Why pray?

by ashitaka 39 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

• 

  RAYZORBLADE

  When I think of that....prayer.

  I think of disasters, and horrific accidents, and people are praying, and they are either brutally killed or maimed. Hmm...'um god, you sleeping on the job dude?'

  2 songs come to mind: Led Zeppelin's "When The Levee Breaks" -

  " crying won't help you, prayin' will do you know good, coz when the levee breaks mama you have to move "

  Gordon Lightfoot: "Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald"

  " ....does anyone know where the love of god goes, when the waves turn the minutes to hours? "

  I'm sure someone could add to this.

  If you pray, that's fine, but I don't. I talk to other people instead, I get answers there.
• 

  StinkyPantz

  J6OCR6-

  You asked:

  Special? How did you arrive at me thinking of myself as being special?

  I arrive at this because you attributed "things falling into place" because of your prayers to God. If you answers you prayers and not others then you must be more special. Get it? So if you are more special, I want to know why.

  You also asked:

  When I arise in the morning, I do my 15 minute exercises and everything falls into place. Will you know question my exercises?

  Yes, I will question them. If you attribute your well-being to exercise then yes I'd love to know what you're doing and why they work so well for you.
• 

  Dawn

  That's a very good question. One "believers" seem to ignore.

  I am a "believer" and I certainly do not ignore this. I don't know why some prayers are answered and some seem to go unanswered. I would like to know the reason! Why do children suffer?! It is not fair.

  I remain a believer because I now recognize that I do not have all the answers, and will not in this life-time. This is a whole new understanding that developed after I was ex'd from the JW's. As a 'dub you have ALL the answers - always - to everything. There's always an answer.

  The truth is - we don't know all the answers. And life is unfair - and bad things happen to good people, including children, and we don't know why.

  One day I will meet my Lord. I will thank him for all that he has done for me, I will show him the honor and respect he deserves, and I will not be afraid to ask him WHY - and then I will have the answer.

  Until then - I do what I can in this life to help those that I can and to protect those that I can. I can not save the world - but I can save one person.
• 

  Guest 77

  Stinkypants, I take life as it comes, when problems I solve them right there and then. I don't sit back and pray and ask my Creator for assistance. He's given me the necessary equipment to do what I can under my given circumstances. My life is no different than anyone else, except I will do something about it, its like golf, you make things happen.

  I expect and confront daily problems and I meet them head-on. So, once I'm finished with my prayer and exercices, I'm ready. Nothing special about that.

  Guest 77
• 

  ARoarer

  Hi Ashi,

  First How are you and Mrs. Ash doing. Hopefully we can again get together soon. We miss you, but somehow the year flew by and we goat involved with different things that life bring. Mostly good though.

  I don't pray the same way anymore. I can't even use the name Jehovah. I used to when I firs left. Now I cringe at the name because I associate it with WT Publishing Corp. and thier lawyers. But I do believe the Creator of the Universe is the source of all life energy and we are all connected. I once read we are made out of stars. That kind of goes along with the latest scientific findings from the Hubble space telescope discovering the universe is exploding outward from a source billions and billions of years old, proving thier is a "creator" & source of life. I believe the article was in Newsweek or Time Mag, and actually said scientists discover there is a God.I certainly reject WT dogma about all of it's God propaganda. I pray because I kmow there is a higher power out there. When we pray, we ask this higher energy source of life to be "aware" and become involved in our life. I know that our "human" requests seem to go unanswered but in my journey on this planed this source of life is very much connected to me.If nothing else I become renewed in my strength and resolve to solve my life problems and enjoy my life treasures.
• 

  gumby

  Is it a desperate hope that, if there is a God, that he actually cares

  Yes.

  Praying all my life as a dub doesn't just go away when your beliefs change.......it's programmed habit.

  I wonder if there is a loving creator and sometimes I pray........and guess what happens? I get mad and I stop praying sometimes. Why? Because I get mad about the fact that people pray and beg and plead........and shit STILL happens. Sometimes I feel fooloish for doing it.

  I look at the world, the suffering, the fear, and get mad all over again.

  I am still in the pissed at god stage. I believed in him all my life and hoped in his promises and his word. When you realise you may have been simply taken in by the world most proficent multi-level marketing scam......it tends to make you bitter.

  Gumby
• 

  Guest 77

  Gumby, my parents were not christians to begin with so we already believed in a Creator, not God. In our culture and language he is called, "One who made us". He is personal to us.

  Guest 77
• 

  Dansk

  I

  can't even use the name Jehovah.

  Don't blame you! It's erroneous!

  Dansk
• 

  ashitaka

  Because I get mad about the fact that people pray and beg and plead........and shit STILL happens. Sometimes I feel fooloish for doing it.

  I can definitely understand that. About feeling the fool, I think that's why I just don't bother. I feel foolish for asking the invisible man for help, when I'm on my own anyway.

  I was talking to my wife last night, and I was saying that, to me, praying is like part of a twelve step program.....I will do this, thanks "God" for doing this, ask God for that. Positive reassurance without an actual reassurance, because I don't know about the rest of you, but I've never gotten an answer.

  ash
• 

  Dansk

  don't know about the rest of you, but I've never gotten an answer.

  You may have and not noticed! I'll not undermine anyone's faith unless they try and push it on to me. Prayers may be heard - then again they might not. Who knows?

  If I pray and what I pray for results, then I'm going to believe in prayer. What I would never know is what would have happened if I hadn't prayed!

  It's the old fear factor again! Personally, I pray a lot less these days - more often, not at all!

  Dansk