How does prayer work?

Question

First off,let me say that I am not going to tell you where I stand on this.

Second,*please refrain from answering if you don't actually believe in prayer,and that it works.


This is directed towards Christians mostly.

Thank you =)



Anyway,how does prayer work?


Say,a man is dying in the hospital,and you pray for him..and he dies anyway.That didn't really work,so how does pray actually work and why does it only apply to some who are suffering and not the others who are suffering?



I know that material objects aren't one of god's favorite things to grant,but for those who are truly suffering,why does he choose and pick from a few and leave the rest out in the cold?


Thank you,and again..this is not me trying to insult christians,this is just me being curious.

Answer 1

Totally no offense taken. First I would like to help you understand God hears every word your heart speaks. (I am talking about Jesus.) If you haven't accepted that He was crucified for your personal sins then you are really missing the boat. He also raised Himself from the dead and went to heaven to be with God the Father to prepare a home for all of us Christians. This Christian 'thing' is so very simple a child can understand it so try not to over think it.



Sorry, now to your question...There are many types of healing. I know this is not what you want to hear but it is something for you to think about. There is miracle - no human hands involved - prayer only. There is medical - who gave the doctors the ability? - and prayer. Then there is death - heaven for the Christians - prayer is also involved.



As far as material objects, I believe obedience has a lot to do with it. Now I am not saying works. God's love is a free gift. No matter what you do you can never earn it. But just like a child, when they are doing the things you have taught them you do not have to reteach and correct them. If you are truly a Christian you will show fruit of the spirit. Basically, good things will come out of you.



I know this is probably way more than you wanted but I just have to take the chance you needed to hear it. Thanks for listening and I hope you are blessed.



PS Prayer is just talking to God like He is the best daddy in the world and you need Him and want Him to take care of your problems in the best way for you.

Answer 2

First off if someone dies after praying for healing who says it didn't work. If the person who dies is born again you can't get any more healed than you are when you get to heaven. Second prayer works every time it is tried. What you are not acknowledging is that sometimes God says yes and sometimes no and sometimes Wait a while. The bible says precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of his saints. Prayer is not you getting what you want from God, but rather getting his will done on earth. Sadly some people ( and I don't mean you because i don't know what you think) don't understand prayer and its purpose.

Answer 3

pray does not work..



If god is the alpha and the omega. The begining and the end, knows what has passed and what is to come, like it states in the bible, why do people pray and think it will make any difference. - Mark Fairclough



Pray for anything you want. Pray for anything, but what about the Divine Plan?



Remember that? The Divine Plan. Long time ago, God made a Divine Plan. Gave it a lot of thought, decided it was a good plan, put it into practice. And for billions and billions of years, the Divine Plan has been doing just fine. Now, you come along, and pray for something. Well suppose the thing you want isn't in God's Divine Plan? What do you want Him to do? Change His plan? Just for you? Doesn't it seem a little arrogant? It's a Divine Plan. What's the use of being God if every run-down shmuck with a two-dollar prayerbook can come along and **** up Your Plan?



And here's something else, another problem you might have: Suppose your prayers aren't answered. What do you say? "Well, it's God's will." "Thy Will Be Done." Fine, but if it's God's will, and He's going to do what He wants to anyway, why the **** bother praying in the first place? Seems like a big waste of time to me! Couldn't you just skip the praying part and go right to His Will? It's all very confusing. - George Carlin

Answer 4

Well if you're praying to God asking Him to make somebody feel better and that person dies a Christian would know that God had answered your prayers. You see, if the person in your prayers accepted Jesus as his Savior then when he died he would walk in Heaven with the Lord and would be suffering no more.



P.S. I myself am not a Christian or religious, nor do I believe that any faith is better than the other.

Answer 5

Because we are only human, often times it may seem like "God is leaving people to suffer, "out in the cold" , but God has a broader and clearer view. Someones death is not always a sad thing, especially for the believer. You have to understand that suffering is one of God's greatest tools to get his children closer to him. If you had a perfect life, all the money, love, joy, peace, and health you ever wanted and you never had a problem, do you honestly think that you would worship, serve and seek God with hunger? If you really look at the human heart it is sinful and prideful and would not willingly seek God on it's own. God uses suffering sometime to bring us the greatest joy in life, a deep relationship with him. God bless you!

Answer 6

God does not say "yes" to every Christian prayer. Sometimes he says "no". But Christians do believe that everything works together for their good in the end.



God knows our needs before we even ask. Prayer is for us and helps us to realize that all our needs are met by Him.



God uses suffering often for our good. We are asked to take up our cross and follow Him. We are warned that we will have much trial and tribulation in this world, but God also says, "fear not, for I have overcome the world."



Also, in your scenario, maybe the man was praying that God would take him quickly so that he would not have to suffer any longer. If that were the case, then prayer did "work". God said "yes" to him and "no" to you.

Answer 7

I would answer this question but you already decided that you accept and believe in prayer, so what can I say to a closed mind.



I also see your point, and I have spoken on this many times and you would be surprised how the mind of a person who is indoctrinated into such belief can't handle the truth. I hope that you learn that you do ask the right questions, but you are never going to get the true answer from any believer, because religion belief is not based on truth.

Answer 8

Prayer is actually the time when we glorify the Lord for everything He gives us in our lives. During our prayers we ask Him for things that we want. But doesn't God already now what we want from Him? Now as for your prayer that you said "didn't work", that is something you don't know. God has what He wants and knows that is better for us in His plans. When you pray, ask Him to give you peace and strength to accept whatever He brings in your life, even if that is cancer. Just because He doesn't give us something that we ask, doesn't mean that He didn't hear us.

