I hate prayer

[metis]

I'm mostly into contemplative meditation as I believe prayer is more for us than for God to do magic.

 

[Twilight Hue]

Missing out on time sensitive medical care, thinking you actually did something when you did nothing, failing to take charge, failing to take responsibility, failure to act, and the required mental gymnastics do not foster healthy thinking abilities or patterns.
As the saying goes, two hands at work achieves more than a million hamds clasped in prayed.

That makes sense.

 

[SalixIncendium]

Depends.

I just accept that it's the way things are, weither something turns out well or not.

If only you were everyone.

 

[SalixIncendium]

Missing out on time sensitive medical care, thinking you actually did something when you did nothing, failing to take charge, failing to take responsibility, failure to act, and the required mental gymnastics do not foster healthy thinking abilities or patterns.
As the saying goes, two hands at work achieves more than a million hamds clasped in prayed.

Sometimes two hands clasped motivates many hands to work...

 

[SalixIncendium]

I would say in this case, prayer alone would be inappropriate, unless prayer helped motivate the family members to help your uncle.

Have you ever found yourself motivated by another's prayer or a prayer of your own?

 

[an anarchist]

Harm for whom?

Harm for all. Let's say a situation happens. Someone is taught to rely on prayer rather than their own selves. So, instead of firstly figuring out the situation, they pray instead. They may go as far as to only pray rather than take definitive action.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Sometimes two hands clasped motivates many hands to work...

Pograms? Inquisitions? Forced conversations? Focusing on getting asses in pews above all else? Con artists? Book burnings? Banning Christmas?

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Harm for all. Let's say a situation happens. Someone is taught to rely on prayer rather than their own selves. So, instead of firstly figuring out the situation, they pray instead. They may go as far as to only pray rather than take definitive action.

You are supposed to have faith and trust in Jehovah.

 

[We Never Know]

I hate prayer.

The stereotypical Christian kind of prayer.

The one that’s the cheapest of cop outs. Where you grovel and beg to an imaginary creature to take responsibility for what you should be doing.

Yesterday, at Thanksgiving, family found out auntie was getting divorced and my (former) uncle was not there this year because of that. The family was talking about that, and my aunts and uncles and grandma started saying that the former uncle ”needed prayer”. That poor man is being sued for a literal million dollars (and is going to lose), and he’s not handling it well, hence the divorce. It’s called a mid life crisis. So what can we do for the man? Pray for him!

I was getting frustrated as my family one by one started agreeing with each other and saying more loudly and confidently “Yes, we need to pray for him!”. So, we are going to accumulate our collective mental energy and direct it towards an imaginary being, and for some reason we assume, that if this being does exist, he will intercede on our former family member’s situation just because we asked. The friggin gaul.

Like, they say he needs prayer because he is going a bit loony due to the whole situation. I’m just frustrated that my family will be satisfied with “praying” for this man and they will be under the impression they have done more than enough for him. Hell, they asked the creator of the universe to help, so why wouldn’t God help? Christianity makes people so full of themselves.

I hate prayer. The stereotypical Christian kind of prayer.

I reckon saying a prayer for him is their way of hoping that things turn out well for him.
Its better than saying **** happens, lets eat.

 

[Twilight Hue]

If only you were everyone.

I'm privy to the indigenous saying, "it's not you who owns the land, but it is the land that owns you".

So, I don't need or require prayer. I've made my peace already because I understand the natural forces by which I live and die.

Paradoxically, that is also reflected in the Serenity Prayer.

 

[SalixIncendium]

Harm for all. Let's say a situation happens. Someone is taught to rely on prayer rather than their own selves. So, instead of firstly figuring out the situation, they pray instead. They may go as far as to only pray rather than take definitive action.

This can be true. I would hear "Jesus Take the Wheel" by Carrie Underwood and laugh, wondering who had a better chance of controlling the car...a licensed, practiced driver, or someone from 1 CE that has no license, has never seen a car, let alone driven.

But prayer can also inspire action. The very act of praying lights up parts of the brain that are usually at rest, so would it no stand to reason that activating these parts of the brain might inspire action?

 

[JustGeorge]

Have you ever found yourself motivated by another's prayer or a prayer of your own?

Yes. At least my own.

If I'm going to nag a deity for aid, I would feel irresponsible if I didn't see through that I was taking care of things the best I could on my end.

As far as others, I've only been aware when shared, but sometimes hearing someone has prayed for me cheers me a bit. That can be helpful in some circumstances.

 

[The Hammer]

I hate prayer.

The stereotypical Christian kind of prayer.

The one that’s the cheapest of cop outs. Where you grovel and beg to an imaginary creature to take responsibility for what you should be doing.

