ryhoyarbie said:
As someone who is not religious, I'm asking those who are if prayer actually works for them and why? Why does the power of prayer work?
As a theist, I feel it's useful. Scientifically, however, the story isn't so grand. In some studies, it seems like prayer does help, but in others, people increase their health risk if prayed over because "then I know something's really, really wrong with me" and it stresses them out. So, in terms of psychology, you might as well flip a coin for how useful it is. However, I haven't heard of studies that control for factors such as how sickness and death are viewed. I would imagine if, like me, you would just find death an irritating inconvenience, not a massive catastrophe, prayer wouldn't tip you over the edge. I feel prayer is a ritual. As a Christian, Jesus and others in the bible were pretty clear that ritual is basically for our benefit, not God's. After all, God already knows what all needs to be known about the matter. As humans, however, we have a need to communicate our needs. It offers us the sensation of being cared for, of (O)thers caring for us. It increases our resolve (except for the above mentioned "well, I must be going to die" thing that stresses some people out). This is why the ancients got all touchy when people refused to pray to whatever deity was in charge in the area: they viewed their survival as necessitated by humility before the universe that was so much bigger than them. To refuse to ask for victory or strength was to invite ruin. In secular terms, reducing motivation led to reduced productivity which led to reduced population. They couldn't stand that at all, since ancient life was already so precarious.
For example, if someone prayers to their god about trying to lose some weight, say 30 pounds, I don't know how that would work.
Realistically, it's less about God just whisking away those 30 pounds and more about asking for the resolve, the strength, to accomplish the goal without too many distractions. Of course, again we come upon how you view life as a factor in all this. If you think God's job is to press pause on the entire universe just so you don't have to work at your diet ... God's going to let you know just where you really are on the totem pole. I see God as more of a tinkerer than a creator ... in other words, He'll smooth out some wrinkles, but in essence it's your job to live your life. For some, if something happened, like a family death during your diet, they would then conclude that God is against them and they'd be all depressed and stuff. See, I'm used to thinking (half-jokingly) that God is the King of the Twilight Zone (though lately I've mused about Him being like Jareth of Labyrinth). I am used to asking for things and technically getting what I asked but it becomes apparent I should have thought it through a bit more.
When I see one of my patients dying, I no longer pray to God to let them live. I learned the hard way that there are fates worse than death. Now I just pray to give them the strength they need to face whatever comes. That gets rid of the problem of feeling that God said "no" if they die and it's more necessary than what amounts to a selfish wish anyway. God isn't our personal wish-granting creature. The world doesn't revolve around us.
I also roll my eyes when people are talking to reporters after an event like having a tornado come by and miss someone's house and they usually say something like "I think god for the blessing of having my house intact", or however they phrase it. My line of reasoning is you got lucky and the tornado got another house instead of yours.
Yes. How cruel and self-absorbed is it to basically say "nyah, nyah, I'm okay and you're not"? I would much rather thank my luck and then use that opportunity to see if the neighbors needed help.
frogboy4: Religous folk would find that to be a huge assumption.
I get invited by atheists (and Satanists) to "join them" all the time, as I'm not exactly in organized Christianity anymore, though I call myself one due to the fact that etymologically I am one. However, the one nagging thought in my head whenever I consider denying God is that, well, if you prove that an epiphany is a particular firing of certain neurons, or that gravity formed the universe (to which I answer, duh), it doesn't prove the lack of a Creator. My problem is that you might be able to argue that "certain types of creator deities" can't happen under the known circumstances, but there are other conceptions of the divine besides Western Christianity's anthropomorphic sense.
dwmckim: I know this has a good chance of offending the more religious people on here but i should also point out that even though i am very soured on the whole notion of religion, prayer and a benevelent higher power personally i also fully own up to that belief system/experience being solely my own and would never dream of telling someone else what they should or shouldn't believe.
Well, here's the thing: at least in terms of the bible, despite some characters saying God will always get you what you want (as long as you're obedient), the book of Job shatters that idea and other parts of the bible make it clear that our sense of "specialness" is a delusion of grandeur. "God", as a force of nature, is neutral. This is the theme throughout the entire book. However, as that is kind of depressing, the religious people who need to feel higher on the totem pole than they actually are can't deal with that. When a prophet tells you God can make children out of rocks ... our real status in life can't be made clearer, you know?
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