tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9864334.post6998142777815792697..comments2023-10-24T05:49:04.269-04:00Comments on The Chaliceblog: Petitionary Prayer and SnowChalicechickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07781469958573869914noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9864334.post-83761312541641497992010-01-07T13:41:16.006-05:002010-01-07T13:41:16.006-05:00Many Muslims, when they are praying, add a caveat ...<i>Many Muslims, when they are praying, add a caveat (at least sometimes) so the prayer might look something like this: "Please, God, let me get this job; I really need it. But if it would be better for me to not get this job, please give me the wisdom/strength/patience to accept that." Basically, you pray not so much for specific things, but for whatever is best for you.</i><br /><br /><br />Anticipating his imminent arrest on the Mount of Olives, Jesus prayed similarly: "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." [Luke 22:42] (Of course, he was a faithful Muslim.)faustohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08858053354116695746noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9864334.post-18341574031423056992010-01-07T12:52:04.778-05:002010-01-07T12:52:04.778-05:00Many Muslims, when they are praying, add a caveat ...Many Muslims, when they are praying, add a caveat (at least sometimes) so the prayer might look something like this: "Please, God, let me get this job; I really need it. But if it would be better for me to not get this job, please give me the wisdom/strength/patience to accept that." Basically, you pray not so much for specific things, but for whatever is best for you.<br /><br />Now, whether you pray for whatever is best for EVERYONE ... that's a good question, and unless "everyone" means "my parents/children/family/closest friends" I've never heard of that kind of prayer.hsofianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9864334.post-83950189388984007552010-01-07T11:08:48.730-05:002010-01-07T11:08:48.730-05:00Someone who believes in God as Santa Claus, who wi...Someone who believes in God as Santa Claus, who will magically give you what you ask for if you are nice, probably also needs God to be the All-Wise Parent who takes full responsibility for giving only age-appropriate gifts to all the kids. In that mindset, if God says "OK, Chalicechick's coworker, I'll give you a snowstorm," then God has already checked and doublechecked that for everyone affected by the snowstorm, it was either a trial that was within their ability to handle or it was their time to return to be with God. No need to worry coworker's pretty little head!<br /><br />PG's mom, along with many other humans, I'm sure, has a more mature understanding of petitionary prayer than what I just described.Evenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9864334.post-45188902899321218312010-01-07T10:59:55.714-05:002010-01-07T10:59:55.714-05:00Those Pagan faiths who believe in the power of pra...Those Pagan faiths who believe in the power of prayer and/or spells teach that it is indeed your responsibility to consider the consequences of your request, and that you bear responsibility for them. Many add that your intentions don't matter; only results matter. Most Wiccan traditions say those consequences return to you threefold. Those warnings are why you find so many older Pagans who say, "I don't do spells."Joel Monkahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10631333436948102576noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9864334.post-87876908211300586462010-01-07T10:09:49.549-05:002010-01-07T10:09:49.549-05:00David P. --Roald Dahl has a short story about a wo...David P. --Roald Dahl has a short story about a woman desperate to carry a baby to term (I don't remember if she prays for it, but she might) and when she finally does, the nurse says "Congratulations, Mrs. Hitler. I think Adolf would be a lovely name for him" or some such. (I haven't read it in about ten years and am fuzzy on the details)<br /><br />DSD, I forbore (forbared? Anyway, I didn't do it) since she was a coworker.<br /><br />PG, I think your mom is correct. That said, belief in prayers being answered by a divine hand is pretty common and I was exploring the implications of that belief. <br /><br />CCChalicechickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07781469958573869914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9864334.post-72115124195617028762010-01-07T09:19:20.951-05:002010-01-07T09:19:20.951-05:00Some of God's greatest gifts...
When we were ...Some of God's greatest gifts...<br /><br />When we were little, my sister once asked my mother why we had to pray. Surely God knew everything already? Mom said that prayer was really something we did for our own spiritual life; it forced us to verbalize what our needs and wants were, and reminded us of God's presence. To the extent it actually affected what happened, it did so through our own consciousness rather than through some change in God's.PGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09381347581328622706noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9864334.post-47378547943100345632010-01-07T09:01:30.921-05:002010-01-07T09:01:30.921-05:00Over the last several years I've heard 1 UU se...Over the last several years I've heard 1 UU sermon and 1 Presbyterian sermon specifically on the subject of prayer, and both pointed out, in similar terms as you do, the inherent absurdity of that sort of immature petitional prayer. Gotta ask -- did you pose those questions to your acquaintance? (I wouldn't blame you for forbearing, mind you.)<br /><br />In a related vein, it drives me nuts when someone survives a disaster that many others do not and specifically attributes their personal survival to an intentional act of God. (This is usually on a TV news report.) I find myself wanting to shout to the screen, "Oh, and God just let all those other poor suckers die, huh?"DairyStateDadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09100373589936758473noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9864334.post-67040497397071741062010-01-07T08:34:47.743-05:002010-01-07T08:34:47.743-05:00Jim Morrison said it so it must be true: You can N...Jim Morrison said it so it must be true: You can NOT petition the Lord with prayer."Diggitthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16416825000872117152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9864334.post-29753355326546428572010-01-07T00:41:10.489-05:002010-01-07T00:41:10.489-05:00One of the best examples of the limitations and et...One of the best examples of the limitations and ethical challenges of practices of petitional prayer I have ever encoutered is Mark Twain's short story "War Prayer", where he highlights all the unintended consequences of praying for victory in war...<br /><br />As a hospital chaplain (resident), I walk the minefield of petitional prayer with my patients all the time... <br /><br />Yours in Faith,<br /><br />DavidDavid P.http://www.celestiallands.orgnoreply@blogger.com