Prayer is proven not to work?

Question

lol.

Who tested this hypothesis?

Apparently, they're not getting the whole deal on prayer in the Bible.

Please:

I'm sure you've had unanswered prayers before.

Name what you prayed for, how you prayed for it, and what kind of circumstance you were in at the time.

You missed this part:

"Apparently, they're not getting the whole deal on prayer in the Bible."

"For it is written, do not test the Lord your God"

-Jesus.

And I suppose you'll say only "True Christian" prayers work eh?
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Yeah.

The effectual and fervent prayers of a righteous man availeth much...

I believe that the mind is a powerful thing
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I believe that faith is a powerful thing.

Answer 1

What I love is how many religious people will pray for things like a raise, and get it, and contribute that to God, but when so many people pray for mental healing, family help, things that are actually needed, and don't get it.... eh.....

You can attribute anything you want to a deity. Some people are much better off in the world than others, it is sad that people with so much can not realize this and contribute their personal gain to their God(s).

Answer 2

Your question is not exactly clear. What, exactly, are you trying to figure out?

I'm taking a guess. There was a study a year or so ago, I forget who did it, that basically tested a large amount of people praying for people in life-threatening situations in the hospital. Some people were prayed for by others, and some were not. They basically found that there was no affect on the patients. The recovery of the ones that were NOT prayed for was about the same as the recovery rate of those who WERE prayed for.

The key to the study was that the patients were not told whether or not they were being prayed for. That said, it really does not prove anything either, except that prayer in itself is not the literal cause of healing. Even that is not proven either way, as there is no way to know who really was or was not praying for whom, in reality. Still, it is an interesting idea, and it makes some interesting points about faith and healing. What it really says, however, is a matter of perception and your point of view. People who believe in prayer will find loopholes or define the power of prayer in different ways that make the study support their point of view. Non-believers will do the same thing.

I'm not touching the theological side of this argument, though. Arguing religion in this forum is a waste of time, regardless of what you do or do not believe in. If you believe in God, there is nothing you are going to read here that is going to change your mind, because the belief in God is a personal thing that is based on personal experience and learning. On the other hand, an atheist is not going to change their mind based on reading something here, because there is no way to prove in writing that God exists. Why should they? Ultimately, religion and atheism are personal experiences, and the most effective way to deal with them is to believe what you are going to believe, and try to respect and tolerate those who do not believe what you do. History teaches us that fighting about it leads to death and oppression.

Answer 3

It must be frustrating not to understand even the fundamentals of God. I have always had my prayers answered. Not always in the affirmative but always answered. I will give you some tips on prayer: 1) You need to have your finger on the pulse of God. He will only give you what is his direct or permissive will. 2) You cannot begin to understand God unless you are justified (saved). 3) If you are saved, you know that God will only do and give you things that will benefit you (Romans 8:28). For example if you pray for a Chevy Corvette, God may not answer that prayer by saying "yes". He has the advantage of seeing past and future (Omniscient); therefore, he may see you killing yourself or someone else in the car. You may feel I'm talking down to you, but I'm not; this is often a tough issue to deal with even for Bible students. I often pray that God will heal me from my Multiple Sclerosis, and every day he answers me with a "No". I also pray for understanding as to why he wont heal me. He gives me an answer to that prayer as I read his word. I was a member of an all American gymnastics team when I was young; I had many girlfriends. How do they say it today, I was the Mac-Daddy. I was prideful. I had no use for God. When I have good days with my MS I find that pride again creeping in. Old habits are hard to overcome and the Bible is clear that: "Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.” I could tell you, if God didn't allow me to have MS I believe I would be damned to hell. I would rather be sick and feeble then spend an eternity in a Godless hell.

Answer 4

I prayed for death. It wouldn't come. I had the worst case of morning sickness ever and I almost died. I was throwing up every 10-15 minutes, 24 hours a day for 2-1/2 months straight. I am not joking here. It was THAT constant. Even when there was nothing left to throw up, I had dry heaves. I have never experienced such intense suffering. I was hospitalized twice. A nurse stayed with me at home to care for me. I had an IV which went close to my heart (a central IV) to keep fluids and vitamins in me to prevent me from dying. I begged God to let me feel better. He was silent. I then begged Him to let me die. Again He was silent. Finally, into my 3rd month of pregnancy, I began to feel better.

18 years later, I understand why God didn't answer my prayer the way I wanted Him to. He didn't allow me to feel better because my suffering ended up being an encouragement to my teenage niece when she too went through the same thing and considered aborting her baby. She was encouraged by my suffering and she hung in there. She gave birth to a wonderful boy who is now 15. He is a great kid.

