Prayer is nothing but a coincidence. Check this out?

Question

A superstition is defined as:

An irrational belief that a magical object or action influences the outcome of events.

Imagine that your aunt says to you, "If you pray to God, he will answer your prayers." You ask her the obvious question, "How do you know that?" She says, "I have prayed to God hundreds of times. He always answers my prayers just like he says in the Bible." Then she quotes you two Bible verses.

In Mark 11 verse 24 Jesus says:

"Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours."

In John 14, verse 14, Jesus says:

"Whatever you ask in my name, I will do it, that the Father may be glorified in the Son; if you ask anything in my name, I will do it."

This seems pretty simple. Jesus is supposed to be God. God is supposed to be perfect. When God says something, it should be true. Prayer should work. So, you decide to try it out. You pray to God in this way,

"Dear God, please help me to roll six sixes. I have faith that you will answer my prayer as you promise in the Bible. In Jesus' name I pray, amen."

And you roll the dice.

What do you suppose is going to happen? If you are a normal, intelligent person, you know what will happen. Nothing. You will not roll six sixes any more often than normal if you pray.

We can scientifically prove this. We can roll the dice thousands of times, praying to God each time. We find that prayer has no effect on the dice whatsoever.

Any intelligent person can see what is happening here. The prayer has exactly the same effect as the horseshoe. That's because the belief in prayer is a superstition, just like the belief in lucky horseshoes.

Understanding example 1

A superstitious person who believes in prayer cannot see that prayers and horseshoes are identical. Instead, a superstitious person clings to the superstition and creates excuses to explain why it does not work.

If you a superstitious person who believes in prayer, you may be trying to develop an excuse right now:

* God doesn't play dice
* Gambling is a sin
* Thou shalt not test God
* This prayer is too trivial
* You didn't clasp your hands right

Superstitious people are always making excuses like this.

Instead of making excuses for the superstition, Here is the imporant thing to understand: Prayer has exactly the same effect as a "lucky horseshoe."

The perfect equivalence between prayer and superstition is undeniable.

Example 3

We find 1,000 deserving cancer patients. We split them into two groups of 500. We pray for the people in the first group, and we touch the people in the second group with a lucky horseshoe.

What do you suppose will happen? Will God reach down and cure all the people in the first group? Of course not. Statistically, the two groups will be identical. Praying for people has no

effect on disease.

The reason is simple.

Prayer has exactly the same effect as a horseshoe.

The perfect equivalence between prayer and superstition is undeniable

You might be thinking "Now wait a minute, I know lots of people who have been cured by prayer."

Here's what is happening.

Let's say that there is a form of brain cancer that has a 10% survival rate. When people get this form of cancer, 1 person lives and 9 people die. They all pray. The one who survives shouts, "I prayed to God and he saved me!" But you never hear from the nine who died, because they are dead. So it sounds like prayer works, when it fact prayer has no effect.

The "answered prayer" is a coincidence, nothing more. Prayer has no effect on disease because the belief in prayer is a superstition..

There are not special laws of probability for people who pray. The laws of probability are always the same whether you pray or not.

There are not special laws of nature for people who pray. Otherwise, the laws of nature would behave differently when people pray, and none of our scientific equations would work.

The belief in prayer is pure superstition. Every answered prayer is a coincidence. We can prove it in hundreds of ways.

Imagine that you are sick in the hospital. If your friend were to say, "Dear lucky horseshoe, please work your healing power on this disease." we would think she is an idiot for being so superstitious. We all know that horseshoes have no effect on disease. It is the same if she prays to cure the disease. Prayer has exactly the same effect as a horseshoe.

Imagine that you are a soldier and your platoon is going into battle. If your commander were to say, "Dear lucky horseshoe, please protect these soldiers from harm." we would think he is an idiot for being so superstitious. A horseshoe does not protect anyone. It is exactly the same to pray for protection. Prayer does not protect anyone either.

And think about this. What if a minister says, "God tells you to tithe money to the church. If you do, God will answer your prayers." This is fraud. The minister is lying to you in order to get your money. The belief in prayer is pure superstition.

It is time for us to state the truth: prayer is a superstition. It is time to point out that the superstition of prayer, like all superstitions, is silly. And it is time for us to end the fraud.

Would you like to learn more?

Please Visit WhyWontGodHealAmputees.com and GodIsImaginary.com.

Your study is wrong. There have been studies that have shown the opposite.

