"I don't consent to your prayers."

[Brian2]

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

Why would I need to ask if I can pray for someone?
If I pray for someone and they do not know I am praying for them, is that a loving act or do I need consent to pray for anyone in private?

 

[Brian2]

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?

I don't know why someone would want to force anyone to put up with them praying for them in public or while they are together.
What is wrong with private prayer for someone?

 

[Spirit of Light]

Why would I need to ask if I can pray for someone?
If I pray for someone and they do not know I am praying for them, is that a loving act or do I need consent to pray for anyone in private?

Some people would maybe ask you, if you pray for someone in private, is the prayer more for yourself than for the one you praying for?

Why pray for someone if they do not want it?

 

[Brian2]

Some people would maybe ask you, if you pray for someone in private, is the prayer more for yourself than for the one you praying for?

If I pray in private how would the prayer be more for myself than the one prayed for?

Why pray for someone if they do not want it?

Why not pray for someone if they do not want it? (I'm not talking about about public prayer, while the person is there) Talking to God about a person can lead to God letting you know how you should pray for them.

 

[Spirit of Light]

If I pray in private how would the prayer be more for myself than the one prayed for?



Why not pray for someone if they do not want it? (I'm not talking about about public prayer, while the person is there) Talking to God about a person can lead to God letting you know how you should pray for them.

But if the person you pray for do not want your prayer, example if it is an atheist or someone who accept prayers if they are asked first?

Are you not going against their wish by praying for them in, but hidden from them?

 

[Brian2]

But if the person you pray for do not want your prayer, example if it is an atheist or someone who accept prayers if they are asked first?

Are you not going against their wish by praying for them in, but hidden from them?

I would be going against their wishes to pray for them with them being there and openly praying, but nobody has the right to tell me how I can or cannot talk to God in private.
And what people do not know in this regard does not hurt them.

 

[Spirit of Light]

I would be going against their wishes to pray for them with them being there and openly praying, but nobody has the right to tell me how I can or cannot talk to God in private.
And what people do not know in this regard does not hurt them.

Yes, your talks with God is your private space.
But let say you of some reason prayed in that moment for someone in RF, because you felt they needed it.

Would that be ok to do?

 

[Brian2]

Yes, your talks with God is your private space.
But let say you of some reason prayed in that moment for someone in RF, because you felt they needed it.

Would that be ok to do?

Yes.

 

[Spirit of Light]

Yes.

Oh

 

[Brian2]

Oh

Do you think it would not be OK?

 

[Spirit of Light]

Do you think it would not be OK?

Personally i would not pray for someone who had not asked me to do so, no

 

[Brian2]

Personally i would not pray for someone who had not asked me to do so, no

Why?

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Why would I need to ask if I can pray for someone?

I'm reminded of advice I heard in a discussion of public consultation for highway projects, but I think it applies here, too: "you can either do things with people or do things to people... and if you do things to people, you deserve what you get."

Do what you're going to do, but if you don't bother to check whether the person wants it before you do it, don't expect gratitude when you do it.

If I pray for someone and they do not know I am praying for them, is that a loving act or do I need consent to pray for anyone in private?

I'm not convinced that prayer is ever a loving act. To me, it seems mostly about aggrandizing the person praying.

I mean, you do believe that God sees our suffering and has a holy plan for humanity, right? How do you think calling his attention to problems he already knows about is going to help anything?

Prayer - this sort of prayer, anyhow - feels a lot to me about the guy who jumps out in front of the parade as it approaches to act as if he's leading it. He may be in front, but he isn't actually leading anything.

 

[Spirit of Light]

Why?

Because to me that would be showing disrespect for their wish

 

[KWED]

Worse, Christians often take false credit after prayers - it wasn't the doctor who helped, it was their prayer that saved you

There was that footballer who suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch. There was a cardiac specialist in the front rows who ran on and began emergency measures until the paramedics arrived. A defibrillator was used multiple times and he later had surgery to implant a micro-defibrillator. He spent a month in hospital receiving cutting edge medical treatment.
He later thanked god for the miracle of his survival.

 

[KWED]

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?

I would have suggested they rather pray for all those children god keeps giving fatal congenital conditions, or crushing in their schools from earthquakes, etc.

 

[KWED]

Of course, prayers to an infallibly omniscient god cannot work.
If god knows the future, then that future cannot change. If the future is fixed, prayers to change the outcome of any event cannot have any effect.

 

[Brian2]

I'm reminded of advice I heard in a discussion of public consultation for highway projects, but I think it applies here, too: "you can either do things with people or do things to people... and if you do things to people, you deserve what you get."

Do what you're going to do, but if you don't bother to check whether the person wants it before you do it, don't expect gratitude when you do it.

I was talking about praying for people in private prayers not to their face when they have said they don't want it.

I'm not convinced that prayer is ever a loving act. To me, it seems mostly about aggrandizing the person praying.

I mean, you do believe that God sees our suffering and has a holy plan for humanity, right? How do you think calling his attention to problems he already knows about is going to help anything?

Prayer - this sort of prayer, anyhow - feels a lot to me about the guy who jumps out in front of the parade as it approaches to act as if he's leading it. He may be in front, but he isn't actually leading anything.

Yes I can understand what you are saying but prayer is what God wants Christians to do.
Do you think that thinking well of a person without their knowing it is aggrandizement for the thinker?
If that goes a step further when the thinker is a Christian and it goes to prayer, especially if that is what God wants us to do, I don't see a problem in any way, especially as a moral problem for the one who prays.

 

[Brian2]

Because to me that would be showing disrespect for their wish

I can understand that.
I usually don't ask people if they would like me to pray for them so there is no disrespect there.
But a mother might continue to pray for her children even if they have said that they don't want prayer.
That would be praying out of love for them even if it disrespected their wishes.
I suppose we don't have to do everything, or not do everything that another person says,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, especially when they don't know and it's none of their business what I do in private.

 

[Wildswanderer]

I don't know why someone would want to force anyone to put up with them praying for them in public or while they are together.
What is wrong with private prayer for someone?

Nothing. You don't have to pray out loud for prayers to be effective.