Do you believe in the power of prayer, do you pray?

[bedlam]

Do you believe in the power of prayer, do you pray?

I want to know how many poeple out there, believe in the power of prayer, and how many believe it works? Any stories? Any proof? Thoughts etc?

[Epiphany]

I have many, many stories about prayer. Either they relate to my own personal prayers or the prayers of others. Stories of healing, stories of miracles.

[campbell34]

I have many, many stories about prayer. Either they relate to my own personal prayers or the prayers of others. Stories of healing, stories of miracles.Way back in 1971 after I failed a job interview I came home rather depressed.
As I was going up the stairs to my bedroom I heard this voice that said you did everything Tom but pray about it. For some reason I did not center my thoughts on the fact that I just heard this voice, but I centered my thoughts that as a Christian I should of asked God to help me get the job. So I went up stairs and kneeled down by my mothers bed and told God that I really needed a job, and then I said, Jesus, if you are who you say you are, then you will help me get a job. I then told Him, Jesus, if I get a job it will be because of you, and I will give all the glory to you. As I was still kneeling I said Amen, and before I finished saying Amen the phone next to me began ringing. I picked up the phone and the man on the other end told me he had just picked up my employment application from his desk, and without ever seeing me ask if I could start work at 8AM Monday morning. This was one of my first jobs. Jesus Christ is not dead, He is Alive. I have seen to much in my life, God is real.

[TrippinBTM]

I said no, because I never pray and never saw it to work. It seems like just psychological buffering, psyching yourself up and all that, an ego trick. I'm undecided on deeper levels of it though, people talk about influencing energy and all that through meditation and stuff, but I've never done it and remain skeptical.

p.s. why will jesus give you a job but won't give jobs to countless others? Why do the poor starve when everyone always prays for them to be fed? Action is better than kneeling, I say. Don't shift responsibility to God...get off your knees and send some relief to the starving, the poor, the refugees of the world who need money, food, and shelter more than they need prayers.

[the dauer]

Well, in Hebrew prayer is tefillah, which is a reflexive form of judgement or intervention. Basically, it's a way of judging ourselves, intervening with ourselves by reflecting on the statements in the prayer. Asking God for something binds us to that course of action. We see how far we are from these ideals and are able to return to them. Tefillah is not for God's benefit. It is for ours. It also helps us to gain a greater sense of awe. I pray, although not as much as I would like to. And I do believe in the power of prayer, but not as is suggested by the post.

It could be said tefillah is actually indirectly for God's benefit, when it leads to our right-action. In the case that God desires right-action, surely tefillah benefits God.

(All of this is not to say that there is no history of praying for someone or such in Judaism, but this a secondary meaning. Primarily prayer benefits the individual.)

Dauer

[Sebbi]

I believe that, with the mind, anything is possible. We have an amazing ammount of inate power that we don't even realise.


Prayer is a method often used to tap into this, so I have said yes.

Blessings

Sebbi

[velvet]

Depends on how you define 'praying'.. if you mean concentrating then yeah.. close to 'wishfull thinking'.. and yeah, that works because it makes you focussed on the task at hand in a positive way.. plus when you tell someone 'I'll pray for you' they know that you care about them and that's often all it takes :)

[BlackBillBlake]

I said yes - I think that saying japa, that is repeating Divine names or Mantras is a form of prayer. The idea is to concentrate the mind and attention, to focus on the Divine. It does seem to work - thats my experience anyway.


Also though, I expect many people have prayed at times of stress or danger etc. I know I have.

[campbell34]

I said no, because I never pray and never saw it to work. It seems like just psychological buffering, psyching yourself up and all that, an ego trick. I'm undecided on deeper levels of it though, people talk about influencing energy and all that through meditation and stuff, but I've never done it and remain skeptical.

p.s. why will jesus give you a job but won't give jobs to countless others? Why do the poor starve when everyone always prays for them to be fed? Action is better than kneeling, I say. Don't shift responsibility to God...get off your knees and send some relief to the starving, the poor, the refugees of the world who need money, food, and shelter more than they need prayers.
The evil that put Jesus on the cross is the same evil that creates conditions of starvation. It is the same evil that rejects the Lordship of Jesus Christ. It is the same evil that states we will do it our way, and not God's way.
I shift responsibility to God, because it was the God of the bible who said, "You have not because you ask not". It was when I got on my knees that I saw the power of God. All my life I have witinessed the power of God. And the more we pray on our knees, the more power we shall see. God will give to those who know Him the things they need. Most of starvation in this world will be found in pagan nations, that worship false Gods.

