Is prayer selfish?

Question

Do people pray for just what they are affected by?
Do some people pray for big things like world peace, so they can impress god?
Is prayer in any way, second guessing god's will?

Hutch- You too can be reported.

LuckyJohn19
Always a welcome voice of reason.
I love your rants :)

Answer 1

True that. Anything individual human's could conceive of to pray for is inherently selfish, in that they are only bringing fortune to a portion of reality that they are individually aware of (and thus, even peripherally, they benefit).

Answer 2

Haha, no, prayer is actually the exact opposite of that. Jesus specifically teaches us how to pray in Matthew 6 from the Bible. In this passage, Jesus gives us the Lord's Prayer (the Our Father). He makes it clear to us that the purpose of prayer is to make God's will our will. We don't change God's will, only our own self-righteous desires.

"...Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done..."

Over time, many Christians have come up with this heretic idea that prayer can somehow manipulate God into doing our will. However, it's actually meant to guide us into fulfilling God's will. Prayers aren't supposed to affect the outcome of a situation; no matter what anyone asks of God, He will still ensure that things go His way. I've heard about experiments in which people pray for a certain outcome, and one of the experiments disproved prayer and one unanimously proved prayer. However, these experiments are so flawed since they make the false assumption which many other people get when they hear Christians praying for the sick or poor. When we pray for the sick or poor, we show God that we only wish for the good, which is exactly what God wants too, but we have to remember that God can't just perform miracles all the time. If He performed miracles all the time, that would force people into believing and totally negate our purpose of finding fellowship in God.
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Is prayer selfish?
No, not if you pray the right way, and the right way is to pray similar to the Lord's Prayer in which we only care about God's will.

Do people pray for just what they are affected by?
No because I know that I don't.

Do some people pray for big things like world peace, so they can impress God?
Prayer isn't meant to impress God, but by making His will our will, we become closer to God. God created us so He could have someone in His own image to love, and hopefully, we'd love Him back and find fellowship in Him. So I guess that it could impress God.

Is prayer in any way, second guessing God's will?
Nope. As I already said, it's exactly the opposite.

Your question is an insult to Christians!?
What!? That guys an idiot. Don't listen to him. I'm a Christian, and your question sounds pretty sincere to me. If you're trying to insult me, then you really suck at it ;)

Answer 3

That's a good question because some prayer IS selfish, and that covers prayers in ALL religions.

However, when Christians base their prayers on the principles Jesus stated (in the 'Our Father' Matthew ch 6), the primary concern is for the honor of God's good name. That has priority and comes first. Then comes the extension of God's kingdom. After that we ask for our needs (NOT our wants!) forgiveness, and to be able to forgive, deliverance from evil and avoidance of temptation.

Understandably, what we are affected by is easier to pray about than things that don't touch us, yet when we relate everything to the issue of God's name and his kingdom, even remote issues take on new significance. For example, we might not have been affected by dreadful floods and not even know anyone who has, yet when we consider God's warning in Revelation that he will bring to ruin those ruining the earth, we have to pray, considering if we are guilty in any way or if God would have us do anything about it. We try to ascertain God's will by combining what he says in his word, the Bible, with our circumstances and the prompting of the Holy Spirit. Fortunately, God is patient when we err, and encourages us to persevere in prayer. It is a discipline and the more earnestly we engage in it, the nearer we draw to our heavenly Father.

Answer 4

Now, why would someone report this question?

I'm a christian. Prayers can be selfish, because a lot of people pray only for themselves, their family, keep them away from harm etc. There are people who do genuinely care about the world, because they feel a burden for them. Those prayers are less selfish. And prayers are not meant to impress God, my prayers are usually just random conversations.

Answer 5

Prayer is talking w/ God. I ask for things SOMETIMES. I mostly pray for other people who are in bad situations. I ask God to make me a better Christian because I make so many mistakes.

Prayer can be selfish if you are only thinking about getting things from God. Like God was a sugar daddy or something. Prayer should be selfless like the Lords prayer.

Answer 6

No doubt prayer can be selfish. It often depends on the spiritual maturity of the person. Sometimes God will bring it to our attention that our prayer is not His will, but our own. And sometimes He just lets us figure that out.
We are to be in prayer continuously with God
so it's pretty common that our prayers will be selfish. I guess the point is that we pray, that we are communicating with Him all of our concerns.
I think that as we mature our selfish prayers become more praise, and we begin to pray for needs outside of our own immediate concerns.

Answer 7

Prayer if brought to God with humility is not selfish- God asks us to bring our concerns to Him. However, I will agree that some prayers are selfish-if asked with wrong motives- if getting something from God- "like a list for Santa Claus"- this is wrong because we are approaching God as the great dispenser of our will not His. God says to ask Him anything in His Name- which means His will. God knows the heart of everyone that prays to Him. A prayer begins and ends with a humble heart. Yes we can boldly come to His Throne, because of Christ, but the moment we think we have any clout before the Father except through Christ then our prayers are not effective, and can become selfish and a wish list, instead of allowing God to work in the situation in His timing and His will.

Answer 8

It depends on the prayer, how it's offered, and what is asked for.

I think if people pray for superficial things, then yeah, that prayer is selfish....

If people pray for blessings for others, without those people knowing they are being prayed for...then that doesn't hurt anybody.

I think if people pray just to be seen praying...that's another selfish act.

But then again, I'm just an atheist...what do I know about prayer?????

Answer 9

I don't think it's selfish but it sure is stupid - it's like putting an order in at Mackas and believing there's an InvisibleSkyGuy somewhere inside who is ready to drop his perfect plan just for you and grant you your wishes like in ‘I Dream of Jeannie’ or ‘Bewitched’.

Why would an InvisibleMan listen to all the pap people ask for?
Sh!tHappens - build a bridge and get over it.

Prayer does NOT work – if it did there’d be no starving children in Africa and no child would ever suffer any form of abuse at the hands of adults.
If prayers worked, there’d be rain when needed and sunshine as well – we’d all be living in big houses and driving flashy cars.
If prayers worked amputees wouldn’t be amputees, we’d all live for ever and children wouldn’t die.

Yes, good stuff happens to some people – it’s called chance, luck and about time.
Good stuff happens to bad people just like bad stuff happens to good people – it’s called reality and or life.

[/end of rant]

Answer 10

Prayer can be selfish, depending on who's praying. When beliver's (in Jesus Christ) pray, we should be praying in agreement with the Spirit of God. We pray that God's will is done, and not ours. We are able to pray for what we want, but if what we want doesn't line up with what God wants for us, then we probably won't get it.

Answer 11

I think Prayer is the best way to talk to our heavenly father. Whether it is related to our daily lives or to what we need or what we do not like. I guess if you are touched by holy spirit, you will pray for anything bigger (like world peace, stop global warming).
And strongly I do not think prayer is selfish. I guess most christians pray for others, than ourselves.
All are just my humble opinions. Cheers.