Questions about Prayer

[NOW tense]

I was listening to a radio personality slamming Rick Warren about his Inaugural prayer. He was pointing out the odd superstition of stroking Gods ego before asking for something.

Is this based on fear of God?

Do prayers to a feminine God do the same thing?

If you pray, What is your practice?

[Ian David]

1. Prayer is how we tell god that his plans for us are stingy and wrong. n/t

[NOW tense]

15. Great quote.

[Veritas_et_Aequitas]

2. Yours is a complex question that can't be aptly captured in a post.

To give it a very brief and inadequate run-down, the sucking-up to God has a long tradition in the Abrahamic religions. It doesn't seem to stem from the belief that God's ego needs to be stroked, but more out of an attempt to be humble and keep one's place in the grand scheme of things. Also we should remember that things which are made "other" or put beyond accessibility tend to have an aura of holiness. Whether the exultation of God stems from this sense of otherness or contributes to it is beyond me.

Prayers to a feminine god... hmm... I really think it would have to do more with the culture that a religion developed in than anything else. I'm not really up on my prayers to Isis or Shiva or various Polynesian death goddesses, so I'll have to hold my tongue there.

My own prayer practices vary depending on the setting and my mood (prayer is a fairly emotional thing), but generally I am terse and informal.

[yellowcanine]

6. "sucking-up to God" isn't just for Abrahamic religions. The Greeks and Romans were pretty good at

it and many shamanistic religions also have suck up rituals.

[Veritas_et_Aequitas]

7. True, but I really can't speak to their motivations.

Although Greeks/Romans had very anthropomorphic gods with less-than-holy motives, so fear and bribery very well could have been a motivation.

[NOW tense]

10. I have always thought of the practice being stuck in history

Since Kings were more common as Christianity was being developed, people would pray as if talking to a King. It is also why I think people think of God as a male figure.

[ZombieHorde]

19. "gods with less-than-holy motives"

Isn't this all gods?

[Occam Bandage]

3. People who do that are unfamiliar with the Bible.

Matthew 6:5-8:

And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

Christian prayer should be purely praise of God, should be brief, and should be a private affair.

[dcsmart]

16. very nice. the perfect quote as regards to prayer n/t

[mikelewis]

17. That is not always the way...

John 11:

And Jesus raised his eyes and said, "Father, I thank you for hearing me. I know that you always hear me; but because of the crowd here I have said this, that they may believe that you sent me."

Not all prayer should be private... remember that when two or more come together in His name He is with them. There is a benefit in public prayer... though it should be approached reverently and purely for the edification of the whole group.

[JerseygirlCT]

23. Yes, I think the quote about praying in public is an admonition

against praying for show - praying just to be seen praying to prove what a devout person you are. It's about faking it for social gain.

[cosmik debris]

4. I don't pray, I email

[e-mail]

I would text him, but he won't give me his number.

Anyway, I'm pretty sure the results are the same.

[NOW tense]

8. I have never thought of

improving my technology for prayer. I like the idea of texting being that I am always uncomfortable at Large family dinners like Thanksgiving.

[cosmik debris]

13. There is a business model in there somewhere.

I wonder if I could set up a phone number for god and bill people to text their prayers to god.

Hmmmm?

[NOW tense]

14. You would have to resist the temptation to answer.

[laconicsax]

18. Have you seen the PrayerMAX 5000?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVUfLJVSdjg

[Mamacrat]

20. I guess you could text Him...

My three-year-old "phoned" Santa this past Christmas and got what he wanted. I loved that he even thought to do that!

[grannie4peace]

5. prayers are supposed to be a humble plea ,or rejoicing

the bible warns about preachers like warren, it says to avoid them :):):) i just talk to Him (God), or rejoice (praising Him) (mostly in private or with one or two believers. or at church) they sometimes refer to the feminine aspect of God at my church :):):)

[peace13]

9. If I want something done I do it myself.

Actually, January, 2004 I prayed to God that GWB would step on his dick big time in front of the world during his State of the Union Address. I promised to never ask for another thing if the divine intervention could expose the fraud to the nation and the world. That was my last request. I am on my own now. But hey, things are looking better today. Peace, Kim PS Warrens prayer was entirely too long. It was so juvenile and embarrassing.

[NOW tense]

11. Does everything happen for a reason?

Would our country be ready to move in a new direction if Bush wasn't so bad?

[peace13]

12. It could be.

But my heart goes out to those who lost their lives and their livelihoods to the * thugs. Peace, Kim

[Why Syzygy]

21. English statesman, William Gladstone had a story ..

... that illustrates prayer coupled with
a sort of persistent action. It seems Gladstone
knew of a little girl in his neighborhood who believed strongly
in the efficacy of prayer. Her current concern was a trap that her
brother had made to catch birds. Being a bird lover, she prayed
that God would frustrate her brother’s designs and that he
would be unsuccessful in his plan. She had shared this resolu-
tion with Gladstone and told him how hard she was praying.
One day, upon encountering her, Gladstone observed a particu-
lar radiance to her countenance. He said to her, “Julia, you look so
pleased. Are you still confident your prayers will be answered?”
Julia smiled a knowing smile and retorted, “I know for sure
that my prayers will be answered. Yesterday I kicked my
brother’s trap to pieces.”

[JerseygirlCT]

22. Prayer for me is usually more of an internal conversation

Unless I'm at church, there's nothing much organized or formalized about it. And in fact, it's often more important to listen than to talk.

I don't see God as male or female - although it's hard being human to break out of that set-up, and early childhood training that has God defaulting to the "he" position certainly interferes with that!

[Evoman]

24. I quit praying when god started talking back to me.

What people don't know is that God is lonely and pathetic and won't stop fucking talking after you get him started. Last time I talked to him, he kept whining about this girl he likes that ignores him and keeps trying to get me to die so that I'll come to heaven to watch Flight of the Concords with him.

Not that it isn't a good show, but I don't want to go to heaven. Total fucking sausage party. Thanks Eve....now all the women go to hell right off the bat, and the rest of us go to heaven and play heavens version of D and D. It sucks...you can't roll dice, because they are evil. You can't cast magic because it's evil. There are no fucking monsters....basically, you create a character and then have him walk around and play harps.

So I quit praying, and now whenever god tries to get in contact with me, I ignore him by pretending I'm factoring numbers using the quadratic equation in my head.

[kwassa]

25. Prayer is simply turning one's attention towards God

and it can take many different forms.

It can be silent, it can be out loud, it can be alone, it can be in a group, it can be speaking, singing, dancing or many different things. There is really no right or wrong answer.

but I don't think I've ever heard it described it as stroking God's ego.