Remeber this to see how He plans and how much He loves us...

He asked for Abraham to sacrifice his son but at the end He stopped him, then thousands of years later He sends His own Son to be Crusified by us... As much as people tell me that they understand how God thinks and know what He is thinking, you know that is impposible. I don't think any mother or father would sacrifice their child for any reason because they would never think as He does.

So pray for peace,strength and wisdom...its ok to ask what you want also but, you know that He knows already and you don't know if He wants you to have what you desire. Trust Him...no matter what!

God bless you!

Answer 9

It makes the person praying believe they are doing / making some beneficent gesture to affect a desired outcome for personal reasons (even if the act is allegedly altruistic). It gives one a sense of self-satisfaction and comfort knowing they have done "all they can" to either "help" someone or to fulfill a duty they have been commissioned (taught) to carry out.

Answer 10

Some will say that God answers prayers by:



yes

no

wait



i think that those are part of it but i also believe that he answers it by figuring out what you have to do to solve it.



Like i wanted to play my scales better for my instruments... i finally figured out that the answer is to not think about it... just let them come naturally...



so if i wanted to play better and i prayed about it, i find a solution out for my prayer to be answered.





back to your man in the hospital... death is inevitable it will happen no matter what... we cant always get what we want or otherwise it would be chaotic and anarchy and then God would not be God, but someone that we dictate...





hope this helps...

Answer 11

Say your dad wants to get rid of your dog because he poops all over the place. He knows that you love your dog very much, he knows that, yet so still go and tell him how much you love your dog and how you would really really like to keep him. From that point on, its your father's choice whether its best to keep him or not. Samething with God, he knows whats in your heart, but you still talk to him and express yourself to him. Sometimes he decides that it's best for this to happen, maybe because it will draw you closer to him. If he granted your wish everytime, then he wouldnt be a God anymore rather a vending machine that you run to everytime you need/ want something.

Hope i helped =)

Answer 12

Lynn McTaggart's book "The Field" sets up a framework involving quantum physics that shows how prayer could work. She has also conducted "intention" experiments that show active mental statement of intention has changed physical objects. So, to me it's possible.

Conversely, my personal belief includes having a wee bit of God in me, and all mankind. So prayer could be interpreted as talking to oneself.

Answer 13

Selfish prayer doesn't work. It's not for us to decide whether the guy should die or not. Who are we to say that the man wasn't suffering more IN this world than out of it?

Answer 14

Prayer is not a to-do list that you give to God and then expect him to come through for you. My own prayer experience is that it involves lots of inner listening and very little talking. I can't stand preachers who go on and on with their "And Lord we just wanna ask you" list of favors. God is not a magician. God doesn't wait on us to tell him what to do.

Answer 15

I think if you believe in your heart and you pray for someone and they die anyway, God took their suffering away and he brought them to a better place.



My Grandmother died last Christmas day and we all said she got the greatest gift of all "Eternal Peace"



Just because something doesn't looked like it "worked" in our eyes, doesn't mean it didn't. God may have taken Grandmother, but given others hope in her place, helped with curing her illness etc.

Answer 16

"Prayer to" i will comprehend yet "prayer for" is something previous me because of fact I ought to have thought that Saints do not choose any prayers for them because of fact they are quickly linked to God and don't choose our intercession. Have a great Day.

Answer 17

God already knows everything...so it doesnt really tell Him what He needs to know...but bridges an important gap and allows you to talk to Him which helps your relationship. Also, after praying, sometimes you will know what you have to do.



Besides this, it releases your anxieties and worries.



There are probably more uses, but this is as much as understand so far as my relationship with Him right now

Answer 18

to me, it isn't "appropriate" to pray for someone's life to be spared necessarily as, if you believe in God, you should believe that ONLY God can know when to "call a person home"



I believe more in, praying for "God's will" whatever that may be, AND the courage and acceptance to deal with WHATEVER situations come my way. Or whatever God's will is.



And by God (no pun intended) when I do this, I ALWAYS DO find the INNER STRENGTH to handle WHATEVER is thrown at me...And believe me when I say, I've dealt with A LOT in life...





Hope this helps.

Answer 19

Best place to find out if by going to the one who teaches how to pray: " http://www.abetterhope.com/prayer/likethis.html ".

Answer 20

Be sincere and open your hear to God.



About asking for someone to live... we have no authority over that. If it is God's will, it is going to happen whether we want it to or not. If you think the person is going to Heaven then you shouldn't be sad.

Answer 21

well you cant pray for things and expect them to come true.

like you said if you pray for someone in the hospital whos about to die then you should pray for them but if they die then that is what god wanted.

it was time for them to go.



pray about this question and you shall recieve an answer.

Answer 22

E = mc^2

Answer 23

Prayer: God answers in a yes, no, or in time.



This formula means no prayer can go unanswered (or so it would seem).

Answer 24

People pray to give themselves the feeling like they are actually doing something to help the situation, rather than going out and actually doing something.

Answer 25

I personally think its the placebo effect. Your mind tells you that prayer will work, and if does.

Answer 26

Is a matter of faith and it doesn't the same with everybody, results may vary.

Answer 27

it's a belief

it's a rituall

it's to talk to your god/dead relatives

Answer 28

open your heart to God

Answer 29

It doesn't.