Yesterday, at Thanksgiving, family found out auntie was getting divorced and my (former) uncle was not there this year because of that. The family was talking about that, and my aunts and uncles and grandma started saying that the former uncle ”needed prayer”. That poor man is being sued for a literal million dollars (and is going to lose), and he’s not handling it well, hence the divorce. It’s called a mid life crisis. So what can we do for the man? Pray for him!

I was getting frustrated as my family one by one started agreeing with each other and saying more loudly and confidently “Yes, we need to pray for him!”. So, we are going to accumulate our collective mental energy and direct it towards an imaginary being, and for some reason we assume, that if this being does exist, he will intercede on our former family member’s situation just because we asked. The friggin gaul.

Like, they say he needs prayer because he is going a bit loony due to the whole situation. I’m just frustrated that my family will be satisfied with “praying” for this man and they will be under the impression they have done more than enough for him. Hell, they asked the creator of the universe to help, so why wouldn’t God help? Christianity makes people so full of themselves.

I hate prayer. The stereotypical Christian kind of prayer.

I agree that this is not the appropriate way it time to "pray for someone". There are other ways that this person can and should be supported

 

[an anarchist]

Do you feel prayer can be anything but?

I understand that “prayer“ can be a variety of things and methods. It’s the typical “thoughts and prayers” type of prayers I’m talking about.

 

[Echogem222]

I hate prayer.

The stereotypical Christian kind of prayer.

The one that’s the cheapest of cop outs. Where you grovel and beg to an imaginary creature to take responsibility for what you should be doing.

Yesterday, at Thanksgiving, family found out auntie was getting divorced and my (former) uncle was not there this year because of that. The family was talking about that, and my aunts and uncles and grandma started saying that the former uncle ”needed prayer”. That poor man is being sued for a literal million dollars (and is going to lose), and he’s not handling it well, hence the divorce. It’s called a mid life crisis. So what can we do for the man? Pray for him!

I was getting frustrated as my family one by one started agreeing with each other and saying more loudly and confidently “Yes, we need to pray for him!”. So, we are going to accumulate our collective mental energy and direct it towards an imaginary being, and for some reason we assume, that if this being does exist, he will intercede on our former family member’s situation just because we asked. The friggin gaul.

Like, they say he needs prayer because he is going a bit loony due to the whole situation. I’m just frustrated that my family will be satisfied with “praying” for this man and they will be under the impression they have done more than enough for him. Hell, they asked the creator of the universe to help, so why wouldn’t God help? Christianity makes people so full of themselves.

I hate prayer. The stereotypical Christian kind of prayer.

I don't think prayer is truly the issue, I think it's just a symptom, a way people express themselves when facing problems because of how they were taught (or have experienced life). After all, if prayer always worked consistently, no one would care, it would just be very weird things work that way (to me at least). I hate the cause of why people feel the need to pray when they have plenty of ability to resolve the situation without prayer (usually due to indoctrination), because in that situation prayer is like a mental trick people fall for, which can end up harming themselves and others simply because they decided to not help how they could help. Take for example someone in front of you just fell down some stairs, and instead of calling 911, you just rely on prayer. That is the type of prayer that I hate the cause of.

 

[RestlessSoul]

Just because you don't need prayer doesn't mean others don't.

Why hate something that doesn't necessarily involve you? Were you forced to pray?



A bit off topic, but your post made me remember something that happened yesterday that amused me a bit.

When dinner was done yesterday, it was served buffet style, served in the kitchen, and everyone was to dine in the dining room. I made sure everyone got their plate before I got mine, and as everyone sat down, I was still getting my food. My ex's husband, who is the pastor at the church next door, began saying grace while I was still in the kitchen getting my plate. I finished while he was praying, but remained in the kitchen until they were done.

I still don't know if it was a passive-aggressive thing, if he genuinely didn't notice I wasn't at the table, or he just accepted that I don't believe as he does and got it out of the way before I sat down, either out of respect or to just exclude me. I'm not bothered by it, and I really don't care why he did it, but I found it interesting and a bit amusing nonetheless.

Was hoping for a better punchline tbh. If you’d accidentally and unavoidably, to your own complete and unfeigned horror, dropped your dinner on his head, that would have been a better anecdote.

 

[Koldo]

Sometimes that's all people can do, send good thoughts and energy and hope there is someone that cares out there that listens. We can't all save the world or solve all problems. It's a natural reaction for most people to beseech a higher power when something terrible happens. You can't hold that against anyone.

And that's the problem...
The example given was shootings, which are only common in the US. So there is clearly something that americans can do about it, rather than praying. But praying is easier, ain't it?