With MckMama's son, Stellan, in the hospital this week, I am anticipating that she is not going to be doing her weekly "Not Me! Monday" series; so, as a tribute to her beautiful son who has already endured so much in his short life, I am going to write about something she wrote late last week that really got me thinking.
She posed a question to her blog readers about the power and purpose of prayer. More specifically, she asked why people pray if (as she believes) God has already preordained the outcome of any given situation.
Personally, I don't agree with MckMama here. This means I don't agree with my own mother as well. For years, my mom has held fast to the fact that "everything is fixed, and you can't change it" (that is a line directly from one of my favorite musicals-- anybody want to wager a guess which one?). I don't think that is true. I don't see why God would give us the power and privilege of free will if there weren't repercussions for its incorrect use, and benefits from using it as He intended. It just doesn't make sense to my overly logical brain. Plus, when I was an undergrad studying religion (remember, I was a religion minor), I read about plenty of instances, specifically in the Old Testament, during which God went back on His word or changed His mind. Now, as MckMama contends, perhaps He knew He would end up changing His mind, but that gets into a whole theological can of worms I really don't feel like opening right now.
However, I do agree with MckMama-- very strongly, in fact-- that the purpose of prayer isn't always (and really, should never really be) to change God's course of action. I do trust that He knows best, and it would be foolish of me to convince Him that I have a better idea than whatever He has in mind (although, that doesn't mean I haven't tried, believe me!). I believe the reason God wants us to pray is so we can become closer to Him. He uses prayer much the same way I use a well-timed animal cracker with my daughter-- to get some one-on-one time. The purpose of prayer is not to inspire God into action; it's to inspire us into inaction-- to get us into a quiet, transcendant place where we can truly be attuned to what God wants from us.
The final tenant of MckMama's philosophical meanderings dwelt on the power of prayer. She wondered whether the sheer number of people praying for her son had any greater impact on God's ears than it would if she and her husband were the only ones lifting up their voices heavenward. I absolutely, definitively, 100% think that it doesn't matter who you are-- or how many people you have praying along with you. I think God hears all our prayers equally. If He didn't, He would be no better than you or I, ranking and sorting through requests to find the most important. I truly believe the only factor that matters to God is the intensity of prayer. Of course, it must be pure of heart, it must come from an honest place, but above all, I think whoever is lifting up that prayer must be passionate about whatever he or she is asking of God.
I'm not really sure how to end this post... except maybe by asking all of you to send up a prayer to Him, or if you're not religious, by taking some time out of your day to enjoy the love of those close around you and give thanks to the universe for your blessings. 
This entry was posted
on Monday, November 02, 2009
.
You can leave a response
and follow any responses to this entry through the
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
.
14 comments
Post a Comment
I just like to pray, it makes me feel better and like I have something to do with my life/children/friends. xoxo
SC
Totally agree with you! Our pastor preached on the power and the importance of prayer just yesterday. A point of emphasis was how much even Jesus prayed before making decisions.
My son was in the hospital and we were told to gather our family to say our final goodbye's. Our church and their friends around the world were thankfully praying for our son, who nine years later is doing wonderfully. It is very hard to watch a young one suffer like that, but I can't have imagined going through it without prayers, of not just my husband and I, but an entire faith community.
Sorry for such a long comment, I am not usually this long-winded!
I definitely agree with you, especially on the last part that it doesn't matter who or how many people are praying, God hears everything equally. Very well said! I have been holding my babies longer at night and am so thankful they are healthy when so many (TOO many) are not.
Also, your daughter is BEAUTIFUL!! :)
Beautifully stated! I've been thinking about this topic a lot lately. Thank you for sharing!
I totally agree with you and what you are saying.
Thanks for stopping by my blog - love this post! I definitely agree with you!
WOW- what awesome food for thought!! That's a debate for sure, do we move God into action with our prayers, or is His eternal plan one that sticks regardless of our prayer... I know that I debated that internally for such a long time after a diagnosis with a brain tumor. My pastor prayed and anointed me with oil and had the deacons and elders pray, but I still had to have 2 surgeries and radiation to get the thing to settle down. Does that mean God didn't hear? Does it mean God wanted me to have the tumor? I believe He heard the prayers offered up, but His plan and timing was different, because it made me draw closer to Him in the troubling times.... and I guess I don't really know whether we change His plan by praying and begging, but there is an example in Luke 18 that shows how God still desires us to be persistent in our petitions, as this is a sign of our faithfulness...
Thanks for posting!! It's an awesome read!
Thanks for stopping by my blog! I totally agree with you. It doesn't matter how many people are praying for one subject - if it's 1 or 1 million - our God hears us. Although, I think it makes us feel better to know that more people pray...makes my heart warm all over when I know people are praying for my Sweet Ethan. I am reading Real Faith for Real Life by Michael W Foss in my Womans's Bible Study and he speaks about the power and purpose of prayer - very awesome book!
I'm not sure how this plays into these thoughtful wanderings...
Yesterday was "All Saints Day", and today is "All Souls Day" within the Catholic Church - so we focused on the power of prayer in my RCIA meeting.
One of the most powerful tools gained from prayer is comfort.
I'm not sure on the impact because as I am sure you also know...
"Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers".
I enjoyed your post and love your blog. Your family is precious! Thanks for stopping by the blog, I wrote you back on there about the milk cartons...for Thanksgiving :)
great post! I agree!
I agree wholeheartedly! A true, sincere prayer is all God is asking for.
Great post. My kids are in bed but I want to just go hug them. I need to be more grateful for things that are right in my life then dwelling on the negative. I am so blessed.
Very interesting, and we do agree on many points here. I think the God of the Old Testament is different than the God of the New Testament. Let me explain, yes, I believe that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. I guess what I am saying is that the Old Testament had sacrifices and the veil into the Holy of Holies was still in place. It was not until the New Testament time that people were able to go to God directly and become closer to Him through prayer. Anyway, that is not me trying to prove of disprove anything. I was just referencing your comment on God in the OT.
Loved your thoughts on being pure of heart. Sometimes I have to quiet my mind before praying so that I am truly focused and know what I am praying.
Thanks for sending me your link. :) Also, I took you up on your suggestion on my blog. :)