Prayer in Christianity
Prayer involves us talking directly to God. How does he hear us? Is he with all of us all of the time? Does he have an enormous inbox with our prayers mounting up along with the politics and workings of the world? There is no representative, apart from perhaps our local vicars and ministers. But are they more qualified to take our prayers to him? Does God have a list to work through, a system, or an ability to understand who is the most important?
How does Jesus choose who is the most important? Is Moses around with stone-marked tablets relating what sin and what benefit people enact, sitting to give judgement on their actions?
How does God know who to be – the father, the son, or the holy ghost? Each of them are the same, and yet would treat people differently.
How does Jesus choose who to represent? Surely there are those who are most worthy, the most pious. If on a war strewn battlefield, who does God choose to live? If there are those who will most benefit mankind, will God demonstrate his power through his all-encompassing knowledge to propagate a world the best it can be?
How does God not interfere and yet answer our prayers? Surely this is an oxymoron? There has to be a limit where we are able to be responsible for our own actions.
I believe prayers are asked for and responded to every day. There are people I have met who have prayed for people’s health and been through their own faith and conviction able to heal and improve a person’s situation.
How does God hear all our prayers and all at the same time? Is it a matter of just getting ahead of the queue?
Jesus taught us how to pray – through the Lord’s Prayer. If our prayers are likewise better than others - if we compete better – do we gain greater favour?
Does he hear us from heaven? If so there must be a link between us and God. And what about different religions? Do we compete? Is there a pantheon of Gods that each hold a place in heaven? If we read the bible enough, if we believe sufficiently, do we gain a holy preference, a bias, a greater relationship which would benefit ourselves and our families?
If there is some reason to gain favour from God, how do we get on the right side of the Him? And is this ethical? Peoples lives and deaths are in the balance: the crusades the terrorists surely have a voice to be heard.
Even in our own churches: does kneeling make a difference? Do stain-glass windows?
Will our prayers will be answered? And which ones?
But from what I hear and experience, prayer can heal. What we therefore think in our prayers is very important and crucial to those we live and care about. The world is transformed by the creator; who if he did have a hand in forming it all, he should affect its current, past and future workings.
Does prayer simply help us help ourselves? Is prayer outdated? No. We all have problems – and want help at times. When earthly problems are unresolved we have to resort to God – but is this the right way to treat him?
Praise is the most important part of prayer – a way to respect that which is at the beginning of it all; but one maybe we hold least value in.
There is a skill in praying; our very soul being lifted or damned could be the result. But it is clouded; it is revealed only when we speak the words and when we expect the result.
God is not at our beck and call. But prayer will tell us when he has heard.