I'm kind of curious about how prayer fits into the christian doctrine.

When you pray do most christian sects believe you are speaking directly to God?

Why is it considered bad form to pray for something bad to happen to your enemies...Like praying that you wished God would smite Osama Bin Laden, or that he might visit one of his plagues upon your mother-in-law? After all, God did plenty of smiting and plague inflicting during Biblical times...

Doesn't asking for divine intervention somehow violate the whole "free will" thing?

Originally posted by Vilepagan
I'm kind of curious about how prayer fits into the christian doctrine.

When you pray do most christian sects believe you are speaking directly to God?

Why is it considered bad form to pray for something bad to happen to your enemies...Like praying that you wished God would smite Osama Bin Laden, or that he might visit one of his plagues upon your mother-in-law? After all, God did plenty of smiting and plague inflicting during Biblical times...

Doesn't asking for divine intervention somehow violate the whole "free will" thing? Well the term "christian doctrine" seems a little too all-encompassing to me. But i can answer for myself only. When i pray, i am talking to God. And i feel it would be unchristian to ask the lord to hurt someone for anything trivial. (i still secretly hope they get their just dues) Besides, i honestly believe most evil deeds are repaid with interest anyway. Even if i cannot see the results.

I dont think God takes a direct hand in anything herre on earth. I think he lets us live as we will. But that is just my personal opinions.

from what I've been told through all my years of prayer classes at jewish school,s jews are supposedly talking to god. never experienced it myself, but supposedly we are sending our prayers up to god, directly.

When people pray, it is for their benifit not God's. God knows what our needs and wants before we ask. We pray so that we can have the opportunity to see God answer prayer, to strengthen our faith, and to form a relationship with God. Prayer is like talking to your best friend over the phone, telling him what is going on and asking for help and advice. Yes, I did say advice. If a person is truly seeking God, he will impress on their heart what to do, and his way is always best. As to asking for God to smite our enemies or annoying people, the better course is to pray for them and ask for God's will to manifest itself.
" But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use and persecute you." Matt 5:44

Well of course I believe I’m talking to God during prayer. Who else would I be talking to? God answering your prayer is not a violation of your free will because you willingly asked for his help. This is where the whole “being humble” thing comes in; when you willingly give your life to God, he can help you navigate your way through life.

Originally posted by Mopoloton
Well of course I believe I’m talking to God during prayer. Who else would I be talking to? God answering your prayer is not a violation of your free will because you willingly asked for his help. This is where the whole “being humble” thing comes in; when you willingly give your life to God, he can help you navigate your way through life.

In a previous post you mention that God does not intervene...if true, how can he guide you? Why should he have to if you're his creation? Why didn't he just create you with everything you need to make it through life?

God is everything. Us too.

God willed the Universe into being. We, as God, will things into being.

For your will to manifest itself you must have faith that it will manifest. If you believe you can, then you can (I kind of want to use a qualifier like "If you REALLY believe..." but you either believe or you don't).

Words are powerful. Some cultures don't use negative sounds unless they mean something negative. For example we say "dedicate" which contains a syllable that sounds like the word "dead". Some cultures would never put their syllable for "dead" in another word. Rastafarians, for example, would say "LIVE-icate" "OVER-stand" and such.

Speaking out loud is powerful magic for one who has faith in what he is saying.

Praying is not so much asking for a favor as it is manifesting your divine will.

"Amen" means "and so it shall be done" or something line that.

Which God though?

All religions and cults across the world pray and claim benefits. I have no doubt that prayer is powerful - but the fact that it seems to have value regardless of religious belief - tends to indicate that the religion part is irrelevant and something deeper is at work.

There are not different "God"s. The Universe is one thing. Allah is Jehovah is God.

Even poytheists believe their is a Big God over all the lesser ones.

Whatever you call it, the Universe is the same for all of us.

Originally posted by Ed Blank

Whatever you call it, the Universe is the same for all of us.

I agree, but that means that our perceptions of that universe are faulty.

Originally posted by Vilepagan
I agree, but that means that our perceptions of that universe are faulty.

Undoubtedly. There is nothing so sure as our perception of the universe is wrong.

I doubt we understand the universe anymore than a spider can understand wall street.

Religion is certainly nothing but a simplistic view. A symptom of truth.

As little as we think we can know, the whole thing is contained in every raindrop.

It's hard for us to comprehend because it is so simple.

"You won't find what you're trying to find
But it's sitting on your nose all the time
And you're looking through it..."

