I dont pray anymore. (page 2)

Scully

If there is a god, he/she/it and I are not on speaking terms.

Everything I've ever wanted in life, I have had to work for MYSELF. Even when I believed in Jehovah and prayed, that was still true.

Now, rather than praying to god for forgiveness for my screwing up in ways only he/she/it were aware of, I meditate on where I want my life to go, and make plans on how to get there MYSELF.

If god is so loving and kind and merciful, why does the Bible say that "he will not give you a burden that you cannot bear"? Why would god want to burden people he "loves" with things like cancer and tragedies and natural disasters? God seems more like a sadist to me than anything else.

Love, Scully

flower

Amen and Amen Nosferatu!

Dawn

Wow - my heart really goes out to you. I know how you feel - I quit praying after I was DF'd - figured my prayers were never answered and fell on deaf ears anyways. But I realize now that my prayers WERE being answered, it just wasn't the answer I was expecting or looking for.

When my son was little and I was trying so very hard to be a good JW, aux pioneering, trying to find work to support myself and my son that wouldn't require working on meeting nights (and on and on) - I prayed for help - I was miserable and prayed that God would make me happy. One day I walked into the restroom of a large office building to freshen-up before an interview there. A woman was walking out the door - she turned around and came back in and said that the Lord had given her a message for me - that he heard me and had a plan for my life. Of course, I was a JW at the time and thought she must be crazy.

But she was right. All these years later I look back on the circumstances that have evolved to find me in the position I'm in now and I realize it was a purposly woven plan for my life. It hasn't always been fun - many things I've been through I have begged to be released from - I have been through abuse, depression, the loss of my father, my brother's murder, to name a few - but I now look back and realize that every one of those experiences helped me grow to the person I am today. I don't believe God caused these experiences - but I do believe he can use them to our advantage - as the scripture says "beauty from ashes". I really like who I am now - I am happy and content - and I now know that I have the strength to overcome many things. I'm not afraid any more. I know would not have made it to this point of healing and growth had I not been on this path.

With that being said - I do believe God hears our prayers, and I do believe he answers them. But it's not always the answer we wanted - or when we wanted it.

Doubtfully Yours

Best said by the comical character Bart Simpson right before eating his meal...

"Dear God, we paid and prepaired all this ourselves so... thanks for nothing."

HA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

DY

mouthy

Oh NO!!!! You all said when you saw my post>>> lets skip HER!!!! But I dont care I "aint "called Mouthy for nuthin( I know the spelling is wrong-but I like it that way) So you dont pray EH!???? So O.K. your free to pray or not!!! Why do you feel guilty???? >>>God ( The ONE I speak to) said your FREE!!!! he isnt hanging on to you.. You all make me giggle!!! Men of the WT told you jump & you said "how high"?& you DID!!!! The Creator said " I laid down my life for you to be FREE- take it or leave it ( well not in so many words BUT that is what it meant. ) So you dont want to pray!! DONT!!!! but I am telling you that GUILT is the most distructive force in the world..... If I was you (IMOP) I would throw up a prayer & stop feeling guilty -You might say " If your there God I would appreciate you helping ME to understand.,Because I was in the WT for so many years etc: & they turned me off you!!!! But this stupid old lady that messes with the JWD line- said "give it a try???? So here I am trying to get rid of my guilt>> O.K.????SLAMS THE DOOR SHUT> should get the soap to wash out their mouths for what they are calling me. But I will pass on this one.....Go on feeling guilty guys. !!!! Because I can vouch for HIM.... He Does answer those HE wants to...... & since it is HIS creation I guess he can ruddy well do what he wants. If Simon can do what HE likes with this board -I dont see any reason why the Creator of the World cant do what HE like with something HE started.

Sara Annie

Let's just assume for a minute that there is a God. There is an all powerful, all knowing, loving creator of the universe who knows your very heart and mind and loves you deeply as his precious child and creation, who wants you to be happy and fulfilled.

Do you really think that the fact that you don't stop and actively direct your thoughts toward him at specific times of day using scripted words and repetitive phrases is noted with anger or sadness? Do you think that the God who knows your every desire, your every thought, your every feeling--the god who made you in his image--is really bothered by this?

Be gentle with yourself as you examine and reform your beliefs. A very good friend of mine (who happens to be a nun) once said to me that she takes comfort in the thought that the desire to pray, or thought about prayer, is a prayer in and of itself.

Puternut

Don't you just love Mouthy? Words of wisdom.

Puternut

itsallgoodnow

I love that bart simpson reference. forgot about that one.

I used to pray sometimes, and only when I was having trouble with some big problem. The not praying routinely made me feel guilty because all JWs are supposed to pray several times a day! And after awhile, I believed the JW b.s. that I wasn't good enough for god to want to hear my prayers.

Praying had always felt forced and unnatural. I don't see the point really and I never felt that my prayers were answered. If I get struck by lightning now, I'll know I was wrong about that one!

Elsewhere

It wasn't until I was well into my 20's that I realized... or better yet... admitted to myself that I was an atheist.

I remember how all my life I had a hard time praying... it always seemed so silly. I couldn't help but think that I was just talking to myself. I felt absolutely no "connection" with any deity of any sort. I always hated it when I was called to pray at a meeting... I had absolutely NO idea what to say so I would struggle to recall what others had said in their prayers and then piece-mill together a prayer based on what I could recall. I eventually settled into a generic prayer that I always said. Sometimes I wonder if anyone ever caught on to the fact that every prayer I said was exactly the same.

Don't be upset by what you are experiencing... you are growing and changing.

If you want I can give you the number to an Atheist Prayer Line... when you call, it rings and rings and rings... but no one ever answers.

Edited to add:

Praying had always felt forced and unnatural

This is exactly how I have always perceived prayer.

flower

(((((grace))))) I couldnt agree with you more. Guilt is one of the most destructive of all feelings. No one should feel guilty for what they do or dont do.

He Does answer those HE wants to...... & since it is HIS creation I guess he can ruddy well do what he wants. ...

-I dont see any reason why the Creator of the World cant do what HE like with something HE started.

No offense but this is precisely why I believe if there is a God hes one cruel SOB. He wanted to answer the prayers of the NE Patriots when they gathered around and asked him to help them win the Superbowl but He didnt want to answer the prayer of the innocent people aboard the flights targeted by the terrorists on 9-11.

Ah yes but I am incapable of knowing his big 'plan' cause I'm a mere speck .

Oh cmon, dont get mad Granny, I'm just tryin to earn the title of Mouthy2!

I dont pray anymore.

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