Skip to main content

B is for Practical Prayer

There was a time I believed in prayer. I remain Theist. But I wonder if I’m a hypocrite in my resolve or rather, lack thereof. Because as I look at someone I care deeply for (and I can tell you that group is populated by a mere few persons) I have to say… truthfully… “my prayers are not being answered.” This is not selfish prayer either. I have been asking that they find peace, that happiness be spread on their hearts [and face] like soft spread butter. And if it’s not to much to ask, some righteous retribution on their enemies. I want to see them happy. This is my prayer. My prayers… are NOT… answered.

This then has led me to the belief that I need to adopt a more practical approach.

Practical? Isn’t prayer… practical?

I can hear my Theist friends shout a resounding YES!
I can hear my Non-Theist friends shout a resounding NO!

Prayer moves mountains. But then apparently so does water. Just ask Japan who can surely attest to that right now.

What happened to prayer, Theists?
When did this become a useless ritual done in a building or something recorded in a book that feels so… powerless? This is the point where you tell me PRAYER is not powerless, it is the individual and/or their lack of faith. Fine, As your case study for the evening. I’ll tell you that:
• I am weak
• I have issues and
• When I get down on my knees – while I feel at peace or else sleepy – I’d rather not say anything cause I get angry by the day.
Fine. That’s me. Now YOU.

You, the Gate-Keepers of Paradise, tell me why prayer has become so impractical?
A man sees a man in need, instead of offering a tangible solution, he tells him: “I’ll pray for you.”
A woman tells a woman that her lover is a twat of some form, the woman’s response: “I’ll pray for you.”
A grad student needs a job, she is told by someone who can help her: “I’ll pray for you.”

An island is rocked with tsunamis and earthquakes… lives are lost… and everybody’s “prayers” are going up for them. How bout a disaster relief program? How bout all us Theist give a dollar for Japan?

I’m griping….

But what happened? What happened to the prayers I see/hear/read about in holy books and TV tele-serials? Where prayers go up and lions shut their face, the innocent is released from jails by angels, devotees pray [and pray] and God Himself intervenes?

I look at youtube, I listen to my friends and while I’d like to tell them “HEY! PRAYER WORKS! PRAYER IS PRACTICAL!”
1. I refuse to get emotional. Yes.. I am a hypocrite for thinking that I could break down Theism like a science. Which is funny – I want to resolve science & faith.
2. Is it? Practical Why aren’t we moving God’s hand anymore?
And I know it’s not a lie. It isn’t a fairy tale either. Prayer is [basically] positive energy. Positive energy released by a being with energy – a la humans bring about a change. Ok fine, my pseudo-psycho-science is fundamentally flawed and I’m too lazy to think it through right now.

But what about you all? Why can’t YOU make prayer practical anymore? What about “faith without works is dead” James 2:26

Non-Theists will never believe in a deity. God will always be a joke – that’s a given. But you who believe… where is the practical side of prayer?

You tell me. Is prayer practical?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

B in Future Traditions

THE COPY: I was sitting down listening to Norah Jones’ “Come Away with Me” and I began to think about future traditions. I thought… I want to sway with someone. Sway with my lover. To this music. More than that, I want that when we had an argument (and we’d have those because she’d be stubborn and I’d be pig headed (iChuckle)) we would never go to bed angry. We’d pop open a lover’s CD like this one and just sway. We may be as mad as hell but we would sway because we would never want to go to bed angry. And our children would know this. And they would never allow their partners to go to bed angry either because… well, because they would know better. They would sway. They would know it was better to sway. That’s the kind of man I want to be. Moreover, that’s the kind of tradition I’d like to pass on. Future Traditions. What's Yours?
4 comments
Read more

B is for SideBar

i was going to talk about morality today. as in "whose morality do you subscribe to?" it was going to be deep if i say so myself. however, instead i will speak about requisitioning wombs . yes that's right... wombs . i was having a conversation with a girl who [i admit] i still go gaga over [cue the "paparazzi" audio clip]. we were talking about how stupid humanity had become and whether there was a point to saving them. "saving" in the sense of helping-them-expand-their-mental-space-just-a-smidgen-more kind of saving. she believed this exercise was futile and proclaimed that instead of trying to save this "dead-out" (my term not hers) generation, she was going to have kids. a means of passing on valuable information about culture and forward thinking and such. i laughed of course but she had a real point. i too have felt that this current landscape is all... dead-out, but never really saw procreation as a means of rebooting the system if...
5 comments
Read more

B is for Disavowed [part of the lord series]

I remember when I disavowed (human) Troubling thing since of course I was (human) Thought of my mistakes and yes they were (human) Thought of my limits and without a doubt (human) … … I remembered when I disavowed (can’t) Wanted to draw but of course, well I (can’t) Thought about rapping but you know that I (can’t) Should’ve taken her to the room… (can’t) … … I remembered when I realized it was the same (Human) and (can’t), they were all in a frame One is an excuse The other keeps you tame Same song, same hymn, same refrain. .... ... ... I can’t be human. But can’t doesn’t exist. Which means I COULD be human  But why be… everyone? You can be “only human” if you want to But I’ll accept terrestrial or mortal – thank you. Until the word is reclaimed by those who claim to be more Yet flounder in the gene pool of mice. © tracy j hutchings 18:06:13 #lordoftheyounggods a lord must consecrate and dis...
4 comments
Read more