HokeyReligions Posted October 22, 2005 Share Posted October 22, 2005 For those who believe in God I know you believe that He hears prayers and acts accordingly (or not). But for those who don't believe (like me) and those on the fence (also like me - I waver) what do you think of prayers? Do you think that prayers are a body's way of projecting energy on the same wave length? Like tuning a radio? Can those waves of projected energy really have an effect on someone or something? When a major event happens people can feel or sense a difference in world -- on a level other than conscious thought. I've felt it -- is it just a natural human response? What about animals? I know that they can also sense changes and those changes are not necessarly something that can be identified by any of our five senses. If a group of people pray for another, and that other is not nearby many people believe that God knows for whom they pray and that 'energy of prayer' will go to that person. Others (and I lean toward this thought) think that if a group of people pray for another and that other IS near (line of sight maybe; or simply no other living thing between the other and the group) that 'energy of prayer' can be directed to that person. If another person or living being IS between the target and the group that person (or being) will intercept or absorb some of that energy. Is it a sixth sense that we have and are controlling and claiming that power is of God? Is that why prayers work better in a church? Why people leave feeling 'uplifted' -- because they have absorbed the energy that everyone has projected? There is so much more power to the mind than we can know - are we attaching that power to a God because we don't yet understand it or have not developed enough to fully control it? Mind over Matter? When Princess Diana was killed I could sense a difference in the air -- it was like I could feel prayers coming from every direction. Same on 9/11 and when the Challenger went down and other such events. The air waves were charged with a different energy. If God were listening to those prayers, would He have directed them (would God be the highway for those prayers to travel?) Or was it random and just filling the airwaves. We can't see radio waves but we know they work because we listen to the radio. We talk to each other on cell phones--we have the technological intelligence to create our own invisible highways and direct them or shut them down. Have we been doing the same thing with our prayers but without the intelligence to control them after we project them? If there is a God (or Gods) is prayer another attribute that He gave us and we simply have not developed it yet and God does not act upon those prayers? Does He know that someday we will evolve to a point where we can control things with our minds and our 'energy of prayer'? One thought does not have to exclude the other. There is a place for God in science and evolution also. Sorry this is so long, but I've been thinking on it today because so many people tell me they are praying for my mother and I always say thank you because while I don't necessarily believe in God, I don't discount the sincerity of the people or the power that *may* be prayer and even if the energy is intercepted before it reaches my mom (if that is the case) it doesn't lessen the effort or belief. Maybe *I* am intercepting/absorbing the energy because I'm around the people sometimes who pray for her -- perhaps I am carrying that energy to mom. Or maybe I'm gaining some strength from that energy myself. I look at my life right now and (not to sound conceited) but I don't know how I'm able to get through each day and cope. Maybe its the prayers. Link to post Share on other sites
brittanyjean259 Posted October 22, 2005 Share Posted October 22, 2005 dang what were you own when this was posted. JUST kidding, i know what you meen though ..you have the questions" why what when where kind of out look cept with a deeper out look... those prayers of people have to be uprooted by some type of bigger force meening there is a god? ask your self that...i always have alot of questions and im still very unsure on what to beleive... the reason being the atmosphere felt a little bit different could have been peoples souls from september 11.. and with princess diana, she ment alot to the world. I wish there was more evidence on god, on everything maybe if you base your life on morality it could still be good( people in general).... one thing that shocks me a little bit ...when me and my boyfriend were on the phone fighting and i was crying, after that phone call i prayed to god to never let us betogether.....and after that( witch was my first prayer for this....) it happend and i got what i wanted...( even though its making improvements it really hurts)... i hope some one with more intelgiance and knowledge can help you out with your unordinary questions:) Link to post Share on other sites
Outcast Posted October 22, 2005 Share Posted October 22, 2005 Short answer: nobody knows but everything is possible. Someday, maybe, we'll know all this but it'll take a long long time. People have been on earth for tens of thousands of years but we only figured out how to fly this century. Link to post Share on other sites
d'Arthez Posted October 22, 2005 Share Posted October 22, 2005 People have been on earth for tens of thousands of years but we only figured out how to fly this century. Last century. Link to post Share on other sites
Outcast Posted October 22, 2005 Share Posted October 22, 2005 Whoops OK so I haven't had coffee yet Link to post Share on other sites
whichwayisup Posted October 22, 2005 Share Posted October 22, 2005 Great post Hokey. I believe in the power of positive energy, positive thinking, which in a sense is the same as praying. I just don't have God in my train of thought - It's more spiritual, sending out that positive energy to help. In our minds, souls we DO have feelings that are unexplainable. Psychic abilities is the wrong word, it's a feeling, emotionally and physically, it's there. I've felt it at times and I'm sure many others have too...Just our minds can't wrap around it or really explain it - So many brush it off as coincidences. Link to post Share on other sites
