I 'pray' a modified version of the Serenity Prayer. I leave off the "God" part. If there is a God person, entity, or energy I don't pretend to know what is better than he, she, it, they do/es for the world and my role in it.

... and the wisdom to know the difference. :)


Discuss.

i don't pray, but i do find myself wishing for things. which is a bit odd, since i really have no idea to whom such a wish is supposed to reach. i guess it's more of a self dialog.

oh god...oh god.....ooooooohhhhh god.......oooooohhhhhh....goddddddd

I used to be a VERY, VERY strong Christian. I mean to the point I studied the bible in greek and hebrew and loved a good debate with a Jehova's Witness or something.

But without making a big fuss about it, there are things that started to bother me about the church (not necessarily God) and I eventually dropped out altogether. I don't go to church or pray now and have been slowly working on what my philosophy is now....I'm still not sure.

Coming from the environment though, I still respect "true" Christians. They mean well. When I say "true" Christian, I mean those who truly believe and understand...not those who have been going to church since they were a kid because they went with their parents and really just sit in a pew for show.

I do pray sometimes. One of our 8th graders here at school rode the bus to school today, but is now missing. I have found myself sending up prayers for her.

I do pray - pretty often (perhaps living in a third world country will do that for you...)

It helps keep me reminded of priorities. It is easy to get distracted.

well, when i was younger ( yeah one of my story) I had no reasons to pray to god or believe in anything but something awful happend and my mom and I were told to pray for this to stop, and I would of done anything, i went to church and asked for something in specific and it stopped. I really think my prayers were answered.
sometimes i pray again when i dont seem to get help anywhere else and Ive done anything myself and so far so good, I just talk and say what I need or where i need help or please fix this for me or help me through with this.. so far someone is listening.

by the way, got to pass this allow. On the public transportation buses here - it is common that there will be prayers. Things like "May God be with us" and such not. I saw one once that was really funny.

"Only God knows if I will pass this way again." - and it was the regularly scheduled run...

I hope that they find the girl safe sound and quickly.

One time about five years ago I was truly down on my luck; I lost my job, had no medical insurance and a baby on the way. I bought a Powerball lottery ticket and went to my church with it. I knelt before the altar and prayed, lit a candle and even touched the corner of the lottery ticket to the hold water. I wasn't sure if it would help, but I felt that God would hear my prayer and help me.


It didn't work.

But today I have a great job, a wonderful family and I couldn't be happier. I think we can't pray for what we want, but rather what we need.

some say you can pray for forgiveness all you want but what matters in the end is not all you've done wrong but all you've done right and how much love you gave.
Im going to get all sensitive on you stacey, but you give sooooo much we can even feel it even if it's online.

It didn't work.


I was going to say that he doesn't answer the prayers of demons that I know of until I saw the end of your post. :p

I pray not daily, but usually when I feel like there is something I have to pray for. I prayed for someone a little while ago, and I prayed for the safety of my mother flying. Other than that.. Not really alot of praying.

I don't pray, but any time I crash biking or fall snowboarding, the first word out of my mouth is "Jesus! :eek:". Then I hit the ground and the next words out of my mouth are "Oh f--k!"

You have to pray to someone (which is God). I'm a Muslim, and I pray 5 times a day. Thats just the basic. But there is a prayer for everything. So most Muslims usually do more.

Prayer helps in alot of cases. I've had bouts of depression that ended when I visited the Mosque (which I try to do for atleast two of the five prayers), and I've had many prayers answered.

Different people, different experiences...It's what makes up the world...

It didn't work.

Don't know about that. Sounds rather like it did work, just not in the way you intended. :)

I think there are different ways to pray. I went to a big outdoor festival here one year, and there was a performance by Babatunde Olatunji and his corps of drummers. He is an African performer and gives a very energetic performance, all percussion and dance, much of the music spiritual. Anyway, I recall one of his comments was that when the dancers who performed with him danced, it was a prayer lifted up to God. The dance itself was the prayer.

So I like to think of certain rituals as the prayers of daily living. And I like to think of those times when I'm out on a long ride, feeling the burn in my legs and the air filling my lungs, as a prayer of thanks for my life and my health and the things I love.

I pray to Azathoth who holds court at the Center of the Universe accompanied by the Mad Outer Gods, dancing around his throne to the bleeting of a demonic flute. I pray with the blood of the innocents. I ask the Daemon Sultan to grant me a larger peener and the ability to fly. X-ray vision would be cool, too.

My work tends to be stressful often - I find express gratitude to someone helps me a lot. There is so much for me to be thankful and I don't think there are many who wouldn't cheerfully exchange places with me. In the middle of the challenges of the day, it is good to remember that I really am blessed.

