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I don't pray because I'm not religious and it does nothing for me. It may serve no purpose to some people but for some people prayer gives them hope and it can do a lot for someone.

For me, prayer means self-reassurance. The philosopher in me tells me that people are indirectly acknowledging the god within them. Prayer also helps calm the mind, which increases productivity.

Of course, I don't think a lot of people will agree.

But I believe that to be a simple logical thesis.

@ChristMyRedeemer

There's probably a misunderstanding in that picture which I'm show good old Dustin will clear up.

The definition of " Prayer " varies among cultures and religions. So, define what prayer you are talking about...

It's really the time for humanity to take a dump.

But note that this is within the context of Christianity. Most evangelical Christians believe that prayer is important as a way to seek God's help or advice, and they also believe at the same time that God has laid out a divine plan for everyone's life. Therefore, their prayers would logically have to follow that flow chart, resulting in a paradox.

Correct, I am specifically referring to the prayer practiced by evangelical Christians.

There is actually a flaw in that flow of logic there. It may not be in God's plan but that's what miracles are for, yeah? So even if it's not in the plan, it could still happen, no matter how unlikely.

The way I see it, it depends on where the prayer is about. Most people who pray are praying for help or are giving thanks of some sort.
So it really just depends. The way I see it, prayer is a way to ask for some extra help on matters you have no control over (or at least not much control over). Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. In my experience, it's hit and miss.

It completely depends and since I'm not God I can't exactly tell you if there is a plan in the first place and why it's hit and miss. I can only tell you that I've seen miracles happen before.

The purpose of prayer is to ask for help and to give thanks so it does serve a purpose. That is the purpose. The purpose, you could say, is a way to communicate with God. However that doesn't mean it'll necessarily happen (getting answered that is). So prayers not being answered doesn't mean it doesn't have a purpose - it just means it hasn't been answered. For all we know it could be answered in some weird, twisted, roundabout way later on in life. It just depends.


When dealing with anything involving God, there's that one thing most people tend to forget - He's God. Even if you don't believe in God, in order to argue all sides, you have to at least understand something about Him and that's that He could do anything. It's the "wild card" element, if you will, it's the "anything is possible" option.
I suppose you could say that because He could do anything, if one were to ask for help enough and really meant it - then He could help, even if that wasn't apart of the original plan. And being God, I bet He could easily rearrange things from the plan in order to grant a miracle.

That is, of course, all assuming... is there a plan in the first place? Or is it more like a guideline? Because I doubt most people on Earth are living according to Gods plan today. If they are, then God has a horrible sense of humor. So given that I don't believe there's a plan for most people. Some people, perhaps, but not most.

So not one but two possibly logical errors in that picture. Assuming miracles cannot happen, and assuming there's a plan for everyone in the first place. Or maybe even three, suggesting prayer serves no purpose simply because it's not answered. The purpose of a phone is to call someone, but that doesn't mean they'll pick up.

Why wouldnt a prayer serve no purpouse? A prayer is meant to connect you with God. When you pray, you dont beg, you talk with God, and ask him for things, thank him and ask forgivness.

http://www.purposedriven.com/blogs/d...contentid=4279

Read it, its not long.

Also, read these here, hopefully youll understand the meaning of prayer after these(that is if you dont already) :

But pretty much that link, the last paragraph sums it up.

http://www.gotquestions.org/why-pray.html

Also a good link, a little longer but more specific.

Which ones? Evangelical is a categorical description which applies to many very different groups.

Gotquestions.org is typically a good source for a summary, it tends to lean toward the Southern Baptist/Evangelical Free route.