bab Posted October 22, 2005 Share Posted October 22, 2005 The real question you must ask yourself is, does it matter? I personally do believe in God, but you don't need to to appreciate what prayer is. It sounds like you appreciate the power that prayer has. Does it make a huge difference where that power comes from. Prayer is a comfort to many. I remember a Reader's Digest article a couple years ago saying that they did a study showing that people in hospitals that prayed/where prayed for recovered more quickly. Is this God granting requests, or is the power of the human mind? Again, does it really matter. If it's a comfort, and it helps, that's what we should focus on. My mom where's magnets because she read somewhere that they have healing affects. I think this is a load of BS. Do I tell her this? No way!! She finds comfort in them. As long as she is getting real treatment as well, I say go for it. It's the same way with prayer. If you feel uplifted when you hear that people are praying for you mom, then prayer is effective in some manner. We will probably never "know" exactly why, but this doesn't dimish the results. Link to post Share on other sites
smile95 Posted October 22, 2005 Share Posted October 22, 2005 I have posted before and I rally do feel different after attending church...I cannot explain it. It is a wonderful feeling. I also think that after 9-11, what you may have felt is the whole country actaully coming together after an unbelievebale tragedy. It may have been prayers too, but the whole US changed after that. Link to post Share on other sites
quankanne Posted October 23, 2005 Share Posted October 23, 2005 prayer as a force of energy? Physically? "dang what were you own when this was posted" is also my initial response, lol, only because that theory takes me aback somewhat. But, upon further reflection, thinking of it in terms of "spiritual" energy – as a wavelength of love, if you will – then yeah, it makes a heck of a lot of sense. That this source of prayer energy is "absorbed" by someone obstructing the path between sender and recipient is whether you believe that intention counts: at each and every Mass, there is something between the reading of the Gospel and celebration of Eucharist called "prayers of the faithful," in which the whole congregation lifts up their voice as one to prayer for a number of things. In that sense, we believe that our prayer intentions are not blocked by anyone or anything .... Is it a sixth sense that we have and are controlling and claiming that power is of God? Is that why prayers work better in a church? Why people leave feeling 'uplifted' -- because they have absorbed the energy that everyone has projected? I don't think community prayer works "better" than an individual making the same petition, because it is for the same intention. Just more voices joining in, IMHO. Uplifted? Again, that's probably because the number of voices joining together for a single intention, gives a sense of unity, I"m thinking. There is so much more power to the mind than we can know - are we attaching that power to a God because we don't yet understand it or have not developed enough to fully control it? Mind over Matter? very subjective answer here: I don't attach power to God because I haven't realized my full potential but because I understand there can be no full potential without him, that I am incomplete until I realize myself through him. Maybe *I* am intercepting/absorbing the energy because I'm around the people sometimes who pray for her -- perhaps I am carrying that energy to mom. Or maybe I'm gaining some strength from that energy myself. I look at my life right now and (not to sound conceited) but I don't know how I'm able to get through each day and cope. Maybe its the prayers. There is a Glenmary priest I met when I first started working at the chancery, he was pastor of one of churches in the northern part of the diocese, just a lovely guy and the epitome of what a priest should be. One of the things I love best about Father Bob is that he seems to be such a wellspring of giving, especially when it comes to asking him to pray for my intentions. After bugging him endlessly to pray for a number of different things, I made the comment about how praying for others must tap him out. That's when he said that he enjoys praying for others, because to him, praying is alot like giving away fists full of honey ~ even though you're giving, you still have some too. I think it's kind of the same for you, when people offer up prayers on your family's behalf as you endure these trials that written about. Those prayer intentions kinda "stick" or help where they are needed, and you're being carried by that wavelength of love. but that's just my opinion! Link to post Share on other sites
Mz. Pixie Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 Prayer to me is me having conversation with God. He listens to whatever I say, whenever or wherever I say it. Church or the laundry room- alter or the bedside of a sick relative. I say conversation because He is like my friend. I feel that He has answered alot of prayers for me, and for those that are not answered, later on I have always seen a reason why they were not answered. Link to post Share on other sites
smile95 Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 I feel that He has answered alot of prayers for me, and for those that are not answered, later on I have always seen a reason why they were not answered. ditto....you never know at the time...kinda like the garth brooks song"unanswered prayers" Link to post Share on other sites
brittanyjean259 Posted October 25, 2005 Share Posted October 25, 2005 i think i have already posted this , but ill say it again... after me and my boyfriend got off the phone, i was just crying hestarically...and prayed to god and said" please dont let us get back together..." something like that... and hes with some one else.....even though it hurts...god knows whats best for you... i try to look at it like that:) Link to post Share on other sites
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