I pray to Azathoth who holds court at the Center of the Universe accompanied by the Mad Outer Gods, dancing around his throne to the bleeting of a demonic flute. I pray with the blood of the innocents. I ask the Daemon Sultan to grant me a larger peener and the ability to fly. X-ray vision would be cool, too.

Just pray that you get transformed into Calvin and go ask Bill Watterson to draw a sketch of you...

Just pray that you get transformed into Calvin and go ask Bill Watterson to draw a sketch of you...
I already asked a while ago. Azathoth, The Great Daemon Sultan at the Center of the Universe said no. :(

I would pray for that too - for pup to be turned into Calvin (I think he is nearly there) and for Watterson to start drawing Calvin and Hobbs - I sure miss that script!

I already asked a while ago. Azathoth, The Great Daemon Sultan at the Center of the Universe said no. :(

Then it must be good for you...

I usually pray for parking spots. Sometimes I get one right away and sometimes I don't find one at all. By then, I'm praying to anyone and offering my soul and $5 for a parking spot.

It is something I am sure we all do at some time in our life. Either you grew up being influenced by your family to do so or developed it on your own. That being said I have always believed there is a God and that there was his son Jesus Christ who came to live with us and show us tangible evidence of the existence of God. We humans are pretty arrogant to think we need emperical and tangible evidence to believe something so he gave it to us.

I grew up going to church and for several years veered away from church to work and put myself through college. Once I graduated I got back into church and my wife and I joined. We are very active in church and I was ordained a deacon this year. Very humbling experience ( I am still grounded however and understand I am a sinner and have impure thoughts). Don't let this response fool you.

I do realize that our only communication to our God is through prayer. We often wonder why, if, and for what reason some are answered and some not. I don't have an answer. I also wonder when standing over a victim's body such as that of a child why God let's these things happen. I am foolish to believe I have the answer. I try to understand but I too at times are so perplexed I just don't get it. Faith is just that.............no really understanding but knowing there is purpose and one day it will be revealed and all the glory. I personally can't wait to have all the answers.........don't worry, no suicide attempts here just to gain answers.

So to answer your question...............makes us feel good to place prayer in our daily lives and let go and see where God leads us. The biggest weight of my life was lifted when at a young 17 years of age I gave my life to God openly and felt like all would be fine. With that I take it one day at a time.

Prayers..............answered always, maybe just not how you would like at times.

I'm not good at praying. Oh, I try sometimes. It's just that I am not sure if there is anyone up there listening.

Must.....resist.....posting......prayer.......effectiveness......chart.........

I always think of the Garth Brooks song - thank god for unanswered prayers.

Have not been to a church for a regular church service since my mother passed away over 25 years ago, I was angry with god at the time.

I have since made my peace.

When I was a kid my mother "sent me to church" every Sunday, but she didn't go. She never did tell me why.
When I became an adult I joined a different church and was very active for many years. Then things went south with my marriage, etc. I prayed for help, guidance, etc. but didn't get the answers I was hoping for. I remarried a few years later and church responsibilities and committments started causing problems in my new life so I stopped attending church. I've been very happy since then.
I now "study" other practices and religions - like Native American beliefs. I've read several excellent books on the subject, like "God Is Red - A Native View of Religion", and "Animal Spirit Guides".

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And now lets get back to Foo "praying" and stay away from religion, etc before one of the other mods jumps in and moves this to P&R.

Prayer for me has moved beyond asking. I try and make it a prayer of listening and being. Things that I want are often empty when I finally have them. I think that the true nature of the universe and our existance is something far different than what we expect. I think it is far more than our religions give us as the truth.

Existance in the infinite is far beyond what our simian brains can grasp.

If the Universe is expanding what is it expanding into? There is alwasy the infinitely smaller and the infinitely larger. Where are we on the infinite scale?

Is time linear or is everything at once happening?

I look into the night sky and ponder the thought that I exist on a speck of dust in the midst of infinite something! Power, money, fame, and all the other things we strive for are just vanity. In the end they are of no value.

So in prayer I just want to sit and be with the Creator of everything. I can best describe it as trying to let go and be as one with the Oneness.

