Intercessory Prayer

Do I think God intercedes for people due to their prayers? No.

Do I think that by praying we are able to make positive change in our own lives? Yes.

If God exist and he is all knowing, all powerful, then asking for favors seems a bit presumptuous to me. But furthermore actual evidence pointing towards the efficacy of prayer in this sense of the word has come up nill every time it is looked for. Prayer can not move a mountain. Prayer cannot

The act of praying on the other hand can have beneficial results. Clear headedness in face of an emergency is never a bad thing. As the poster I was responding to pointed out, letting go of an emotional burden can have profound psychological benefits for you.

Is this any clearer?

 

I have to disagree. These two statements of yours (below) contradict each other.

Saying:

...then:

...is what I mean.

I'm not saying your presumptions about my motives are true or false, an argument could be made for either... or both, only that the information you're using to judge me is too limited to be accurate. It'd be fairer to say something kin to 'first impressions' than making a snap-judgement on me based on one or two comments. I'm more dynamic than that lol

 

Prayer has power. Just perhaps not always where we expect it. If I were to pray to "give help to Mrs. Jones as she fights cancer," the help may not be of the medical variety. Perhaps, in the peace I get in transmitting my concerns to God (He already knows about them anyway), God uses my heart-felt desire for Mrs. Jones to cause me to spend some time with her worried family, and in so doing ease her psychological discomfort over what her illness is doing to her family. Not likely what I meant when I prayed, but still a divine "OK" to my prayer.

 

Take this with a grain of salt if you with, but I think intercessory prayer is the strongest prayer there is. You are praying for someone else and for their welfare. Does God already know the other person is in trouble, of course. God knows everything in my book, but when He hears a person praying for the welfare of others, He cannot help but say, they are starting to see what is important. Remember when Job was rewarded? Does anyone know what Job was doing right before God took away all of Satans testing? Job was praying for others.

Praying for other is for the person you are praying and for yourself. It helps you as much as it helps others. But you have to do this with an innocent heart. If you expect to be blessed because you prayed for someone else, then you have completely missed the point of intercessory prayer. Don't you think?

 

Horses...why worry about horses when human misery is so evident. Call me a species bigot. I say shoot the horses and feed them to hungry humans. I think the same way about whales.

 

If prayer provides comforts people, I think that's all it needs to do.

 

If you haven't already, you should read Mark Twain on prayer and the church in general. He was not a happy camper.

 

It is evident that prayer does work. This is not just from those studies but from information I heard when I worked in surgery (as a clerk scheduling surgeries, not in any healing way). Some patients respond better than ever and those who believe are among them. I personally don't believe in any supernatural intervention, but that this strengthens their own will.