Does prayer work?

Does prayer work?

Well this is going to be an interesting thread.

This is gonna be tough for me to explain, but here goes.

I am not a religious person, I do not pray or use religion to help me when I need it. I do not believe in a higher existence either.

But I do believe that a person can believe in religion if they want. If religion helps you, then by all means continue believing in w/e you want to believe. If a person believes in God and prayer and it helps them, that's fine, because every man has their own beliefs that they are entitled to.

When people ask me to pray for some reason, I do oblige and say a prayer just because if a person is asking for other people to pray for them I will do it to help them.

I guess that's kind of hypocritical in some ways, doing something for another person that I don't personally believe in, but that's just how I do things. I don't care if you guys will think less of me for it, just because I know I am not gonna change my opinion.

It depends what you mean by work. Prayer works in the sense that it's a form of meditation that can bring about a state of tranquility. It doesn't work if you're expecting a higher power to perform miracles and fix your worldly problems.

And of course who can forget people like this (http://www.mastermediaintl.org/guest/MLPC/aboutmlpc.php) who make a mockery (http://www.mastermediaintl.org/guest/MLPC/current.php) of the whole thing.

i think prayer works. but not like praying for a victory, or material things. i think its along the lines of what saden said, praying for inner peace, and maybe forgiveness

All prayers are answered. We just don't always like the answer.

I'm also not a religious person, but I definitely think the power of prayer is very strong. If you believe in something like that strong enough, knowing that many people are supporting you can be very comforting.

But, I think Christian Science hospitals should be banned.

All prayers are answered. We just don't always like the answer.

Well said, well said.

I personally am still developing my views of God. I think there is someone looking out for me. There have been countless times where I feel I have been "saved" from bad situations. First couple times I felt like this was just luck, but this happens way too much and I really feel someone has their eye on me up there. Obviously I try to not put myself in trouble and all that, but I have started to pray more.

Prayer is huge when a family is mourning a loss or another tragic event. It can bring people together and it has the power of healing us emotionally.

I hope this thread remains about prayer and NOT about the validity of God or religion.

All prayers are answered. We just don't always like the answer.

That's what my mom always tells me "God answers all our prayers...sometimes the answer is 'No'"