"
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--% Best answer

daisymae
0



I am so proud of you delving into the bible like you do! There is hope for you!

Regardless of what you say, prayer is the very life of evangelism.

No prayer, no power; little prayer, little power, great prayer, great power! Depends on how one prays.

Christ said that men cannot save themselves, nor will they come to Christ for salvation apart from a special work of God (John 6:44). But God's work is available through prayers of His people, who pray according to His will in submissive faith (Matt: 21:22, 1 John 5:14 & 15) "

ok I have two examples to prove you wrong hold on

What if we try this prayer instead:

Dear God, we pray to you to cure every case of cancer on this planet tonight. We pray in faith, knowing you will bless us as you promise in the Bible. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.

This is an important prayer. Millions of people die of cancer every year [http://www.cancure.org/statistics.htm]. There is lung cancer, brain cancer, Colon cancer, skin cancer and all the rest. We pray sincerely, knowing that when God answers this completely heartfelt, unselfish, non-materialistic prayer, it will glorify God and help millions of people in remarkable ways.

What do you suppose is going to happen? Will God reach down and eliminate all the cancerous cells? If you are a normal, intelligent person, you know what will happen. Nothing. This prayer will have no effect whatsoever.

Here is the interesting thing. If you ask a lucky horseshoe to cure every case of cancer, the exact same happens.

Prayer has exactly the same effect as a horseshoe. The belief in

prayer is a superstition.

If you a superstitious person who believes in the power of prayer, you are making excuses right now. You might be thinking "That prayer is too big." or "It would be too obvious for God to answer this prayer." or "God intends for us to suffer."

However, The perfect equivalence between prayer and horseshoes is undeniable.

Let's find a deserving Christian who has had a leg amputated. Now let's assemble a million faithful believers in a prayer circle. In Matthew 18:19 Jesus says:

If two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.

Let's have one million faithful believers pray to God to spontaneously restore the amputated limb.

What do you suppose will happen? Will the hand of God reach down and restore the limb? If you are a normal, intelligent person, you know what will happen. Nothing. This prayer will have no effect whatsoever.

Answer 1

I have tried it out, and believe me it does work. I am obedient to Jesus' command to pray and not give up. (Luke 1:18ff)

In the year 2000, I read a book on George Mueller who ran several orphanages in the United Kingdom. He never disclosed to anyone what financial or material needs he or the orphanages had. He merely prayed, and expected answers. He kept a running journal, noting the request on one side of the ledger, and a space for the answers on the other.

This inspired me to see what would happen in my own life, if I lifted up requests to God, and recorded the specific request and the specific answer.

These are the results to date:

In 2001, I had 65% answered "Yes," and 12% "No," and 19% carried over to the next year.

In 2002, I had 69% answered "Yes," and 11% "No," and 20% carried over to the next year.

In 2003, I had 80% answered "Yes," and 10% "No," and 10% carried over to the next year.

In 2004, I had 64% answered "Yes," and 16% "No," and 20% carried over to the next year.

In 2005, I had 72% answered "Yes," and 1% "No," and 27% carried over to the next year.

In 2006, I had 51% answered "Yes," and 7% "No," and 42% carried over to the next year.

So far, in 2007, I have had 56% answered "Yes," and 2% "No," and 42% still pending.

These statistics are on real prayer requests, with specific answers to them. As I pray more for others, I have a higher incidence of the prayer being answered with a "Yes." (And no, I don't pray for stupid stuff like, "Lord, let the sun rise in the morning.")

Needless to say, I see that prayer works extremely well, and fulfills the Word of the Lord, "...The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective." (James 5:16)

Answer 2

i know you might mock me becasue of my answer, but here it goes.

God does answer prayers, everyone of them. He doesn't always answer them in the way we expect though. He won't exactly give us what we want, but what we need. Over the last few monthes i've had a really hard time figuring something out. I'd kneel to pray and just get the answer, "Be paitent, it will all come in due time." and it did. While sitting in my room i go t the most everwhelming feeling that I have ever known. tears came to my eyes and my heart filled with joy. It could be no accident, no coincidence. I hadn't even been thinking aobut it at the moment. My thoughts were far from it actually. Although that was a big experience there have ben much smalled ones, like passing an Algebra test and bring my grade up a whole letter grade when I get major test anxiety, like finding mt homework when I'd lost it the night before. Purely simple things.