That's my .02 cents on the issue.:)

Prayer is more than just a list of wants and desire, though that is part of it. It is also 2 way dialogue with God through Christ (yes, I'm an evangelical--a mystical one too). It involves listening as well as I read the scriptures. It's also a means by which I find peace in the midst of anxiety. It's also the way I express the fact that I'm not as strong as I think I am, that I need help outside of myself--both when I pray and ask others to pray for me. I do it regularly. It's something I do alone, but also I do something with people. When someone asks me to pray for them, I typically pray for them with them right there. I'm an itinerate preacher, and I remember one of my heroes once saying that preacher is no greater than his prayer life. I could quote all sorts of verses right now, but I'm going to avoid that in order to not create tension and debates and keep this forum in foo.

Sometime the answer to our prayers is "no". That's not necessarily a good thing or a bad thing. Its just a thing we have to deal with.

I don't pray in the commonly accepted definition of that term. I do "space out" in a meditational sort of way. And, I believe prayer in the form of letting go of the concious and allowing whatever is out there to tap into one's psyche is an enhancing experience. I guess I just don't usually call it "prayer."

For me, prayer is like a conversation with God, at least when I'm doing it right (which isn't often, to be honest). More often it's just me selfishly rattling off a list of wants.

I grew up in a mixed family. My mother is Zorastrian, my Father is Protestant. (nice mix, huh?)....well neither taught me much about religion...they "left that up to me"......of course putting me in a catholic school wasn't exactly leaving that up to me.

After numerous problems related to me just not understanding the religion, or the way things are done in that type of environment...I ended up being rather distrustful of religion.

Then when I was a teenager, I got back into it...at of all palces a Pentecostal chruch....all was well, until I started realizing something. The congregation I was with were so hateful....they hated gays, they hated muslims, they hated hindus, they treated "outsiders" with disrespect and they even hated so much that they attacked other sects of christianity.

Is that really what the lord wanted? Did he really expect us to only love those that we agree with? Hell no!

I got fed up with the place and left it....at that time I pretty much lost all faith in organized religion, all of it.

Religion is something you feel, it's emotional. It's also a wonderful thing when done right.

My feelings is people read way too much meaning into the stories....they aren't meant as rulebooks...they are meant as examples so we can understand things that happen around us. The world is a twisted, ugly place....and only those who are willing to do the right thing, and act out of a kind heart will be able to uplift those around them. In that way, we each have the power to make the world a better place, at the very least to those around us.

Believe it when someone tells you that people look up to you....kids look up to everyone, and if they cannot find a good role model, they will find a bad one. I was at one time one of those bad role models, and once I realized what I done...it hurt.

Do I believe in a god....honestly I'm unsure of that answer....I may never know. I do believe something caused us to be, whether event or being. I do know however that if God is a being, that he would not have intended for my churchgoing experiences to be as screwy as they were.

Prayer used to be something I done everyday when I was going to church. I've since replaced prayer with action or at the least keeping the thoughts of people who are in need in my mind (and offer some words of comfort if I can actually come up with something for a change...it's easy to be a smartass, harder to say anything important)

I don't pray, as in prayers, but I do like having someone to talk to at times, so rather than talk to Bert & Ernie, which can get a guy put in a padded room, I talk to God. I don't like to drink alone, so sometimes Jesus comes over and we shoot the bull over some Coronas or Tecates.

I forgot to add that prayer is not always asking for something from God but also praising him for what you do have. I try to do this as much as I can remember to do so. Always remember or what I try to live by is that no matter how bad you may feel like you have it..............someone else is worse off than I.

Then when I was a teenager, I got back into it...at of all palces a Pentecostal chruch....all was well, until I started realizing something. The congregation I was with were so hateful....they hated gays, they hated muslims, they hated hindus, they treated "outsiders" with disrespect and they even hated so much that they attacked other sects of christianity.

Is that really what the lord wanted? Did he really expect us to only love those that we agree with? Hell no!


+1 for realizing it. many people just don't see the forest for the trees, so to speak.

in my little lifetime, i've only met a handful of people that truly enbody all the good aspects that religion has. and they're freaken awesome people! generous, understanding, etc. BUT, on the other hand, many people claim to be religious but they just don't seem to get it. i have found way too many "religious" people that are very unaccepting and intolerant of others.

just the other day, on the news, i saw a guy being lead away in handcuffs for a racially motivated violent crime. he had a giant crucifix hanging around his neck too.

+1 for realizing it. many people just don't see the forest for the trees, so to speak.

in my little lifetime, i've only met a handful of people that truly enbody all the good aspects that religion has. and they're freaken awesome people! generous, understanding, etc. BUT, on the other hand, many people claim to be religious but they just don't seem to get it. i have found way too many "religious" people that are very unaccepting and intolerant of others.

just the other day, on the news, i saw a guy being lead away in handcuffs for a racially motivated violent crime. he had a giant crucifix hanging around his neck too.

