I've been meaning to reply to this for awhile, and keep putting it off... may as well do so now XD
The biggest problem with prayer, is that people honestly seem to believe they'll get anything they ask for. And they ask for some awfully stupid stuff.
Think about it this way... if there is a god, and he has decided that someone needs to die, because everyone dies eventually, and he feels that their death would benefit others indirectly, or directly, then that person is going to die. It doesn't matter how much yeu beg and plead and cry, it's not going to matter... if god sees all and knows all and has things set up in a very complex game, and knows whot will happen, then things happen for a reason, and yeur request to change them simply because yeu're narrow minded and can't see the big picture that only an omniscient being could, isn't going to change his mind.
Stuff like "cure bob's cancer plzkthnx!" is kinda... yeah, no that's not going to happen. If they are destined to die, they will. If not, they won't. Maybe they got it so they'd appreciate life more afterwards, maybe they're supposed to die so that people around them learn a lesson, there's alot of complex reasons that we can't really grasp, so if there *IS* a higher power deciding peoples' fates, such requests are naive at best.
Now, that being said, there are some things that would make SENSE to ask for... asking that everything be taken care of and done FOR yeu is not one of them. Asking that yeu be given clarity to recognize the challenges yeu face for whot they are so that yeu can properly face them, that makes alot more sense. Asking that yeu be given an indirect reminder for something yeu have been trying to do, or stuff like requesting a minor boost to give yeu just enough willpower to endure something that's been difficult, those all make sense.
If we assume that god, or gods, or whotever, are testing us, and that we are being placed in challenges to strengthen who we are in the process... then asking for a shortcut out, or for the test to be done for us defeats the purpose of it. If yeu ask yeur teacher for the answers to the exam, they're going to say NO. So why even bother asking? Asking for help to understand the question yeu're confused on, or to get extra help on something that's difficult, sure... those're fine. But if yeu're being given a challenge specifically so that yeu can grow, or learn something, or maybe just so that yeu become a warning to others... asking to skip the problem is kind of silly.
Do I pray myself? Yes, actually. My mind wanders horribly, so it usually is filled with alot of apologies for forgetting whot I was talking about... and for going off on random tangents endlessly XD But yes, I do. Do I think anyone will hear them? No idea. I'd like to think it'd be nice if they did, but I honestly don't know if anyone's listening in the first place. But just because yeu don't know, doesn't mean yeu shouldn't try.
For an example here... my BF recently lost his job; contract expired and the company decided it was cheaper to train a new person than to renew the contract and have to pay him more because he knew wth he's doing. Yeah, business decisions at work *facepalm*. Anyways... so he's got interviews for a new place a friend referred him for since his friend works there... great!
Now... a normal 'believer' may request "Please may he get the job". Uhm... the chances are that if god has ANYTHING to do with that mess, it was specifically designed as a personal challenge to overcome. Just asking that the problem "magically go away" is kind of dumb. So no, I don't ask for anything like that. Whot I *HAVE* requested, is that he be given a bit of a nudge on remembering whot he knows, that he pick up on subtle cues a little easier, and that he not panic during interviews. Whether he gets the job or not, is either pre-determined, in which case asking to get it is pointless, or it's something to be overcome as a challenge, in which case, asking for it to just magically remove the problem, is also pointless. All yeu can do is ask for a nudge, or a push in the right direction, or a moment of clarity. Minor, indirect things, that will lead to the desired outcome without having all the work done for yeu.
The whole point of these things, is that either they are pre-destined, or they are something to overcome and learn from. If it's the former, yeu can't ask for help, yeu won't get any. If it's the latter, all that yeu can hope to get is indirect support.
So... yeah, I do ask for stuff, but it's generally in a manner that requests things that will HELP, but won't do all the work for me, or whoever I'm asking on the behalf of.
Maybe it's all just a mind game, and there is no god, or he won't take requests, who knows... if it is just a placebo effect, then really, all I'm asking for is exactly whot that would provide anyway. So does it matter if anyone's listening? I suppose it might, I'm not sure. It would be appreciated, of course. But I have no fantasies that everything will be done for me, and that I will get off scott free from anything I face in life.
Why do people pray for things like lives to be saved from cancer and so on? I don't get it... why would they honestly think god would do anything to help? Because he's all caring? If there wasn't a reason for it, then they wouldn't've gotten cancer in the first place! It's either something they have to face for the sake of facing it, or it's something they are pre-determined that they will or won't make it. Praying doesn't help either way to request for such a thing.
I dunno, I guess I'm a little bitter about people who do this kind of thing... my mother has a horrible habit of asking for the most ludicrous things imaginable... such as thanking god for putting a lawnmower in the store because she prayed for it. Yeaaaaaaah. I'm not sure whot to say there. True story, sadly enough.
I just can only reason that god, if there is one, has some kind of rational mindset, and actually thinks through WHY stuff should happen to people... I'd like to believe in a god that has rational thought and actual intelligence, not the bible's whiny abusive brat of an egotistical child it describes. I'm hoping that we really do just anthropomorphize god, and try to glue on human attributes to him which aren't really there. I try to believe that, if there is a higher power at work, that they aren't an emotional self-righteous jerk who plays favourites simply because someone guessed their name was rumplestiltskin, or allah. I'd just kind of like to believe that god is at least as smart as I am... because honestly, if there is a god, and they're not... why would they be worthy of any worship at all?
