"I don't consent to your prayers."

[RestlessSoul]

You cannot trust God to take care of you. There are a great many believers and ethical people who do not have their basic needs met. Some even starve to death.

I trust God or the Universe to take care of me, and thus far He has. It's up to me to take care of others though, when the opportunity - some might say the obligation - presents itself.

 

[Kenny]

Knothead on TikTok

Found a video on tiktok where someone, in a comment, responded to some evangelical Christians that they don't consent to their prayers. The evangelical Christians then made a video specifically praying for that individual despite their wishes. The video linked above is another Christian minister condemning that action as selfish, displaying false piety and even taking the Lord's name in vain.

Personally I don't have a horse in this race, I don't care if people pray for me and view it at best as functionally equivalent of well wishing, at worse as harmful as praying to Bruce Almighty.

But what do you think? Would you as a non-christian ask Christians to not pray for you, especially the passive aggressive 'I'll pray you change your mind?' As Christians would you respect the wishes of someone who asked you to not pray for them? Also, if you have another theistic belief, do you pray for people?

As I prayed for someone in the hospital, I passed by the next bed and asked them if they would like me to pray for them. They responded "no thank you"... so I didn't. (Doesn't prevent me from praying after a leave, but they wouldn't know)

But it certainly looked like the person on the tiktoc video had more of an issue than the one who prayed anyways. Or did he pray? The snippet was so small, I wasn't sure. What was his issue on making the video?

 

[firedragon]

Knothead on TikTok

Found a video on tiktok where someone, in a comment, responded to some evangelical Christians that they don't consent to their prayers. The evangelical Christians then made a video specifically praying for that individual despite their wishes. The video linked above is another Christian minister condemning that action as selfish, displaying false piety and even taking the Lord's name in vain.

Personally I don't have a horse in this race, I don't care if people pray for me and view it at best as functionally equivalent of well wishing, at worse as harmful as praying to Bruce Almighty.

But what do you think? Would you as a non-christian ask Christians to not pray for you, especially the passive aggressive 'I'll pray you change your mind?' As Christians would you respect the wishes of someone who asked you to not pray for them? Also, if you have another theistic belief, do you pray for people?

Both of them are being petty.

 

[1213]

... As Christians would you respect the wishes of someone who asked you to not pray for them? Also, if you have another theistic belief, do you pray for people?

If I pray that people would be better, more reasonable and kind, should I stop that, because someone likes more evil? Maybe I could. And then, if the life of others becomes hellish suffering, is it my fault, because I let them have what they asked for?

 

[stvdv]

You told God that He did not need to pray for you?
Hmm
God says in the Bible that He takes care of us. That does not mean that we should not pray and tell God what we need, even though He knows. It is a relationship and prayer is not really to let God know stuff but to have that relationship and allow God to speak to us and teach us about what is important and how we should be praying, which may require listening much of the time.

You misunderstood completely

 

[stvdv]

You cannot trust God to take care of you. There are a great many believers and ethical people who do not have their basic needs met. Some even starve to death.

Not your place at all

To tell me, that I can't trust God to take care of me. What an arrogance

 

[Reyn]

Knothead on TikTok

Found a video on tiktok where someone, in a comment, responded to some evangelical Christians that they don't consent to their prayers. The evangelical Christians then made a video specifically praying for that individual despite their wishes. The video linked above is another Christian minister condemning that action as selfish, displaying false piety and even taking the Lord's name in vain.

Personally I don't have a horse in this race, I don't care if people pray for me and view it at best as functionally equivalent of well wishing, at worse as harmful as praying to Bruce Almighty.

But what do you think? Would you as a non-christian ask Christians to not pray for you, especially the passive aggressive 'I'll pray you change your mind?' As Christians would you respect the wishes of someone who asked you to not pray for them? Also, if you have another theistic belief, do you pray for people?

Most people part of the new generation are write-offs, just remember that. I don't care if people pray for me but if they bless me, I'll take it as a compliment. People seriously need to get a grip and stop being offended by almost literally everything.

 

[ADigitalArtist]

As I prayed for someone in the hospital, I passed by the next bed and asked them if they would like me to pray for them. They responded "no thank you"... so I didn't. (Doesn't prevent me from praying after a leave, but they wouldn't know)

But it certainly looked like the person on the tiktoc video had more of an issue than the one who prayed anyways. Or did he pray? The snippet was so small, I wasn't sure. What was his issue on making the video?

The guy at the end of the video was a minister chastising the couple for praying in a way he thought was self-serving and ego driven. The person who asked not to be prayed for was the comment in the bubble at the beginning.

 

[ADigitalArtist]

If I pray that people would be better, more reasonable and kind, should I stop that, because someone likes more evil? Maybe I could. And then, if the life of others becomes hellish suffering, is it my fault, because I let them have what they asked for?

Do you think that someone who doesn't want to be mentioned personally in your prayers is necessarily evil just because they're not interested in being prayed over by you, especially in such a public fashion as the OP video?