[BlackGuardXIII]

No matter what religion one is, I think that if you pray, it helps.

[paulfreespirit]

prayers are answered . from the lost scriptures untouched by the church / jesus said "i am the light above them all " i am the all . the all comes forth from me /and the all reaches towards me . cleave the wood "i am there" / lift up the stone"and you shall find me there".

[Amanda N]

Do you believe in the power of prayer, do you pray?I don't believe there is any point in praying to god, as I don't believe in god... however... I believe there is evidence to suggest prayer might be a form of energy manipulation, and that if you focus your energy on (for example) a loved one, then they might recieve the benefits of that energy.

So when someone prays to god, asking for help with a loved one... it's not actully god doing anything, but rather yourself manipulating your own energy, and focuing it on that person.

[Epiphany]

Brain cell stimulation does not heal others. Thinking positive is good for maintaining mental health. However, thinking positively will not heal my cousin who is in the hospital with inoperable brain cancer. Her own doctors cannot heal her.

I know plently of people who have received complete healing that modern medicine cannot provide.

[Amanda N]

Brain cell stimulation does not heal others.oh, and I supose "god" does?

[Epiphany]

God has healed many people from incurable diseases. People who have had their doctors tell them that they should write their will, and plan on saying their goodbyes because there was nothing that they could use in their medical aersonal. I have had my own doctor tell me that I should have been dead. She wanted to enter me into the Guinness Book of World Records because my insulin level was off of the charts and there was no scientific explanation as to why I was still alive. Not only was I alive, but I had no serious complications.

Pastor's mother was diagnosed with cancer that her doctors could not prevent from spreading. They told her to get her affairs in order and prepare a will. She immediately began to fast and pray. Twenty five years, and a few kids later, she is alive and healthy. Her doctors cannot explain.

There are numerous others who have recieved the gift of God's healing.

[Burbot]

prayer for me is a way of becomeing closer with myself and God and strengthinging that relationship...also to not really "psych" myself up, but to reassure myself and yes to ask God to give me aid....also i ask for forgiveness

praying for others is also a way to make a single prayer and thought stronger, but a single prayer is not weaker [if yo know what i mean]....i also dont really like group prayers...

[Amanda N]

God has healed many people from incurable diseases.If these people have become healed, then the diseases you speak of can't be incurable - can they? That's a matter of simple logic!!!

[Amanda N]

You know what it is that pisses me off.. you deny mankinds own abilities and instead thank a figment of your imigination... You say that "Brain cell stimulation does not heal others".. but do you really know that? People are able to heal themselves using hypnosis and energy manipulation... so why not others too?

Now I'm happy to admit that a believe in god makes some people stronger, a believe in something bigger than themselves, but just imagine what they could do if they transfered that belief to themselves?

(PS, you say she fasted and prayed? why did she fast? that's a bit dumb if you ask me, she would need all the energy she can get, and so denying herself food is the last thing she should do).

[Epiphany]

God created our bodies and has given us an incredible gift of self healing. However, people do not acknowledge the Lord and spend a ridiculous amount of money seeking answers from Psychologists and Doctors. As a Psychology student, I have no problem admitting that the field has many faults. For example, the fact that a lot of what they believe they know is based on theories. Even with the gift of self-healing, however, there are many different diseases that the body cannot heal on it's own. There are many diseases that doctors cannot heal. They can provide a superficial sense of comfort with medication, but they cannot provide true healing in certain situations. God, however, can. My boyfriend, for example, can have the gift of the Lord's healing power to quit smoking. Instead of connecting with Christ and realizing that through Jesus, his body would possess healing power, He runs out and buys nicotine patches, finding that they provide little to no comfort. If he had the Lord, fasted the toxins out of his body, and kept in prayer, he would no longer have the stronghold of a nicotine addiction in his life. However, like you, he is an unbeliever. He relies on his vast worldly logic. He is a very gifted individual when it comes logic, reason, and especially mathematics, however, something as minor as cigarettes will be the death of him.


