I will be interested to see who here thinks they can speak for god.

My higher power doesn’t want to smite anyone. That is contra to my higher power’s power.

LOL!!! I guess the same way a mom would smite a 2 year old going, “MAMA! MAMA! MAMA! MAMA! MAMA! MAMA!MAMA! MAMA! MAMA!MAMA! MAMA! MAMA!MAMA! MAMA! MAMA!MAMA! MAMA! MAMA!MAMA! MAMA! MAMA!MAMA! MAMA! MAMA!MAMA! MAMA! MAMA!MAMA! MAMA! MAMA!MAMA! MAMA! MAMA!MAMA! MAMA! MAMA!MAMA! MAMA! MAMA!MAMA! MAMA! MAMA!MAMA! MAMA! MAMA!MAMA! MAMA! MAMA!”

Naw, god is more sophisticated than that

Oh, that is so splendid @ragingloli!

Your prayer is important to us. Your prayer will be answered in the order that it was received.

He’s got his hearing aids turned off.

@RedDeerGuy1 Why do you ask so many questions that try to make fun of people’s beliefs when you are a declared atheist?

Prayer works in ways you may not comprehend. It isn’t some deal or get out of jail free card. Many mystics pray continually. And St Francis taught, “live your life as a prayer.”

@zenvelo I ask all questions that pop into my mind that I can’t answer. I am being tongue in cheek. I was raised Roman Catholic and was put though a lot of grief. I was asking questions because I secretly want to come back to the faith. Just on my terms and I would like to be conservative again. ( Wife , family, career, kids, home). I would like to be forgiven and cut some slack until I can handle demands of the faith again. Edited

Kudos to both of you, @zenvelo and @RedDeerGuy1

Most people do not pray like mystics or even Biblical evangelists and disciples. Most people pray frivolously or for their own comfort and prosperity. Christians and pseudo-Christians shold only pray for God’s will and the means to do it.

God doesn’t get annoyed at those who pray for such other things but its not a very spiritual way to live one’s prayer life.

Praying for others, even ones enemies, is what God requires

I remember being in catechism classes or some such, and the instructor/priest/whatever said that “God” listens to prayers when you pray for the needs of someone else, not yourself. I always thought that was an interesting line of thought.

@canidmajor I can speak for “God.” Check my next post.

The short answer is there’s no limit.

God only answers prayers for Dallas Cowboy fans.

I never understood how prayer works. In Judaism, you are only supposed to give prayers of thanks, not asking for something. If God knows what you want and how you feel, why would you ever have to ask for anything? Why should it be necessary to suck up to him? I have heard it said that prayers are only intended for the person doing the praying, to be able to express their feelings. That makes a lot more sense than expecting to change God’s mind about what he will be doing.

^^^ Right?

Praying has always been a form of calming meditation for me. I like praying.

@Dutchess_III you are a professed atheist, what do you communicate with when you pray?

First of all, I haven’t always been an atheist. That didn’t happen until I met Rarebear in 2007 or so. I asked how someone could be an atheist jew, LOL! And here we are.
When I did pray I didn’t really expect anything to come of it. I don’t think I actually prayed to anything. That’s just kinda dumb, IMO, and I’ve always felt that way. However, it did calm me down. So does taking some deep breaths and imagining sand and fog, though.