Recently I watch the movie the "Number 23." In it there was a line that said something to the effect that "People pray so that god will answer their prayers." I disagreed with this statement. If the only reason that people pray is so that God will do favors for them then that doesn't seem right. Also it is obvious that usually we don't receive what we pray for. Praying has a much more spiritual and cognitive effect then just asking for something.
Mostly I think prayer is wishful thinking. Stating your feelings so that they are known to you and to God. When a prayer is sent out the person usually feels at peace with their problem or worries. I think that we pray as to set a point of what we think should happen and for the benefit of ourselves. Even when we pray for good towards others it is usually because we want goodness for them so that they are more enjoyable people and have a good effect on ourselves. All prayer is, is coming to terms with our own feelings and our own thoughts on a topic, of what we think should be done. Whether or not God is listening or chooses to comply with our demands doesn't matter. We feel better after prayer because we know where we stand and have resolved our own thoughts on the matter.
Prayer can also be used a sort of a link between a person and their beliefs. Communication with others through our own thought process is a little much to ask. Not all people vocalize their prayer which implies that we believe that we are heard without sound but with feeling. Even so why should we have to make a formalized prayer to be heard. Should it be known that we have problems everyday and always are hopeful towards the best. Maybe all this wishful thinking is overloaded and can be blurred together with what we really feel is important.
I believe that a prayer does good for people allowing them to focus on their true feelings and really think out what they want and why. This does more for the person then having them wait for God to answer, for they are able to work out the problem based on their own thoughts. As for things out of our control, I guess it doesn't hurt to try in case someone is listening...
1 comment:
I wrote this comment on someone else's blog I'd like to share here.
There's a book by my late teacher, D.Z. Phillips, that discusses this same issue. Unfortunately, it's out of print and it costs a pretty nickel plated credit card. The book's title is "A Concept of Prayer." Some of the topics are: 'In what sense can we say we are praying,' 'In what sense can we say we're praying to someone,' and 'in what sense can we say we're praying to God.'
Post a Comment