Maybe praying did once work...

[Zenith]

What really sucks is when said deity who decides to grant prayer requests is a bit hard of hearing.
That is how I ended up with this 12 inch Bic.

When making your prayer request, remember to speak up loudly and clearly.

It's hard for me to imagine how it should be in polytheistic religions, as I've never talked to a polytheist about his religion. As about a single "God" that created everyone (we can regard Him as a father because He created us), I guess it has the same meaning as a father has with his child: a father expects his son to ask money, rather than simply take it; when his son needs help he expects him to ask for it, rather than his father acting as his son's slave, saying "is there something I should do for you?" and offering to do everything for him, whether his son needs help or not. I don't know, why do you expect someone to ask for your help, when he needs it? (Perhaps he may simply insult you afterwards and accuse you for not realizing that he needs your help, when you did, but expected him to ask for it)

I guess there is also the realization of need of help: if God exists and one who believes in Him needs help (that is beyond what himself can do), he would realize his need of God to help him, if he "asks" for it, rather than the effect of simply ignoring everything and moving further (perhaps saying, "The problem is for God, not for me! Why should I care??").

As about

When making your prayer request, remember to speak up loudly and clearly.

I don't know if there are religions that preach this. Anyway, I'm sure that in all abrahamic religions, a man's thoughts are not hidden from God, so even a speechless' man's prayer can be 'heard'.

[Cinjin]

When I saw this thread I immediately thought of one thing. Maybe god did set up prayer so that he could hear all his little creations ask him for anything they wanted. I mean, being the benevolent provider of things for Adam and Eve and then their extended family ... it was cool and really no big deal. Even fun to be the big genie who gave them what they wanted ... prayer worked awesome. Buuuuut - millions of people later - prayer started getting way outta hand. I mean "the phone wouldn't stop RINGING" in gods ear and maybe he just shut it down. Seriously, maybe god just didn't plan ahead very well and didn't think about handling prayer in bulk. Millions of people praying 3 times a day at LEAST! I would think that would get a little more than overwhelming ... thus the prayer system was retired and god just thought ... "I better not tell 'em, I'll just say don't question my plans if anyone gets suspicious."


and that - is why prayers go "unanswered"


(or maybe the only thing you ever accomplished while praying was looking like a goddamn lunatic)

[Zenith]

:hehe: When I saw this thread I immediately thought of one thing. Maybe god did set up prayer so that he could hear all his little creations ask him for anything they wanted. I mean, being the benevolent provider of things for Adam and Eve and then their extended family ... it was cool and really no big deal. Even fun to be the big genie who gave them what they wanted ... prayer worked awesome. Buuuuut - millions of people later - prayer started getting way outta hand. I mean "the phone wouldn't stop RINGING" in gods ear and maybe he just shut it down. Seriously, maybe god just didn't plan ahead very well and didn't think about handling prayer in bulk. Millions of people praying 3 times a day at LEAST! I would think that would get a little more than overwhelming ... thus the prayer system was retired and god just thought ... "I better not tell 'em, I'll just say don't question my plans if anyone gets suspicious."


and that - is why prayers go "unanswered"


(or maybe the only thing you ever accomplished while praying was looking like a goddamn lunatic)

An interesting question: why would God answer prayers? Imagine if you were a God (able to hear and understand all at once, and 'see' everything), why would you do all what billions of people ask from you?

You know, it's funny. Even Christians believe in that strange way of "God answers prayers": In the bible, Abraham (biblical prophet, I guess everyone heard of him) had a single wish: to have a son with his wife. One day, God promised him a son! He has gotten older, and there was still no son. God told him again, in a dream, that he would have a son. Abraham got 100 years old. He still did not have a son. God told him again that he would have a son (namely, after a year). At 101 years, Abraham had a son. Now, think about this: if Abraham had married his wife at the age of about 20, for 80/81 years he was praying for God to have a son with his wife. Think now how millions of christians see how "praying" 'works'. Also think that Abraham was a prophet (which was supposed to be someone more close to God), and you see in the Bible that about 4 times in his entire life God has spoken to him. And nowadays you get millions of christians believing that they are living daily miracles!

Another example, Timothy (in the New Testament): Apostle Paul (everyone knows St. Paul) told him to drink some wine from time to time, because he had some "health" problems. And we see millions of christians today blindly trusting that God would heal them if they pray long enough!