A Question of Prayer
Every week at mass the priest leads the faithful to pray and the prayers are exactly the same as they were the preceding week. In fact they were the same for over three years I attended church with my wife. They pray for world peace, an end to war, for the homeless, an end to world hunger, the poor and destitute, the Archbishop and anything that is current in the news that week. Praying to god begging "his forgiveness" pleading for "his divine intervention and help" and for "his love". I remember during this time the prayers asking god to deliver Madeline McCaan safely back to her parents. All this praying every week from the congregation some 45 or 50 people, mirrored in every town and city in the UK hundreds of churches performing the same mass. Around the world thousands of churches! all asking the same thing from the faithful devoted followers...and nothing changes!
There is still no world peace, religious factions still fight each other, wars rage, the homeless remain homeless, the starving people of the world keep dying in their thousands, the poor and destitute remain and innocent Madeline McCann is still missing. Is god not listening? Is he not able to help? Does he not want to help?
I have had people offer to pray for me for various things, and if that thing happens they claim with certain knowledge and pride that god answered their prayers. BUT.. if it didn't happen, then they claim god's plan didn't include what I wanted at this time or that he moves in mysterious ways or even that it was presumptuous to have asked god for this or that, or a thousand other different excuses. Either god has a plan or he doesn't. If he has a plan why bother praying? and if he doesn't have a plan why does he not answer these same week by week prayers?
Praying to god is ingrained in society, everyone on the planet has heard this and knows of the act. God is said to be everywhere and knows all things, he is said to answer prayers. Then why not answer the real needy ones? why do innocent children die of horrible diseases? why did over 228.000 people die in the 2004 boxing day tsunami? Why did 316,000 die in the 2010 Haitian earthquake? surely an all powerful loving god would listen to millions of his followers and answer their heartfelt loving requests to spare the lives of others. Strangers, not kin or friends but fellow human beings.
The world continues as it has done for countless generations, Humans living and dying. Accidents and natural disasters continue to happen, evil people continue to do evil things and good people continue to be good. And no amount of praying has altered this or will alter it in the future.
There is an equivalence to praying... it doesn't involve a deity intervening. It has no act of devotion or rituals to observe and it won't make you feel guilty for asking........ it is called HOPE.
If you have convinced yourself that someone might be listening to you, that they have a supernatural power to possibly help you then human nature will compel you to ask for help, even if your not sure it might be given. You have a psychological comfort. If after you pray the outcome is favourable a religious person will always proclaim god answered the prayer and give thanks, happy in the knowledge that they were listened to by a merciful all powerful god.
BUT, if a prayer is not answered and the outcome disastrous, hurtful and deeply shocking the religious still seem to take comfort in this same merciful all powerful god. He is always praised never condemned.
There is still no world peace, religious factions still fight each other, wars rage, the homeless remain homeless, the starving people of the world keep dying in their thousands, the poor and destitute remain and innocent Madeline McCann is still missing. Is god not listening? Is he not able to help? Does he not want to help?
I have had people offer to pray for me for various things, and if that thing happens they claim with certain knowledge and pride that god answered their prayers. BUT.. if it didn't happen, then they claim god's plan didn't include what I wanted at this time or that he moves in mysterious ways or even that it was presumptuous to have asked god for this or that, or a thousand other different excuses. Either god has a plan or he doesn't. If he has a plan why bother praying? and if he doesn't have a plan why does he not answer these same week by week prayers?
Praying to god is ingrained in society, everyone on the planet has heard this and knows of the act. God is said to be everywhere and knows all things, he is said to answer prayers. Then why not answer the real needy ones? why do innocent children die of horrible diseases? why did over 228.000 people die in the 2004 boxing day tsunami? Why did 316,000 die in the 2010 Haitian earthquake? surely an all powerful loving god would listen to millions of his followers and answer their heartfelt loving requests to spare the lives of others. Strangers, not kin or friends but fellow human beings.
The world continues as it has done for countless generations, Humans living and dying. Accidents and natural disasters continue to happen, evil people continue to do evil things and good people continue to be good. And no amount of praying has altered this or will alter it in the future.
There is an equivalence to praying... it doesn't involve a deity intervening. It has no act of devotion or rituals to observe and it won't make you feel guilty for asking........ it is called HOPE.
If you have convinced yourself that someone might be listening to you, that they have a supernatural power to possibly help you then human nature will compel you to ask for help, even if your not sure it might be given. You have a psychological comfort. If after you pray the outcome is favourable a religious person will always proclaim god answered the prayer and give thanks, happy in the knowledge that they were listened to by a merciful all powerful god.
BUT, if a prayer is not answered and the outcome disastrous, hurtful and deeply shocking the religious still seem to take comfort in this same merciful all powerful god. He is always praised never condemned.