I know that didn't really answer your question, but I do hope it helps. Peace be with you. have a FANTASTIC day.
Love,
watermellon_123

Answer 3

I am so proud of you delving into the bible like you do! There is hope for you!

Regardless of what you say, prayer is the very life of evangelism.

No prayer, no power; little prayer, little power, great prayer, great power! Depends on how one prays.

Christ said that men cannot save themselves, nor will they come to Christ for salvation apart from a special work of God (John 6:44). But God's work is available through prayers of His people, who pray according to His will in submissive faith (Matt: 21:22, 1 John 5:14 & 15)

Answer 4

You obviously don't believe in God, so for you to do the praying I guess it wouldn't work, because it says you must believe.
Secondly, it is our prayers to pray and not really anyone else's business. I have seen people healed and some not, both were prayed for.
This has not stopped me from praying because the bible also reminds us that it "rains" on the believers and the non-believers. We all go through tough times, but when we pray and have faith it gives us hope.
I have had personal experiences where when I turned to God and prayed, things just worked out, and when I left this to my own devises, they didn't.
It has happened this way, time and time again, and so I will not stop praying. I don't see how my praying is hurting anyone.

Answer 5

There was a study done using hospital patients. One group had a prayer circle pray for their recovery daily and the other group had no prayers said for them. The ones who were prayed for recovered more quickly and left the hospital sooner than the other group. I can't remember where and when this experiment was performed but it is documented.
When I pray, I pray for help for myself or others, help with life problems, not financial problems. My prayers are usually answered and I know for fact it isn't superstition or horseshoes.

Answer 6

You are incorrect. There are experiments in which patients are prayed for and the results show an increase in the wellness of the patients who are prayed for. These are well documented experiments conducted by valid scientists.

Prayer has captured the curiosity of science. The brain is being studied as people pray and it reveals a different thought pattern from ordinary speech. I would be interested in knowing where your statistical data came from or if you just made it up.

The results of a study by Duke University:
Patients who received noetic therapies showed a 25 to 30 percent reduction in adverse outcomes (such as death, heart failure, post-procedural ischemia, repeat angioplasty or heart attack) than those without such therapies, according to the researchers. While increasingly popular outside of mainstream medicine, noetic therapies have not been widely studied with rigorous, scientific research methods. This study represents one of the first such efforts.

Answer 7

You are mocking God . I pray you repent and ask for forgivness before its too late, which is before you die or before Jesus returns to take us home.
Prayer does work, whether you belive it or not, and we pray according to His will, and also God doesnt hear the prayer of rebellious sinners, unless they are asking Him to come into their heart. Its in the Bible, perhaps you should read it before you sound off. Wait until you see a miracle of answered prayer. You wont be laughing. YOu will be on your knees thanking and praising God.
Jesus is not supposed to be God. JEsus is God. To deny Jesus is a serious thing. It is blasphemy. Jesus is perfect. All He says is true. Prayer does work.
But, we pray as believers, and we pray according to His will and perfect purposed for our life. and we know some things come instantly and some we wait on a bit, as lessongs are needed to be learned often, in the process.
The name above all name is Jesus, and you mock Him.
Pray and ask if He is real, study and see what you find. Look for answers. What if you are wrong, you will lose it all?
Not worth taking a chance on, and you will see , one day you will need Jesus, and you will cry out to Him, Do it before its too late.
God bless you in your search.

Answer 8

All I know is that a few years ago, my cousin was deathly ill. My family got hundreds of people praying for him, and he pulled through. His doctors still can't explain his recovery. Back when I was a kid, my father was so ill that the doctor gave him only a 1% chance for survival. He survived. If those aren't miracles, I don't know what is. The power of prayer is awesome.

Answer 9

Messing with metaphysics?? The universe rewards optimistic pondering? Ask Oprah! Nah, disregard it, she'll carry you on her exhibit to speak approximately it. I will take a look at considering a few coins and I'll help you recognize if it really works the equal. :) Anyway, I am completely happy you did not move hungry!

Answer 10

Ummmm, its IN CONTEXT meaning praying for things IN the will of G-d. Gambling is not in His will most often.

Not to mention, we were commanded to heal sick, baptize and teach. Amputees are not sick, they are simply missing a piece of flesh and bone. Read the Bible to see the demand G-d places on flesh. Very Little.

Ultimately, you may be a smart person. This means zip to G-d as well. Read 1st Corinthians 1. No matter how good your reason, no reason for rejecting Him will satisfy Him on your day of judgement.