Hypnosis is a very dangerous area and even trained Psychologists/Psychiatrists will only use this method in certain settings where they feel that a repressed memory is ultimately destroying a person. The fact remains that when you are hypotized, the person who is performing the hypnotism can plant something in your mind and allow your brain to subconsciously believe in what they are saying.

You might think fasting is dumb, however, science has proven that there are many benefits. For example, fasting is important for detoxification. When you fast, the fat reserves that are used for energy release the chemicals from the fatty acids into the system which are then eliminated through organs such as colon, liver, kidneys, lungs, lymph glands, and skin. Fasting can also cause a slower metabolic rate, more efficient protein production, an improved immune system, and the increased production of hormones. For example, an increased production in hormones would be benefical to a woman suffering from menopause and a lack of estrogen. As far as fasting in conjuction with the Lord, I will make a seperate post on that.

There have been people who have had psychological problems and have tried medication and psychotherapy, yet, only received full healing when they came to the Lord. Can their Psychatrist/Psychologist take credit for this? No, because when God heals, he does not heal over time, such as the years of extensive therapy one could possibly have to endure for numerous psychological problems. When the Lord heals, he heals 100%. One does not go to bed practicing self healing and wake up transformed in the morning. Yet, with the Lord, it does/has happened.

Does this sound unbelievable? Well of course. Not many people who use logic will believe in this. Why? because the human mind simply cannot grasp the things of the Lord if they are not in possession of his nature. Do I use logic? Yes, I do. I am not saying that you should forget what you know and walk out into the middle of traffic proclaiming, "I have Jesus, I will be fine." What I am saying is that when you have Christ, and you turn to him, he can solve what mankind does not and will not understand.

People often get discouraged when their prayers are not answered. Sometimes, they fail to keep in mind that what God desires for you, is not the same as what you are asking.

[peace_is_possible]

I go back and forth, I pray sometimes, but it seems everytime I really needed my prayer answered it does, God works in mysterious ways, sometimes my prayer wasn't answered the way I wanted it to but it always seems to be for the best. Not sure if it's really karma or what, but it's sometimes comforting to pray, to have a higher power to express yourself to. and when I pray I sometimes feel this huge tug on my heart, so it makes me feel like he ( she, who knows ) is really there.

[northernlehigh97]

Yes indeed prayer works. Some people think it doesn't because sometimes the answer may be no. Also I think some prayers are not answered because if we don't have enough faith God can't answer them. I have had many prayers answered in my life. I do not ever limit God as to what I pray for. I know nothing is to big or hard for Him. And for those of you who need scientific proof there have been over a hundred experiments done on the effect of prayer on various life forms. Experiments with people showed that prayer positively affected high blood pressure, wounds, heart attacks, headaches and anxiety. In many cases we can suspect a psychosomatic reason for these improvements, but not all. Some of these experiments, were done in a double blind manner. That means that neither the doctor nor the subject knew who was being prayed for, and who wasn't. This can rule out the placebo effect. Subjects in didn't get better just because they thought they would, or because the doctors thought they would and somehow subconsciously communicated that belief to their patients. Prayer has one definite advantage over counseling, and medical help alone. God is always there.

[Amanda N]

Give up smoking is a case of will power... mind over body... nothing to do with jesus or god... it's all yourself.. trust me, I know... I gave up a 20 a day habit 2 years ago.... did I use god or jesus? NO... I used my own power to do so.

[mynameiskc]

yeah, i pray. mainly for focus, communion, meditation. i guess it's not so much a "prayer" as a meditation. though i did ask god for a car once, outta desperation, and ended up with 3. that was kinda funny. but i'm not sure it works like that. i also quit smoking, but i don't think god bothered with any of that. nicorette patches were very effective. though, really, i DID get a whole set of patches from my husband's ex-wife's husband, out of the blue, after praying for the strength to do what i needed to do. hm. i know a lot of people pray for healing of others, but i'm not the sort that believes in that. i think if someone is supposed to die, they'll die. if they're not supposed to die, they won't. i'm not a big believer that death is bad, nor do i think pain is all evil. so yeah, i pray, but mainly just to "talk."