To be honest, I don't think anyone who would ask for worship deserves it. Even if they ARE god. And truthfully, I don't worship any god either. I pay a level of respect that, if someone IS there helping me out indirectly, behind the scenes, that yeah, I value that and am grateful. If they aren't there, or aren't helping, then it's a conditional thing and they don't get free brownie points for doing NOTHING. They get conditional thanks... *IF* yeu did something... thank yeu. If not, well I guess yeu didn't really earn a thanks did yeu? I have no brand loyalties... I don't say thank yeu for nothing... yeu reap whot yeu sew. If yeu don't do anything, why should I give thanks? Thanks for nothing? Rawr!
But anyways, maybe I have my own personal god, assuming that it might really just be in our heads. Or maybe god really is some higher being that is far smarter than I will ever be, and sees things in a way I can't comprehend, despite my attempts to wrap my head around the intricacies of things. Regardless of the fact of whether god is real or not, I still pray anyway. Not in anything that would resemble the traditional sense, really, but I do, in my own way, try to pay homage if I have been granted anything... even just a test of character so I would do better, I may view it as a horrible frustration that made me pull my hair out, but it may've been done to make me a better person in the end. If so, I'm grateful anyway. Of course, it could all be meaningless and the atheists could be right, so just in case as well, if nothing's been done, yeu get no thanks XD
Regardless, as I've said, I don't care for the imagery presented by christianity as a whole. The whole "shepherd" thing is kinda... yeah. That's how they present god... it sucks. A shepherd only watches for their flock because they need them to sell or eat later. They don't CARE about the sheep. And the sheep are mindless fools, and beneath the shepherd; looked down upon as cattle, and so on. Following the bible's teachings, god only made humans because he needed someone to worship him and his last attempt with the whole angel business went bad when they tried to kill each other in a big war, so after lucifer and 1/3rd of the angels did their war thing and killed a bunch of angels off... there weren't enough of them left to properly worship god so he's like heeeeei I'll just print more money! I mean... make new worshipers! ...Yeah. So we are essentially just sheep to god by that thought process. I can't agree with it. I can't pray to that. I can't respect that, let alone even conceive of worshiping that.
I prefer to think of god as the Alpha in a wolf pack; he's on top, and he's the strongest, the smartest, and the 'best'; he gets first dibs on food, and first dibs on everything else as well. He demands respect as well. Buuuut... he cares about those under him; they are his children, and though they may be 'beneath' him in a way, he would still fight for them, provide for them, and care for them. A father figure of sorts. To me, whotever god there is out there, is not the shepherd that protects the flock from the wolves... he IS the wolf, who protects his pack from the rest of the ills of the world.
Perhaps a strange way to think of things, I suppose, but it works for me, and I figure that if god truly does exist, and is a worthy god, and an intelligent one, that he will understand the meaning behind such, and won't care about nitpicky details and crap like that, but will understand the thought behind the action as being more important.
As such, any prayers I give, are not actually to 'god', as such, but are referred to 'my alpha', in homage to this concept. God, Allah, Jehova, YVYH, Alpha... whotever. It's all the same, only the names will change. Call a rose by any other name, and it's still a rose. I think, if god is worthy of any recognition at all, he already figured this out long before I did, and will appreciate the sentiment, and that I am trying to understand things in my own way, rather than mindlessly following the rest of the sheeple.
Maybe I'll burn in hell because I didn't pick the 'right' religion out of the thousands available. Maybe I just rolled the dice wrong, and picked the 'wrong' answer, so I'm damned to burn for all eternity... if that's the case, so be it. If I knew this to be true, and I knew that picking the 'wrong' one would damn me, and it was literally a "pick door #1, #2, or #3, the wrong two lead to hellfire but the right one to eternal life", I would refuse to worship that jerk on principle, even if I knew the right answer. I can't condone that behaviour, and I am NOT about to encourage it. If that's how god "really" works, then I will gladly go to hell. Because heaven would be the equivalent of hell for me anyway.
And so, I shall go on continuing my prayers to my Alpha; it's the thought that counts. Or at least, that's whot should count, if nothing else. Maybe there isn't anyone to hear my prayers, but it's alright either way. I tried my best, and if all this is, is an excuse to try my best in the first place... well I've got plenty of excuses for doing dumb crap already, I don't think having an excuse to do something right for once will really hurt anything.
Maybe there is a god, maybe there isn't. Maybe it falls upon deaf ears, maybe it's rewarded, maybe it's just a placebo.
In the end, it doesn't matter.
It makes sense to me, and it helps me be someone that I can live with myself, for who I am, and who I strive to be. And in the end, that really is whot matters.
Anyways, I'm done ranting, and I'm sure both the religious fanatics and the atheists are both going to hate me, so whotever XD
Yahweh God loves logic - one look at the bible code mathematically offers a glance at how much. But, very often, He enjoys defying logic, and there are many examples given as to why in the bible. One thing for sure, He often changes the paradigm of experience to enhance and deepen reliance, trust, and faith. Prayer is a key because without prayer, without a Christian asking specifically for something, the blessing is often taken for granted or as something that happened by 'chance'.