-Ed Blank

(the above quote alludes to someone looking for their glasses but not being able to find them because they already have them on)

Originally posted by Vilepagan
In a previous post you mention that God does not intervene...if true, how can he guide you? Why should he have to if you're his creation? Why didn't he just create you with everything you need to make it through life?
We ARE born with the basic abilities we need, some of us just have trouble finding them or figuring out how to use them. It’s like when you’re being trained on the job; when you first walk up to the assembly line you have no idea how to assemble an auto engine, but when your training is complete, it seems easy. This is why I always ask God to “show me the way” rather than ask him to just make everything better.

When you ask for God’s help it is YOU who is making that choice, so it can’t be considered a violation of your free will.

in response to the original question....

it doesn't always work......at least not when I needed it to.......I prayed my ass off that nothing was wrong with my baby when she started showing signs of physical delays......I prayed that her brain would be Okay when they did MRI and CT.........some prayers are answered and some aren't....it didn't work these times but I haven't lost hope...
I still pray that she might talk or sit by herself, crawl or even walk.........

Some of my prayers were answered and for them I am grateful...she is healthy she is happy and she is surrounded by a circle of love and she has a rare gift...a loving twin sister

Creetwins........ ;)

Originally posted by Vilepagan
In a previous post you mention that God does not intervene...if true, how can he guide you? Why should he have to if you're his creation? Why didn't he just create you with everything you need to make it through life?

If you look at the beginning he DID create us with everything we needed, but through our own pig-headed-ness we made life a heckuva lot harder than it had to be. But God does intervene, if didn't I would be dead. And mean that not as some metaphysically mumbo-jumbo, but as an actual truth for my life. I have seen God intervene and literally save my life. As to why he should have to intervene, why shouldn't he? Think of it this way, God calls himself the bridgroom who is coming for his bride one day soon. Now if your fiance was in trouble whether by her own stupidity or someone else's, and she asked for your help, wouldn't you drop everything and go running at full speed to help her? You would if you truly love her.

I remember reading in a class or something that "all of life's mysteries will be revealed to us in heaven" or, in the after life or something along those lines. i.e. universe, creation, etc. (I have a hard time swallowing evolution and Adam/Eve, but that's another story) When my time comes, I'll be knocking at God's door with a notebook and 10 pens because I can't wait to get all the details on our creation.

(Someone should start that Adam/Eve vs. Evolution thread!)

BUT, when I pray to God, it's usually to thank him for my wonderful family, my loving parents, my job, my husband's job and our home. I try not to ask for anything because I don't feel worthy enough to ask. I do ask for guidance in being a good mom and wife and to direct me to the path he has chosen for me.

I do have to state here, though, that when you are depressed and worn out it seems that nothing goes right. But, the same can be said when you have a motivated attitude--things start to go your way. It took me a long time to realize that, but I do believe our attitude is a key that works.

Originally posted by Ed Blank
Speaking out loud is powerful magic for one who has faith in what he is saying.

Praying is not so much asking for a favor as it is manifesting your divine will.

"Amen" means "and so it shall be done" or something line that.

Wiccans and some Pagans end prayers and rituals with, "So mote it be," which can be equated to "Amen".

Words ARE powerful, as you have said. It's my belief that if you curse someone, you are sending negative energy their way. Same as when you bless someone, you send them positive energy.

I completely believe in the power of prayer. When my son had an accident, I had thousands of people praying for him. I asked for healing prayers and energies from anyone willing to give them. However - and this is a BIG however - because of the power of prayer, I expressly do NOT want someone praying for me to lose my faith. A Christian may think he's doing me a favor to "pray for my soul", but I'm already "saved", thank-you-very-much, so someone's prayers for me to abandon my current faith for theirs is beyond reprehensible.

saycricket said:
BUT, when I pray to God, it's usually to thank him for my wonderful family, my loving parents, my job, my husband's job and our home. I try not to ask for anything because I don't feel worthy enough to ask. I do ask for guidance in being a good mom and wife and to direct me to the path he has chosen for me.

I do have to state here, though, that when you are depressed and worn out it seems that nothing goes right. But, the same can be said when you have a motivated attitude--things start to go your way. It took me a long time to realize that, but I do believe our attitude is a key that works.

Being thankful for your good fortune, and verbalizing it, helps reinforce the fact that you HAVE good fortune, to help keep it coming. Another of the many benefits of prayer. And you are absolutely right about attitude.

When I've gotten depressed and am in a funk, and I'm mentally discussing how miserable everything is around me, about how inferior I am, etc., I will try and catch myself and turn around those phrases, saying how good things actually are, and how much I have accomplished. Even if I have to say it sarcastically to get myself to say it. Positive affirmations are a wonderful thing. :^)