How Does Praying for Someone Work? ALL RELIGIOUS AFFILIATIONS WELCOME TO ANSWER THIS QUESTION........?

Question

Someone just offered to pray for me.....

How is this going to help me?
Will all my problems be erased when this person is finished?
How does prayer work and where does God come in to play?

If I say to you......... please pray for me that I have something to eat? Is God going to fix me a sandwich? Is this food for FREE? Will a surprise pizza be delivered to my door at no cost?
Or..........................................................

Does prayer REALLY MEAN, " I will keep you in mind when speaking to God and I will be thinking of you, that you might find the peace you are looking for. This kind of prayer I can accept for sure.

Otherwise, help me to understand because I don't.

Answer 1

It does not cause physical actions, but it subconsciously places stronger will on the person to take stronger actions to resolve whatever issue is present by tricking your own subconscious into thinking that an omnipresent being is guiding you when your really just guiding yourself. In a way prayer is actually a form of self-hypnotism. When you pray for someone else you trick yourself to subconciously to commit to helping the other person as well.

Answer 2

The Power of Prayer
- Not All Requests Are Granted
- A Time for Spiritual Healing
http://watchtower.org/e/20000301/article_01.htm

God Does Answer Prayers
- Modern-Day Examples
- What if You Feel Unworthy to Pray?
http://watchtower.org/e/20000301/article_02.htm

Teach Us How to Pray
- Images and "Patron Saints"
- The Origin of the Rosary
http://watchtower.org/e/19960715/article_01.htm

How Should We Pray to God?
- The Name That Must Be Hallowed
- Proper Subjects for Prayer
- Further Counsel on Prayer
- Prayers That God Hears http://watchtower.org/e/19960715/article_02.htm

Prayers That Are Heard by God
- What God Promises
- Dealing With Personal Problems
http://watchtower.org/e/20020908a/article_01.htm

"You Must Pray This Way: ..."
The Lord's Prayer & Its Meaning for You
http://watchtower.org/library/w/2004/9/15/article_02.htm

(For more info, or, when a link becomes modified.) http://watchtower.org/search/search_e.htm

Answer 3

It depends on what your praying for and the manner in which you do it. If your hungry and some prays Lord send them some food, the Lord may speak to a person and all of a sudden someone will come with some food for you. Doesn't mean they'll specifically fix you a sandwich but they may provide the items you need to make that sandwich. When I say i'll pray for someone or some situation I at least always say a quick prayer right then and there and later when i'm praying at length i'll pray more in depth regarding the issue.

Answer 4

First of all, when most people say "praying" they mean "petitioning", which means asking for something. I am going to define prayer as talking to God (whatever image you use for that Entity) and listening for anwers, which come in many forms.
As far as how praying works, I think of it like this.
When I ask for something for someone, my thoughts (or intentions or prayers, whatever you choose to call them), travel as vibrations through space-time until they reach a place (level? dimension?) where chaos exists, that is, a place where no organization exists in the "stuff" of reality. In that place, my vibrations gather similar vibrations, and connected ones, together until a "cluster" occurs. At that point, because it was part of my intention, the "cluster" of now-organized reality returns to us here on earth, an organized mass of reality that has a form that is harmonious with the energy I sent out. This doesn't necessarily mean that a sandwich will magically appear if you are hungry, but it does mean that reality has changed around you in a way that includes the availability of sustenance, and/or a way for you to get it.
This is what people are trying to get across when they say "Our thoughts create the reality.".
I know this isn't scientifically based, nor Biblically based, and it's vastly oversimplified ( I skipped a lot of details), but it's a useful image to help me understand how prayer can work, and it doesn't require, or exclude, any religion.

Answer 5

Upanishads are establishing that God is not at all second or third person. He is the first person.

He is me.

The prayer is nothing but my conversation with me.

Actually the silence is the great medium of prayer because
silence is the only one way to deal with ourselves.

If and when somebody is praying for someone else, he is great because he is not egomaniac or self conscious.

Nobody else can solve your problems or your hunger by mere praying.

If you are calm and quite and patient with the time, everything will be there even if you did not prayed for it.

Only one thing is important is that you should have the merit to get.

Answer 6

When I do offer a prayer for someone it is meant as your last example. To me that is the best I can do for someone.

When I Christian, for example, says I'll pray for you I say thank you. I'm not worried that they are praying to the God to show me the way. The reason being "God" would know who and what I am and know that I am fine on the path I'm on, whether the person did or not.

Answer 7

We all have our account with God, super-power, and we deposit into this account thru our positive thinking and withdraw with our negative thinking. When some other person is praying for u then some one is depositing in ur account and as per mythology his i.e. ur friend's account is automatically enhanced with this selfless deed. Now it depends whether u fritter away this account with ur negative thinking or u also put something into ur account and this credit balance wipes out ur Karma because of which u r in ur present state of crisis. God will give u what u want and he is recording ur inner conversation and not ur outer words. There is a chance for u to tide over if u want. There is every chance that a miracle may happen with ur updated account and ur life may take a turn for better. Now decide do u wish to come out of ur crisis or want to remain there as u may have started liking ur crisis. But prayers by others for u do help. I would ask u to make hay while the sun shines.

Answer 8

I do not know.
Some have said that a prayer is like a beam of light firing off into the heavens, and only angels can see them. According to the intensity and size of the beam, is how they react to it.

Also, it has been said, that a person who is doing the praying should have no imperfections, for those will be projected also upon the person for whom they pray.

Again, another factor that I heard tell of, is that whoever does the praying should first ask for the guidance of the Holy One, for if they do not, the evil one may come to harass that person.

Answer 9

Friend!praying for someone works better than praying for our own self.If we love and serve all,GOD will be really happy with us.But its a little bit impossible thing,isn't it?So the best thing we can do for others and for the whole World is to pray for their welfare and happiness.If you pray sincerely for some person GOD will be forced to help that person and He will do that.Not only that, instead of praying only for your happiness,if you pray for the entire World,GOD will always be with you guiding you and guarding you .Your name will be included in the list of GOD's most favourite persons.And if you have strong faith and intense devotion towards GOD,He will surely bring even food for you indirectly through someother person.All your problems will be solved by His Grace.So never ever give up GOD.ALL THE BEST!!!

Answer 10

Let me tell you a story here...

There was a small village where an old lady resided. She used to pray every morning, every night. Never did she ever miss her prayers.

One day it rained heavily and the village was flooded. Poeple started moving off to safer zones. But the old lady didn't. She believed that she was a good devotee of God and He would help her out. A man in a boat came to her asking her to move out of the place. She refused saying that God will help her. Water level rose. She had to move to the next floor. However she didn't stop praying. A man in a motor boat approached her and asked her to move with him. She refused again. Water level was still rising. She had to move on to the top of her house. A helicopter approached to save her but she refused again. Unfortunately water level rose yet again and she was no more a part of this world.

While confronting the God, she asked God why didn't He come to help her inspite of the fact that she had always worshipped Him. God humbly replied, "Ledy I did try to help. I sent a man in the boat. Then the man in the motor boat, and then the helicopter. But you refused."

So God does come into play, but not untill you keep your mind clogged.

As far as othgers praying for you, it's just like wishing good luck. The wishes don't actually come into play, but atleast we realize that someone really cares. people pray for others when they really care for them and are circumstaincially helpless to provide any aide to them.

All the best...

:-)