Does prayer require a belief in God?

Question

It's been suggested that one way to come to believe in God is by talking to him/asking him to reveal himself. To me, this seems like it would require that I believe I am talking/asking an existing entity.

How could one pray to God without believing in God?

Answer 1

I have struggled with this as well.

A few weeks ago I posted two questions. The first one was, why doesn't prayer seem to work for me? I have tried to pray honestly for things that aren't selfish, and never once have I felt like I was communicating with God. The answers I received told me that prayer won't work if I don't believe in God. I have to believe in him and accept him in order for that "hotline to God" to work properly.

Then, however, when I posted a question regarding why I don't feel close to God, or why I feel he has not made me certain he exists as so many Christians seemed to be, they all said, "Have you tried praying about it?"

So it makes no sense.

Answer 2

I was an Agnostic for a very long time. Having got myself into a very bad, no hope situation, I became suicidal. I had obtained the means(pills) and it was just a question of deciding when. Just before taking them, like a drowning man clutching at straws, I got down on my knees and prayed to a God I didn't believe existed. If that prayer had not been answered I would not be here now and so then I believed.

So just do it!

Answer 3

Prayer is not something to take lightly. The scriptures say "ask and ye shall recieve" but one thing to remember is this- there are many gods- but yet there is one God- ounds confusing. If you dont believe in God then your praying to any of the false gods out there. Satan attempts to decieve people all of the time, so if your not a believer, you may be getting what seems to be an answer to prayer that is really a trick by satan and leading you astray.
I heard that Budhism has more than 1,000 gods....
The scriptures also say "choose this day whom you will serve...."

Answer 4

God/Reality is responsive to consciousness. If we have a difficulty that seems beyond us, it is because of an interior conflicted state of consciousness. Praying for help or a solution CAN overcome that internal conflict between what we authentically love and need and the limitations we have been imprinted to believe are true (subconscious ego belief system). Without eventually gaining enough self-knowledge to overcome these beliefs and eliminate them, we will keep encountering experiences that mirror these conflicted embedded patterns. In the Gospel of Thomas phrase, "You cannot ride two horses or pull two bows," Jesus speaks of this need to transcend the learned identity or our innate power will never be fully realized. It is a slow process.

When you pray you are consciously acknowledging a problem and seeking a solution to which reality will respond. But, as far as trying to 'talk' to a deity in order to believe in it, don't waste your time. You have to have a childish state of consciousness for this to work. I tried this between the ages of seven and eleven (tenaciously) and it was a dead end. Once you are at a certain karmic level you can't go back. I fear you may be too far along.

Answer 5

Just pray saying "god, ... (say anything you want to say)" and that's it. I did it when I was christian and later when starting as an atheist. The difference is that in the first case I had some strong feeling inside myself hoping for an answer. In any case I did not get an answer. Just do it and you'll see by yourself if there is something special in praying. Be careful don't fool yourself relating anything with your pray, to be sure that you have a proper answer ask for something that you know it is highly (HIGHLY) improbable or much better impossible (to increase the probability that any god is answering your pray, (remember that they say that god is almighty). By the way, impossible is not to be cured of cancer, not, it has a low probability but happens. Impossible is that is you have lost your arm, god makes it comes out one again in your body!!

Answer 6

I don't think it requires a belief in God initially.

If you were sincere in your prayer, you could pray something like, "God, I don't know if you are real or not, but I'm opening my mind and heart to that possibility. Please help me to believe if that's the right thing for me to do."

Then wait and see what happens. I'm not talking about a blinding light on the spot and voices from heaven. Wait a few weeks, repeating the same prayer as often as you can, with the same open heart, then see if you don't start noticing a change.

If not, what the heck? People aren't all meant to see the world the same way.

Answer 7

Excellent question - in fact one of the better ones that I have encountered in the R&S category so far. I have a slightly different take on the subject. In my opinion the only meaningful reason/justification for authentic prayer is when you either do NOT believe in God or leave the God Factor out of the equation altogether. Allow me to explain.

I've always been of the opinion that it is at best grossly presumptious of human beings to even contemplate or behold the notion of God (be it through Logic and/or Faith). After all, we don't even seem to be able to fully wrap our evolving "self-conscious substance" around much simpler notions, such as Causality, can you imagine the magnitude of disaster we run into when we try to "pray-negociate" our way through the meandering niceties of "Omnipotence"?

True prayer is a peaceful demostartion/gesture of humility - a manifestation of one's loving consciousness coming closer to The Great Unknown and saying something to the order of: I try to rid myself of all presumptious and preconcieved notions, I do NOT come supported by my Godgiven crutches, I stand before the majesty of Being; naked and with good will - seeking merely peace and enlightenment.
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Answer 8

I prayed to God and did not know if he existed. I was at the end of the line and desperate. The extent of my prayer was "God, if you exist, show me what to do." That was it. God showed me what to do and has been working in my life ever since. I now believe.

Answer 9

It's simply just a query approximately what you count on by means of praying to any person or something. It's now not urgently a God you need to speak to. Also speaking to part-empty tin of baked beans might have well outcome - when you relatively feel the tin might be handy for you. Or allow me phrase it extra commonplace: Any style of feel could be handy for a prayer.

Answer 10

One of my personal reoccurring spiritual themes is to "listen." Which is to say, I use all my senses to try and be aware of God's presence and, indeed, his will.

In a way this is prayer.

Sometimes you have to listen really hard. Like trying to pick out the sound of a symphony in a noisy subway station full of people talking and trains screeching and coming and going.

But there are times, too, when the sound is pristine. The desert is a place were I hear God's pure music. All my senses are engaged there. Its powerful enough to make me cry...

I dunno if any of that makes a lick of sense. But this is what it is for me. For you, it may be entirely different.

With respects and regards