Define "prayer" for me. I'm having a hard time coming to terms with it.?

Question

What is the purpose of prayer? When someone prays for something, and it's not granted, then that person usually says "well, it's God's wishes" or "It's God's will" or "God has a purpose" .... seriously? If that's the case, then why pray to begin with? It God has a purpose or a will, then your prayer won't really matter anyways? God is infallible and all-knowing, so what's the point? Do people actually think that God, the all-knowing creator of the heavens and the universe, the alpha and omega, listens to us and his actions and future actions might be affected by our prayers or "wishes" ?

Really, I'm quite religious, but I can't bend my mind around prayer. Can someone intelligent provide a decent answer? Please, none of those "just because" answers or heavily argued interruptations from the Bible. Thanks!

Answer 1

The purpose of prayer is union with God.

On a more immature level, prayer is a wish-list of things you want God to do for you. That's like a child whose main converation with his parents is "Feed me. Help me. Change my diapers."

When the child gets older, we suppose, conversation can be more about sharing presence (not presents) with each other and enjoying each other's company. That's what a grown-up's prayer is like.

The best prayers for me is when I just sit in God's presence and don't say or think anything, just BE with God.

Answer 2

I can understand where you're coming from. What I have found is that when I don't get something that I have asked for, it is normally because it wasn't good for me or the timing wasn't right. Some prayers have been answered years later. There are a lot of factors in receiving an answered prayer. Is it going to harm someone else? Is it good for you? Is it a request that is positive? I don't think that God sits at a desk and answers prayers but there is a system that makes it possible. The law of attraction, fate, destiny, Angels, life purpose and our divine blueprint have something to do with it too. I am speaking on a Christian level here but I am not Christian. On the flip side, spellwork is simply prayer with tools and choosing to take some personal responsibility in that prayer's manifestation.

Answer 3

Like you, I have a hard time with faith. . . I need facts. Unfortunately, on this topic, I can give no facts. . . I can only share what I've gleaned from many years of studying, learning, growing, and occassionally benefitting from prayer.

Yes, the ideas of God's will/plan and prayer can conflict. If God has a plan already laid out, then clearly any requests for something outside of this plan would have to be ignored. But, if others say that all one has to do is ask to receive and that all prayers are answered, then these two concepts clash.

I'm told by older, wiser and more faith-ful Christians that it's not really THINGS we're supposed to ask for. . . that the best prayers are prayers for: 1] God's guidance 2] strength and/or patience to get through a difficult time 3] help/wisdom in understanding 4] healing 5] protection for ourselves and others. I could point out Scripture (you may already be aware of) but I'll summarize. . . He promises to give the things to the faithful that they need.

"Need." That could be the catch-all right there. I mean, I think I need things that honestly, I could probably do without. I feel I need electricity, but apparently, people did live without it for a long time. So, perhaps the difficulty lies in what we think we need and what the Higher Power feels we need. Maybe unanswered prayers either will be answered when the "time is right" or maybe they are unanswered for our own good. . . like the time I prayed this guy in my college English class would like me and ask me out. . . and then later he wound up in jail. Maybe I didn't really "need" that.

When I was a kid, I grew up in an abusive home and would constantly pray that God would either kill my dad [like a heart attack or something] or that he'd send someone else on earth to do it or cause him to be in an accident. That never happened, so I believed that God wasn't listening (maybe he hated me or didn't notice me) or I thought that maybe there was no God.

It took me a really long time to see that God perhaps did hear and did have compassion. . . I made it through those years and later used my experiences to help other girls/women who had gone through (or were still going through) similar experiences. Maybe God didn't answer my "hit prayers," but he did grant me strength and a measure of protection.

Final thoughts here: [negative] My son has proposed the idea that if there is a God that he's a narcissitic bastard who requires the prayers of mere humans just to boost his/her ego. [optimistic] Many express a feeling of being closer to God through prayer. Maybe this is the whole purpose. . . whether our prayers are answered or not.

Some ideas for you to ponder. . . meditate on. . . pray about.

= ) Ravyn

Answer 4

You pray to find out what God wants you to do. Try reading Psalms out loud because they are filled with all 7 forms of prayer and they worked and will work. Stumble through the words you can't pronounce but keep reading. Then focus on 1Corinthians 15:3-4, the gospel. I talk to God and sometimes scream at him, our example in the Psalms, "bow down your ear and hear me speedily, Lord..." that's why I read the Psalms out loud. It helps me. In Hebrews it says to come boldly before the throne of God. Don't be afraid to tell God you don't like something. He already knows you don't but he will bless you for being honest and telling him. How do I know? I have done it and gotten the rewards. Don't just pray one time, Jesus gave a parable about a neighbor who came knocking at night for bread for guests. The person said no, I'm in bed. But he kept knocking so the neighbor gave it just to get him to go away. Do the same with God. Wear him out with your request. If your request is not right, God will change your heart to the right way.

Answer 5

Prayer is not a wish list or a "God, can you change this thing for me" favor. Prayer is to align your thoughts with God's so that you can better understand changes going on in your life. It is often misinterpreted as asking for something, but in fact the only thing ever asked for is peace and contentment for yourself. God doesn't change, but you do. Many people nowadays are referring to this as affirmative prayer so as to help put to an end all of the confusion congregations and individuals have around thinking of prayer as wishing for something different.

Answer 6

prayer is your relationship with God...and yes, we all know that God already has things planned for us but what you're not understanding is that it all depends on which path you choose along the way. God has the end results but what happens to you along the way depends on which paths you choose and in order to make those choices you need to pray to God so that He can help along the way. Never give up prayer my friend....you can talk to God when no one else will listen.

Answer 7

The Savior, who is the Alef and the Tau, (It has a very greatly different meaning that the alpha and omega) has given us the Scriptures, which are a marriage covenant. If you take His name, and follow His rules, then He has promised to be a part of you, and save you in the end. "Prayer' is the exercise of this one ness. If it is just "asking" then you have not grasped the concept yet.

Answer 8

The Bible says of prayer that anything you ask for in God's name will be given, but the "in God's name" part is interpretted to mean "that God was going to do anyway."

While it is a useful exercise to talk through your feelings and desires, helping you organize your thoughts and hear them said out loud, prayer is otherwise a generally ineffective placebo.

Answer 9

Simply put, prayer is words of praise to the Creator in thanks for what He has given. Many are written as a guideline for all to recite. Others, as psalms give thanks or plead for assistance in moments of crisis. Prayer can be defined as your own individual request to God, in your words. But there are stipulations. Your request must be sincere. It must be honestly asked for. There must be no doubt as to asking for your request to be received. If there is no need for you to get a request or you have a lingering doubt somewhere in your mind that even you deny you have, the prayer is not answered. So you have to work at it to get it but with an open belief you will receive.

Answer 10

Prayer is your communication with God, it's purpose is to get you closer to God, not to only ask for things, many people get God confused with Santa, I even feel guilty if I ask for too much. One of the main reasons I pray is to thanks Him for what He does let me have, like life, food, rent money, whatever. We should thank Him for all that He gives us already even if He gives us nothing else we would be in trouble without what He does already.