Prayer puzzles me - even in my years as a believer, it puzzled me. I
don't understand what it's for - even for believers. Does God react to
things differently if he/she is prayed to? Does knocking on heaven's
door evoke a different answer to that which would have been
forthcoming if one hadn't knocked? Is God's immutable will capable of
being influenced or bribed?
Prayer - and it is central to almost every religion known to me -
seems to be an essential part of the religious impulse. Modern
("enlightened") believers usually explain its importance as a way of
staying in contact with a personal God - communication as the basis of
relationship. This often seems to me to be the religious reflection of
intellectual preoccupation with communication/media prevelant
worldwide since the middle of the 20th. Century. But even this
tendency reinforces my suspicion that prayer is an indication of the
deeply anthropological basis of all theologies - a prime example of
the anthropomorphing bias (ineluctably) prevelant in human thinking
structures.
But the instinct is stronger, deeper and more primitive than happy
encounter theories of "God my partner, with whom I must remain in
communication if I want our relationship to develop and grow." As a
(relatively) convinced agnostic/atheist, I still occasionally find
myself (usually in difficult situations) mentally muttering, "Oh God,
please don't let this happen, please don't let this be true ...!" The
rational part of me insists that this is ridiculous. Even the part of
me which remains theoretically open to the possibility of some sort of
theological foundation to things reasons that there is no way in which
human imploring could possibly move God to change his/her mind.
Sometimes the hindbrain just isn't listening and shoots off
invocations regardless..
Brendan Beehan once made a comment to the effect that there were no
atheists at three in the morning, when worries clamour and sleep won't
come. In such states there remains the agnostic's prayer; "Dear God,
if there is a God, save me from hell, if there is a hell!"
Francis
On 19 Apr., 11:33, akshay <[email protected]> wrote:
> I am only earning person in my family which consist of 8 people. I
> have to stay away from my family for my job.
>
> Pl. pray for me for prosperity and stability in my job and good
> position and peace for me. God bless you with happiness and peace and
> prosperity.
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