Does Prayer Really Work? Does God Even Care?

[robvalue]

Same with me, the only "prayer" I've done is when forced to at school. (I hope they don't do that anymore.) I didn't take it seriously even then, and I was 5 years old.

I've been reading a lot about this recently, and every scientific study ever done has shown no significance of prayer as far as I know (in fact some even show it makes things worse!)

(For Christians) the bible clearly says every prayer will be answered. This is clearly false. The only prayers that are ever "answered" are for things that could have happened anyway. For example, no matter how much you pray for an amputee to grow a leg back, it never happens. But if you pray for someone to recover from an illness that they may recover from anyway, sometimes the prayer will be "answered" and sometimes it won't. Or in reality, sometimes they get better, sometimes they don't. The prayer is irrelevant.

[Michael]

No, you changed yourself, your prayer is merely your talking to yourself.

The fact is there was/is change. The mechanism behind that change is certainly debatable. Sometimes what is most needed, either for ourselves or for the benefit of others, is change within us, and prayer can be one powerful approach to that, as many of us have experienced.

[Fidel_Castronaut]

Same with me, the only "prayer" I've done is when forced to at school. (I hope they don't do that anymore.) I didn't take it seriously even then, and I was 5 years old.

I've been reading a lot about this recently, and every scientific study ever done has shown no significance of prayer as far as I know (in fact some even show it makes things worse!)

(For Christians) the bible clearly says every prayer will be answered. This is clearly false. The only prayers that are ever "answered" are for things that could have happened anyway. For example, no matter how much you pray for an amputee to grow a leg back, it never happens. But if you pray for someone to recover from an illness that they may recover from anyway, sometimes the prayer will be "answered" and sometimes it won't. Or in reality, sometimes they get better, sometimes they don't. The prayer is irrelevant.

It's like George Carlin theorised, the effect of prayer is much the same as the effect of non-prayer; 50/50. Half the time you get what you want, the other half you don't. Hence why he began praying to Joe Pesci, upon which he began noticing he got a lot more than when he prayed to the biblical god.

[vorlon13]

God may not give a shit about some babies bleeding to death from the pores in Kinshasa but He cares who is going to win the Lakeside/Central football game tonight at 7PM !!!!!

Go Terriers !!!!!

[Brakeman]

No, you changed yourself, your prayer is merely your talking to yourself.

The fact is there was/is change. The mechanism behind that change is certainly debatable. Sometimes what is most needed, either for ourselves or for the benefit of others, is change within us, and prayer can be one powerful approach to that, as many of us have experienced.

My Comments were not denying a change, my comments were denying that a god conversation was going on. Once you cede that, you are simply stating that a psychotic delusional conversation is the best way that you know how to improve yourself.. how sad..

[Minimalist]

[JesusHChrist]

Prayer def works!

I prayed to God, "please kind Sir, make me an atheist!"

And you know what? He did!

[Thackerie]

No, you changed yourself, your prayer is merely your talking to yourself.

The fact is there was/is change. The mechanism behind that change is certainly debatable. Sometimes what is most needed, either for ourselves or for the benefit of others, is change within us, and prayer can be one powerful approach to that, as many of us have experienced.

Well, sure, you can change yourself through prayer, meditation, self reflection ... whatever you want to call it.

No deity needed.

No deity involved.

[vorlon13]

Prayer def works!

I prayed to God, "please kind Sir, make me an atheist!"

And you know what? He did!

[Eel_LahjicK]

Thanks guys for responding to the rebuttals for me. Made my job easy. There have been tests done to prove prayer does nothing as robvalue stated, and I've tested it myself over most of life, and can tell you that it does nothing. You're just putting yourself in a good, positive state of mind, which does make you feel better. So why not just meditate? Prayer is nothing, actions are real. Prayer is an excuse to do nothing. Most people when you speak the truth, they love to go like this.