And if I had a dollar for every Meth Lab I busted with the picture of the Last Supper hanging in their house usually above the lab itself I would be rich.

I'm also not good at praying and don't do it as often as I should but just recently, due to a tragic death in my family, I've began praying almost every day. Prayer gives me strength, and resolve and peace of mind. Since I believe in God, I receive comfort knowing he is hearing what I have to say. When praying I can feel His Spirit entering my body. Not certain how long this will last and if I'll fall back into my lazy, neglectful ways, but right now I do believe prayer has provided me with the answers I seek. I thank God (THANK YOU GOD!) for listening.

I also want to add don't cofuse "religious" with faithful, they are two different things. Religion involves the trappings of ceremonies and tradition. Many people are "religious", attend Church regularly, but do so 'cause its tradition, something the family does on Sunday or Saturday.

Having faith and a belief in God does not mean you are necessarily religious. You don't have to attend Church, say your prayers, pay your tithe, to be a christian. I have accepted Jesus Christ as my savior and believe the Bible is the Word of God. Doesn't take anymore than that...

I only pray to the porcelain god, although very rarely.

I don't pray, as in prayers, but I do like having someone to talk to at times, so rather than talk to Bert & Ernie, which can get a guy put in a padded room, I talk to God. I don't like to drink alone, so sometimes Jesus comes over and we shoot the bull over some Coronas or Tecates.

"Jesus rides beside me. He never buys any smokes." - Paul Westerberg

I pray for cherry garcia ice cream...

I pray for cherry garcia ice cream...
Me too. :)
Then a few days later I pray for help getting the extra pounds off. :o

I don't like to drink alone, so sometimes Jesus comes over and we shoot the bull over some Coronas or Tecates.

I hate to break this to you dude...but that was'nt Jesus...

I hate to break this to you dude...but that was'nt Jesus...

it was probably just david spade:

http://interaktiv.vg.no/filmextra/bilder/personer/david_spade.jpg

I don't make a habbit of praying. I'm no athiest anymore due to certain things that happened to me in conjunction with people I was close to dying, but I don't pray. If God exists, he/she/it has done a nice job of taking care of things for me.

I hate to break this to you dude...but that was'nt Jesus...

Dang, I was really hoping the J man shared my love of Mexican beer. Oh well.

For me, prayer is more of an internal dialog followed by action. I am not even completely sure that God even exists so it seems strange to me to ask somebody that might or might not be there for something he/she/whatever may or may not want me to have.

Rather than pray in a traditional sense, I analyze my feelings and search my heart for meaning. I am often surprised what I find and sometimes feel as if there may be a supreme being that facilitates this process. I think of things I am grateful for and I try to think of ways express that gratitude in the way I live my life. I ponder the purpose of my existence and yearn to fulfill it more fully. I even think of the things that I want, the things that would truly enrich my life, and I find ways to seek those things. I believe that by opening my heart and mind in this way allows God to communicate with me, and by living my life according to what I learn during my "prayers" is my way of communicating with God. I guess that more like meditation than anything else, but I do think of it as an open dialog with God.

I hate to break this to you dude...but that was'nt Jesus...

Jesus Lopez - he's my neighbor. :p

I used to be a VERY, VERY strong Christian. I mean to the point I studied the bible in greek and hebrew and loved a good debate with a Jehova's Witness or something.

But without making a big fuss about it, there are things that started to bother me about the church (not necessarily God) and I eventually dropped out altogether. I don't go to church or pray now and have been slowly working on what my philosophy is now....I'm still not sure.

Coming from the environment though, I still respect "true" Christians. They mean well. When I say "true" Christian, I mean those who truly believe and understand...not those who have been going to church since they were a kid because they went with their parents and really just sit in a pew for show.


i am sorry you have had bad luck with chuches if you are ever in central wa. i would invite you to ours
we have discused problems about other churches and the things that happen in them, and to think that goes on in churches, i can understand why people think that way ,

i think we pray to find hope or to wish for hope, i have heard studdies where praying stimulates certian areas in you brain that help with things you are looking for.

To be more serious than my previous reply, no I do not pray.

I was raised Baptist and grew up being taught to pray, but I always thought "if God is omniscient, doesn't he know what I am thinking already and therefore know what I would pray for?"

I also felt that if God has a plan for all of us, who am I to ask him to change it for me. Shouldn't I let whatever happens happen?

I have not been "religious" since I was in my early teens, and have not prayed since long before then.

I do try to think positively, and that's about it.

Maybe my logically thinking mind combined with my natural cynicism (we're talking Henry Rollins levels) are a natural enemy to the concept of prayer.