The World of Grandpa Don

. Why Pray?

Last week I gave my answer to the question; "Is there a God?"  It may seem that I was saying that God put the universe in motion and He stands back and lets things happen. Well, That is what I am saying, ... to some extent. I do believe that He does intervene in some cases. There have been documented and undocumented miracles throughout history. But I do not want to speak of them at this time. I want to speak of why we should pray.

Have you noticed that when some people get really mad at another person, they refuse to talk to them? It is a way of saying "You don't exist!" So, No matter how we pray or what we pray for, we are acknowledging God's existence. Not only that, we are acknowledging Him as superior to us because, although we can not see, touch, smell, or hear Him, we expect that He will hear us. In this alone, prayer is good.

In the movie Shadow Land, a former atheist who's loved one is dying wants to be alone to pray. He is asked by a friend, "Do you think that praying is going to do her any good?" His answer was, "I don't pray to change God's mind, I pray to change me." Prayer, by acknowledging God, brings us closer to God, and He to us. If you give a brief "Hello" to a neighbor each morning and go on your way, you will never get to know him. But if you spend more time with him you will get to know and understand each other. An excellent prayer which Anne hung in the kitchen is; "God, I know that nothing will happen today that You and I can't handle". Prayer can bring serenity, acceptance and strength. (I can testify to that.)

That is, I think, where God does intervene and He does it a lot. Many people who are ill or injured become stronger in spirit and more able to cope with the situation as a result of prayer. There have been studies showing that people who have been prayed for, have better recoveries than those who have not. This is true even when the person does not know that prayers are being said. 

When we pray, acknowledging our dependence on God, we open ourselves to the influence of the Spirit. I find that when prayer is followed by a time of silent meditation about the problems I face, I am somehow inspired to make decisions which are more beneficial to me. In other instances, things occur that lead me to the correct path. It is not instantaneous and may take weeks or years of praying but there is an answer if we open ourselves to it.

I had a problem with the timing of prayer. It did not make sense, for instance, for people to be praying for good test results on the day they were to be announced  whether they were medical tests or final exams. The medical condition was there or the studying was finished. The test had been taken and evaluated. It is too late to pray! But, we need to remember to whom we pray and where He is. God lives in Eternity. Consider that eternity is not temporal, that is, it is not constrained by the sequence of events of time. I have come to believe (in temporal terms) that when we pray, our prayers are heard exactly when they are needed, be that right now, next month, or last year. This is why it makes sense to me to pray for the deceased. That is not to say that if we all pray for it, God will reverse history and erase the terrorist attack of 9/11/01. But remember that even Jesus prayed that "This cup be taken from me", even as his enemies were approaching. And the answer to His prayer came giving Him the strength and faith necessary to add "... but not My will, but Thy will be done" and the strength of purpose to complete the ordeal ahead.

So, Pray. ...

• In Prayer God knows that we acknowledge Him.

• In Prayer we become closer to God.

• In prayer we gain strength in the knowledge that He is there for us.

• In Prayer we open ourselves to the inspiration of the Spirit.

• If the entire world prayed for peace and love, there would be no one left to do evil.

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If you don't know what to say, 
go to the Prayers & Life page.

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