Somebody came up to me offering to pray for me today

[Jrouche]

I was a bit shocked. I was with two friends. I guess we looked pretty unassuming. I just wanted to play my mobile game with my friends.

I asked the man "what's the success rate?" and he initially 50% and then he caught himself and said 70% and then upped it to 100% (though I think he did say it depends on the circumstances). I was going to suggest it's no better than random chance but the conversation quickly moved on. Thankfully, he did say that prayer is no substitute for modern medicine so that was somewhat reassuring, when I pressed him on that. I did suggest that maybe prayer is a placebo as he said some are more receptive than others. Wasn't there that Harvard study on prayer? The one that said prayer makes little to no difference.

I ask him if prayer could make my friend with a missing arm grow a new arm. I didn't feel I really got an answer to that question. A bit frustrating to say the least. After a short conversation he said he had to go and pick up his child(ren) from school and left us.

After living in the South for twenty years I feel your pain. I now explain to people in a very nice way that praying for me is rather insulting because that implies I'm in some way deficient or needing their help. I like to then hear the spitting/sputtering and apologies. When I was much younger I would say "I worshipped the Dark Lord" and then improvise what I thought a Satanist would behave like. Don't let the sanctimonious bother you--enjoy your mobile game.