Prayer Requests...

[Fresno Bob]

here's one I got yesterday...



what the hell am I supposed to do with that? God, listen to this chick... she needs something. Or wants something maybe, I don't know if she actually needs it... actually I don't even know what it is... but if you aren't too busy, listen to her and decide what you think. Because if it wasn't for me suggesting that you listen, you probably would ignore her because she doesn't seem to make a lot of sense most of the time.

On another note... I saw someone post on your FB page Chris about the company that was having billing problems and was sending out IPads without charging for them. (I'm sure it's bullshit, but that isn't at all part of my issue here). I saw the same thing posted on the most Jesusee person I have friended (from having played poker with her). The first reaction here isn't to write the company and say "Hey, you're billing is messed up, you should fix that," no, it's, "hey everyone, this company has an exploitable issue, you should get yours before they fix it!"

Ugh!!!

maybe its because I'm not on Facebook, but I don't ever get "prayer requests" from people. Blessed Be the Scientific Method!

[B-Fly]

Ran across a bunch more information about the fake "power of prayer." Prayer does not do anything except make the person praying feel better, as if they're doing something (they're not). Seems like quite the selfish act, even when praying for others, when put in that perspective, eh?

Calling it selfish presumes that the person praying for the health and welfare of another knows/believes that it doesn't do anything. If you believe it can help, then it may be naive, but I don't think it's fair to call it selfish.

[senorsheep]

what the hell am I supposed to do with that?

A) Unfriend her on Facebook.
B) Hide her posts from your news feed.
C) Decide that her annoying religious quirks outweigh her social value to you, and tactfully and discreetly disassociate yourself from her.
D) Decide that her social value to you outweighs her annoying religious quirks, ignore her annoying religious quirks, and focus on the things you have in common.
E) Take no effective action, continue to allow her annoying religious quirks to frustrate you, and fume about them in The Sports Bar.

Let me know if none of those work for you, I've got more...

[onejayhawk]

the god of rock disapproves.

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What else does Jimi say?

J

[heyelander]

A) Unfriend her on Facebook.
B) Hide her posts from your news feed.
C) Decide that her annoying religious quirks outweigh her social value to you, and tactfully and discreetly disassociate yourself from her.
D) Decide that her social value to you outweighs her annoying religious quirks, ignore her annoying religious quirks, and focus on the things you have in common.
E) Take no effective action, continue to allow her annoying religious quirks to frustrate you, and fume about them in The Sports Bar.

Let me know if none of those work for you, I've got more...

I've got very little problem ignoring anyone, and I pretty much do. I'm just trying to understand the thought process of prayer requests.

[senorsheep]

I've got very little problem ignoring anyone, and I pretty much do. I'm just trying to understand the thought process of prayer requests.

Prayer requests are based on premises that you and I do not and will never accept, so why waste time fretting about them? The practice itself seems pretty harmless to me, save for the rare cases where someone's well-being is put at risk because prayer is substituted for alternative action that could make a concrete difference. It's the reverse of the idea expressed in Bhob's latest religious thread: if religious folks want to call on other religious folks to send positive thoughts to people in need, why should we judge? Good wishes are good wishes, whether channeled through faith or some other paradigm - if it gives a feeling of strength or comfort to someone in need, then it's all good in my book.

[heyelander]

Prayer requests are based on premises that you and I do not and will never accept, so why waste time fretting about them? The practice itself seems pretty harmless to me, save for the rare cases where someone's well-being is put at risk because prayer is substituted for alternative action that could make a concrete difference. It's the reverse of the idea expressed in Bhob's latest religious thread: if religious folks want to call on other religious folks to send positive thoughts to people in need, why should that be bothersome to us? Good wishes are good wishes, whether channeled through faith or some other paradigm - if it gives a feeling of strength or comfort to someone in need, then it's all good in my book.

To me, it's the difference between worship and power. You are suggesting that if enough people beseech God, you can change his mind. This rocks the very foundation of my belief system. I don't mind those people thinking differently than me, I'm just asking for them to think about it and tell me their thoughts so that I can maybe reevaluate mine.

[bryanbutler]

A) Unfriend her on Facebook.
B) Hide her posts from your news feed.
C) Decide that her annoying religious quirks outweigh her social value to you, and tactfully and discreetly disassociate yourself from her.
D) Decide that her social value to you outweighs her annoying religious quirks, ignore her annoying religious quirks, and focus on the things you have in common.
E) Take no effective action, continue to allow her annoying religious quirks to frustrate you, and fume about them in The Sports Bar.

Let me know if none of those work for you, I've got more...

unless she's hot.

