It never occurred to me what I was actually saying when I used to pray for god to influence other people in some way. Whether it was to change someone at work's attitude towards me, make others more able to listen, soften their hearts, etc. No matter how you phrase it...you're asking a supernatural entity to exert their power over the hearts and minds of other people. To enter them. To change them. To make them do something or act a certain way, according to your wish.
Setting aside the very clear connections of prayer to witches summoning demonic familiars and asking them for a boon or service in exchange for a gift or a price paid. But how does praying for god to influence someone else not equal to an expectation of some level of possession by this entity? Otherwise what exactly are you asking the entity to do? How does that figure into the "we're all here to suffer for free will" thing?
Setting aside the very clear connections of prayer to witches summoning demonic familiars and asking them for a boon or service in exchange for a gift or a price paid. But how does praying for god to influence someone else not equal to an expectation of some level of possession by this entity? Otherwise what exactly are you asking the entity to do? How does that figure into the "we're all here to suffer for free will" thing?
