Do you believe in prayer?

Hetty I agree all societies need rules, but more developed societies have discovered through science mainly, the reasons for many phenomena that more primitive societies put down to a supernatural being. Rules are based on helping a society to function effectively, not on religious ideas any more.
I think we all need a sense of purpose and belonging, and to make the best of our lives, and find it hard to believe that this is all there is and when we die we are gone for good.
Many find it comforting to believe in a God and after life, but some of us find more comfort in believing this is all there is, which helps us to live this life to the full, without a supernatural being's help.
I guess we have a choice, thankfully, and are not imprisoned for heresy, as in some countries.

People in general do need some kind of belief system. We naturally (as mammals) grow up seeking explanation, purpose and pattern - to help our survival.

As tribal beings, we do much better with shared group beliefs. Society depends upon 'rules', based on tradition, superstition or religion.

Simple societies have simple 'rules' (all that's required), while complex ones need complicated ones.

The conflicting beliefs within organised religions cause divisions, as does the refusal to accept that other gods are just as valid. So many of us without faith look at those divisions and thank goodness we’re not part of it.

I agree that the comment about religion being a mental health issue was uncalled for.

Well said Doodle.

God is a crutch for me and one that I and many others need. He Supports and helps me.
annie is right. So many without faith are very unkind with their comments.
God doesn’t cause division in the world, it is people who do that. If any proof were needed, one need only look at the content of many of the threads on GN.

Your comment Hetty was uncalled for , to say millions of people have mental health problems because they have faith in God.

Why do atheists have to make such unkind comments?
I don’t critcise atheists , I respect their non belief,

Agreed paddyanne, from the non-believer viewpoint it looks like a mental health issue.

GOD is a crutch for for the needy ,a collection of myths and legends that people who had no education believed and passed down .Sadly people still hang onto the myths.The same way they hang on to monarchy and think these people are better than everyone else....if they dont believe that then why do they allow Queens etc to be treated like wee gods ...because they like the look of them? Its a very sad world and gods of any type dont make it a better place they have always caused division and continue to do so world wide

There may only be one god to you Doodle - but other gods are just as important to their believers and neither (or none) are more or less valid.

I agree evie - imo it’s all about positive thinking, a willingness to learn and adapt, and self belief.

Only one God evie. Many people lack your positive outlook on life and suffer hardships that they cannot cope with without the support of our loving God. Praying is caring. We pray for ourselves, our family and others around the world who suffer.
There are many things in life you cannot make come true with your own will and hard work. Some of us need support.

In a word, No! Much better to think positively and make your "prayers" come true with your own will and hard work. Besides, there are so many different Gods out there, who knows if you're praying to the right one?

That sort of prayer as in the original post is superstition.

Prayer is good for you as a way to think clearly about your sadness. It's impossible to tell a lie to God so praying helps you to get to grips with what is troubling you,

Scribbles: I do so hope that your husband is making good progress. Please let us know how he -and you-are getting on. You must be in a state of shock Please look after yourself and treat yourself kindly. I’m praying for your husband, you, your daughter and the cat.

Doodle, I think Jesus would say here to move on to those who do want to hear. I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of Adrian Plass, but he gave a talk about twenty five years ago, on prayer. He was talking more about healing, but I guess you could apply it to whatever you were praying for. He said, “ there’s two things we know about God and praying for healing. The first is .....he does, the second.....he doesn’t. Ours is not to reason why. As you said, all children are Holy, therefore, would go straight to heaven, after death in this life. When we talk about being saved, of course, we’re talking about the next life. Non Christians will be referring to this one, the only one for them. God makes it quite clear there’s no perfection in this life, just the next, and He tells us what to do to get there. To non believers, they just see it as allowing suffering. Plenty of Christians are also suffering, but we look forward to the end for obvious reasons.

Scribbles - thanks for you reply. It sounds as if your dear husband is having the best care that's available.
Keep hoping! x

Thank you for letting us all know how your husband is Scribbles. I have been thinking of you both. Remain positive as you are doing. Love to you

hetty the question does make sense. On this thread and some others people who don’t believe God exists say things how could he bring this suffering to the world or what sort of God would allow children to suffer. They do blame a God they don’t believe in.
You can’t substitute tooth fairy because I have never heard anyone say they blame the tooth fairy for death and destruction.
You said in a previous post you don’t like people praying for you as they are trying to impose their faith on you. I often pray for people (many times without telling them if they give no indication of faith) not to impose my faith on them but because I care for some suffering they may be going through and ask God to help them.
I realise you don’t believe and that is ok, your opinion and your choice. I do and that’s my choice.
I am not being rude about your opinions I would like to think you could accept mine even if you don’t agree with me.

Doodle asks 'Why do so many people get angry with a God they don’t believe in.'

The question makes no sense - so why expect an answer?

I think it's about people getting angry with the things religious people tend to say (like 'It's God's will' or 'God will decide' etc.)

- all things that make no sense to us and sound very much like convenient excuses to deny responsibility or avoid decisions.

(Just substitute 'tooth fairy' for 'God' and listen to what you say. Doesn't it sound ridiculous?)

I would have thought that, if there is a God, he/she/it would have more pressing things to attend to than the acquisition of a cashmere jumper.

Like some others on here, I have no time whatsoever for organised religion but that's not to say that I don't respect the religious people who do their best to make the world be a kinder, less hateful place.

If someone gets comfort from praying or receiving the prayers of others, that's fine by me - but those who just pray for their own good fortune or supposed salvation just irritate me. What irritates me even more is those who come out of some sort of terrible catastrophe relatively unscathed and put it down to "God was watching over me". How self-absorbed is that.

What a horrendous thing to happen to your dear husband , Scrabbles. Just awful. I do pray, it's as important to me as breathing , so I will be praying that whatever the outcome you will have the strength to deal with it.

You will be able to fill your husband in on all what 's being going on whist he was " sleeping " and all the things you have got sorted out and achieved.

It's a very unsettling time for you and I am sure you must be exhausted both mentally and physically with all the stress.

Hopefully once he regains consciousness you will be able to take up the offer of somewhere to stay close to him as he will be needing a lot of reassurance and support. It will be both a frightening and emotional time for him reflecting on all that has happened .

I have no religious beliefs at all as I think religion is a construct to keep people in their ‘place’ and am highly cynical of most things. However, I would defend anyone’s right to worship as they wish.
I do have one ‘prayer’ experience to relate. My mum found a tiny kitten thrown into her hedge, it still had the umbilical cord attached. She took it to the vet who said there wasn’t really a chance but mum thought she would give it a go. Despite staying up to feed through the following nights it wasn’t thriving. I happened to visit (mum lived 100 miles away) and I sat with this tiny scrap on my lap and put my hands over it and just asked the universe for it to live and be healthy. My hands got very warm which felt very strange but faded after a few minutes. The little kitten called susie grew into a very large glossy black cat who lived until she was 18. So perhaps it was the ‘prayer’. After all there is more in heaven and earth than we know... but I’m still a sceptic.

I believe in prayer I do not believe GOD listens to requests for cashmere jumpers !

How shocking for you Scribbles and I do hope he starts to recover soon and am thinking about you both, as are many on here.
There is no mystery to me why "bad things happen to good people". I believe life is random, and can be damn difficult at times, and we have to get through the best way we can. If religious belief helps some then I can't argue.
I don't think you have to believe in a supernatural being, to be moral, kind, compassionate and caring to others.
I don't believe but am pleased if someone prays for me because they care and are thinking about me.

No

100% I believe in prayer.
I pray every day and especially for my family as well as others.