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

You cannot trust God to take care of you.

So you're kinda going for the opposite to Mark 6, eh?

Okay for a Jew, but I'm not sure your approach would work for a Christian who cares what the Bible says.

There are a great many believers and ethical people who do not have their basic needs met. Some even starve to death.

Why would anyone who believes in an afterlife consider the necessities of life to be "basic needs"?

I mean, if death only means being transported to a different - and better - invisible realm where you'll keep on livinb despite having died, why would you consider it necessary to avoid death?

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

If I pray that people would be better, more reasonable and kind, should I stop that, because someone likes more evil? Maybe I could.

If you respect them, yes: you should stop.

And then, if the life of others becomes hellish suffering, is it my fault, because I let them have what they asked for?

If you really did have the power to make God do things with your prayers, it would probably be deeply unethical for you to do anything other than praying.

I mean, go eat, sleep and all that, but if you really thought that you could pray away a child's cancer, why would you ever be on RF? What kind of horrible person says to themselves, "I could spend half an hour praying to relieve someone's suffering, but instead of that, I'll spend the time arguing with people online."

Your own conduct tells me that you don't really believe that prayer is effective... but if you really did believe in it, then yes: other people's suffering would be your fault, just as much as someone who chose not to throw a life ring to a drowning man is at fault for the drowning.

 

[Wildswanderer]

Knothead on TikTok

Found a video on tiktok where someone, in a comment, responded to some evangelical Christians that they don't consent to their prayers. The evangelical Christians then made a video specifically praying for that individual despite their wishes. The video linked above is another Christian minister condemning that action as selfish, displaying false piety and even taking the Lord's name in vain.

Personally I don't have a horse in this race, I don't care if people pray for me and view it at best as functionally equivalent of well wishing, at worse as harmful as praying to Bruce Almighty.

But what do you think? Would you as a non-christian ask Christians to not pray for you, especially the passive aggressive 'I'll pray you change your mind?' As Christians would you respect the wishes of someone who asked you to not pray for them? Also, if you have another theistic belief, do you pray for people?

That's a really dumb thing to argue about... That's like thinking you can control somebody else's thoughts.

 

[Wildswanderer]

If you respect them, yes: you should stop.

You should stop doing the thing that is showing love for the other individual just because they don't think that's what it's doing?

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

You should stop doing the thing that is showing love for the other individual just because they don't think that's what it's doing?

If you know that the other person doesn't consent, it isn't "showing love."

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Knothead on TikTok

Found a video on tiktok where someone, in a comment, responded to some evangelical Christians that they don't consent to their prayers. The evangelical Christians then made a video specifically praying for that individual despite their wishes. The video linked above is another Christian minister condemning that action as selfish, displaying false piety and even taking the Lord's name in vain.

Personally I don't have a horse in this race, I don't care if people pray for me and view it at best as functionally equivalent of well wishing, at worse as harmful as praying to Bruce Almighty.

But what do you think? Would you as a non-christian ask Christians to not pray for you, especially the passive aggressive 'I'll pray you change your mind?' As Christians would you respect the wishes of someone who asked you to not pray for them? Also, if you have another theistic belief, do you pray for people?

Thinking about this more, I see this in a similar light to creationism.

As an atheist, I don't really have a dog in the fight, but showy prayers to be seen by others is profaning something seen as sacred: prayer. Likewise, creationists misrepresenting facts about the natural world is profaning something seen as sacred: God's creation.

As an outsider to Christianity, I can just recognize the hypocrisy involved, but if I deeply cared about prayer or God's creation, I'd probably be inclined to see profaning either one as heretical.

One of RF's former members is fond of describing right-wing, nominally-Christian politicians who screw over the poor "Christ-hating heretics." I can see where he's coming from, and I can see the unwanted prayer in the OP through the same lens.

 

[Wildswanderer]

If you know that the other person doesn't consent, it isn't "showing love."

That's your opinion and it's easily disproven.
Your child may not consent to you not allowing them to play in traffic.
If you do something helpful for another person even if they don't want it it's still loving.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

That's your opinion and it's easily disproven.
Your child may not consent to you not allowing them to play in traffic.
If you do something helpful for another person even if they don't want it it's still loving.

You're describing autonomous, fully capable adults as children and you think you're coming from a place of love and respect? Give your head a shake.

And watch the video in the OP. He's talking about people like you.

 

[Wildswanderer]

You're describing autonomous, fully capable adults as children and you think you're coming from a place of love and respect? Give your head a shake.

And watch the video in the OP. He's talking about people like you.

Has anyone's prayer ever hurt you?

 

[IndigoChild5559]

That's your opinion and it's easily disproven.
Your child may not consent to you not allowing them to play in traffic.
If you do something helpful for another person even if they don't want it it's still loving.

Are you trying to claim you have a parental relationship with the other person? I don't think so.

 

[Wildswanderer]

Are you trying to claim you have a parental relationship with the other person? I don't think so.

I'm stating the obvious. Helping another person doesn't depend on them agreeing to your help.