[senorsheep]

To me, it's the difference between worship and power. You are suggesting that if enough people beseech God, you can change his mind. This rocks the very foundation of my belief system. I don't mind those people thinking differently than me, I'm just asking for them to think about it and tell me their thoughts so that I can maybe reevaluate mine.

Actually, I think the idea that we can affect God's thinking or actions is nonsense. That's an idea that only the faithful can accept.

Apologies if I misunderstood you - it seemed like you were more interested in expressing irritation with Facebook prayer requests than gaining understanding. If anyone ever manages to explain it to you in a way that makes sense, please be sure to pass it along to me!

[senorsheep]

unless she's hot.

That ain't the kind of crazy you're looking for in a hot chick.

[Kevin Seitzer]

To me, it's the difference between worship and power. You are suggesting that if enough people beseech God, you can change his mind. This rocks the very foundation of my belief system. I don't mind those people thinking differently than me, I'm just asking for them to think about it and tell me their thoughts so that I can maybe reevaluate mine.

Was reading this today from a letter that Deitrich Bonhoeffer (one of my heroes) wrote from Tegel prison in 1944, and thought of this thread and the subject of prayer.

God would have us know that we must live as men who manage our lives without him. The God who is with us is the God who forsakes us. The God who lets us live in the world without the working hypothesis of God is the God before whom we stand continually. Before God and with God we live without God. God lets himself be pushed out of the world on to the cross. He is weak and powerless in the world, and that is precisely the way, the only way, in which he is with us and helps us. Matthew 8:17 makes it quite clear that Christ helps us, not by virtue of his omnipotence, but by virtue of his weakness and suffering.

Here is the decisive difference between Christianity and all religions. Man’s religiosity makes him look in his distress to the power of God in the world: God is the deus ex machina. The Bible directs man to God’s powerlessness and suffering; only the suffering God can help.

And from this meditation written about the Bonhoeffer quote:

http://theprogressiveprophet.wordpress.com/2010/01/02/the-powerless-god/

To date, the concept of God as “Almighty” has provoked images of a divine tyrant, one who descends on humanity with unquenchable wrath, and who demands blood from those who refuse to worship Him. This fallacy has led to some of the most abhorrent atrocities of the “church,” and even today such thinking leads us into the danger of believing in God as the great justifier of nationalism, imperialism, and warfare. The image of God as being all-powerful must be reclaimed, for His power was made perfect through weakness, not through strength (2 Corinthians 12:9).

One doesn’t have to believe that God is powerless in the sense that He is impotent and incapable of doing anything; but through the person of Christ, we are shown a God whose love compels Him to come into solidarity with us, His creation, and to bear with us in all of our constraints so that we might be liberated even as He has been. The suffering God is the powerless God, and as Bonhoeffer points out, this is the only way He can truly help us. Those who are suffering, destitute, and in pain within this world have little to hope for if their hope lies in a God who takes the same face as their oppressors. Blessed are they, however, for God has chosen to take their face instead. (Matthew 25:31-46)

This is not to say that God in Christ is not our supreme Lord. His Lordship, however, is shown through His example. The warrior king is also the suffering servant; the Alpha-Omega is also the slaughtered lamb; the enthroned Almighty comes to us as the homeless man executed as a failed insurrectionist, and His true power over all things is revealed in the powerlessness He undertakes for the sake of all things.

There is a reason that Paul could say of the good news of Jesus' kingdom that it was foolishness to the Greeks and a stumbling block to the Jews.

[Pogues]

Sadly, 83 percent of Americans believe that God answers prayer. I only pray that we move out of the dark ages. Unfortunately, that, too, will go unanswered....

I prayed to God for months to do something about my annoying neighbor with that dog that barks throughout the night. For months, that prayer went unanaswered. Then one night I prayed to Joe Pesci to help me out.

Joe Pesci straightened that cocksucker out with one visit.

[Trader Mac]

I've been following this thread for awhile. As a Christian, I give a lot of thought to the role of prayer in the Christian life though I admit I don't pray as much as I should. On one side, I've heard that prayer moves the hand of God. We do see evidence in the Bible where God responds to prayer. But, I also believe that God is sovereign and has a plan that will succeed. Another quote that I have heard is that prayer doesn't change the will of God but puts us (our minds and hearts) in line with God's will. I know those two quotes appear contradictory, hence my giving a lot of thought to the topic.

[heyelander]

Another quote that I have heard is that prayer doesn't change the will of God but puts us (our minds and hearts) in line with God's will. I know those two quotes appear contradictory, hence my giving a lot of thought to the topic.

This is where I am I guess. If I pray it's for myself to understand what I should be doing... or to declare what I think I should be doing and for guidance if that's not the right path.