God didn't allow me to die because He wanted me to be an encouragement to my niece, but He also wanted me to give birth to my son, who is now almost 18. He is a great kid and I can't imagine my life without him. I can see the good things in my life and in the lives of others that have happened BECAUSE God was silent while I prayed. Sometimes when we pray, God is silent for a time. He doesn't have to rush - why should He? He's God, after all, and He is not on a human timetable. He sees the future and knows the whole picture. He knows what is best. We just need to trust Him.

Answer 5

I do not believe in God, but this is what I do believe in regards to prayer. I believe that the mind is a powerful thing. I believe that sometimes people already know the answer and are just asking for help anyway. I believe that people help themselves. And even for health-related "healings", I believe that they can be scientifically explained. For example, I know someone who was having surgery and asked for prayer for a swift healing. Everyone prayed (well the Christians did anyway). If you are in a proper frame of mind to expect swift healing, you do not produce the stress-related hormones that are associated with proinflammatory cytokines. If you don't produce inflammation, you heal faster. So did the prayer cause the healing to go faster or did the lack of stress and worry cause it to heal faster? The Christian would say it was the prayer. The scientist would say otherwise.

Answer 6

Agreed, if I am reading you right. Proven to work, proven not to work...RIDICULOUS. You can only decide for yourself regardless of arguments swirling around you.

I don't keep a scorecard, but I have had many prayers go unanswered. Or so it seemed at the time. Of many of those times, however, life unfolded a little bit more and I could only thank God for "not" granting what I had asked for.


ADDED: Oh, I am remembering a very funny reverse prayers answered, from about 10 years ago. My son, (around 17 and on drugs) and I take a trip to Montana's Glacier Park. I am driving the van in my usual old-lady mode, except that I am afraid of heights, so I am going slower than usual, not a crawl, but most people want to pass, and I let them. One car comes zooming up and rides my bumper, despite a few opportunities to pass me.

My son has gone from mild embarrassment to frustrated ANGER. He says: "I hope to God he runs off the road at a 6000 foot drop." In horror, I yell "ED!!!" as in don't ever say that. So he says "Alright then, I hope they just run into the rocks", which brings the same response fro me as before. And THEN he growls: "Fine. I hope they get a flat t - " KATHUNK went OUR right rear tire. Bug eyed and slack jawed, we turned to each other in unison, looked heavenward, and then laughed our butts off in wonder.

Answer 7

Maybe it doesn't work for you but for me it does. Remember you need faith and that is what you don't have. And let me tell you that you don't need a whole bunch of faith just a little, as little as a tiny seed of mustard. I have had a lot of different experiences of answers of prayers even at the last minute but I have never had the doubt that God will answer and all I do is believe and wait. Try it it works.

Answer 8

When someone prays...for whatever reason...you are suppose to say "Thy will be done." I am so shocked to see people who don't get it when God says No! There is yes, yes-but you are to wait before receiving it, and then there is no. God is a Father. And only He knows what is best for us. He knows that sometimes we pray for things at the wrong time. He knows we are not mature enough to handle everything we pray for. I personally do not pray for every little thing. I pray for the health and well being (safety) of others......but for myself, I know the only thing I need right now is strength to get me through each day. So far, He has not failed me. And as a child of God, I know I must be satisfied with whatever answer I get.

Answer 9

One individual is not a 'proof'

Repeated and documented experimentation is strong evidence. And every single time a reputable medical or scientific organization did such an experiment, the null hypothesis, that prayer does not work, was held to a 99.5% reliability.

For even ONE validly constructed experiment to work at that level of reliability would be amazing. For multiple experiments, run by multiple researchers on multiple groups, it's so near as to impossible for it to be wrong as the chances that a foot-diameter sphere of pure gold would by random quantum chance materialize on my desk suddenly from the ambient energy in the room.

Head to your local medical library, these experiments are well documented in multiple medical and scientific journals.

Answer 10

Okay, try this.

Let me get 100 really cute adorable puppies with little red Christmassy bows tied around their collars.

Let me also get a Colt AR-15 rifle and 100 rounds of ammunition.

Before I fire point-blank at each puppy, your job is to pray that the gun will jam or that I will miss. One prayer per puppy.

Any guesses how many dead puppies we'll have at the end of this session?

Now let me get another 100 rounds and let's try it with babies. Any difference?

There's either nobody up there, or there's a supreme being that doesn't give a good two craps about my son (he has autism). You want to know what my last unanswered prayer was? Take a good guess.

I'd rather believe there's nobody up there than believe there's an all powerful being that could be that hateful.

P.S. I love the thumbs-down. Very nice. Now dispute me from a logical standpoint :)