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Snake
SFN Addict
USA
2511 Posts |
 Posted - 01/28/2002 : 01:56:08
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Poll Question:
On one of my E-groups someone posted this question:
''Does anyone know if anyone has ever done a study on what is generally asked
for in "prayer requests"?''
Then the poster gave the following possible requests. I will add others but what to you think some could be and for what reason?
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Poll Status:
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Total Votes: 0 counted »» |
Last Vote:
never |
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Garrette
SFN Regular
USA
562 Posts |
 Posted - 01/28/2002 : 05:47:25 [Permalink]
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During Catholic Mass there are publicly offered 'petitions.' If the church has an affiliated parochial school, the petitions are usually written by the elementary students and so are expectedly juvenile, but even when that is not the case, I seem to remember these being the most common types:
1. That god give world leaders the wisdom and courage to find a way to peace.
2. That the recently deceased find peace with god.
3. That families of the recently deceased find comfort in god.
4. That the youth find it in their hearts to answer the call of divinity.
5. That the fortunate among us find it in their hearts to support the church.
My kids still love me. |
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Slater
SFN Regular
USA
1668 Posts |
Posted - 01/28/2002 : 09:31:25 [Permalink]
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You forgot the relief of the souls in Purgatory (or was that #1?) and the conversion of the "heathen babies."
I remember when I used to collect change back in Co Cork in a little card board box with a slot in one side for those damned heathen babies. Had I suspected how I would trun out I would have kept those few punts (pounds, if you aren't Irish) for meself.
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The brain that was stolen from my laboratory was a criminal brain. Only evil will come from it. |
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James
SFN Regular
USA
754 Posts |
Posted - 01/28/2002 : 09:32:56 [Permalink]
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quote:
During Catholic Mass there are publicly offered 'petitions.' If the church has an affiliated parochial school, the petitions are usually written by the elementary students and so are expectedly juvenile, but even when that is not the case, I seem to remember these being the most common types:
........
4. That the youth find it in their hearts to answer the call of divinity.
5. That the fortunate among us find it in their hearts to support the church.
My only question: What if you don't find it in your heart to support the church or to answer the call of the divinity?
"Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your common sense." -Buddha |
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Boron10
Religion Moderator
USA
1266 Posts |
Posted - 01/28/2002 : 09:47:47 [Permalink]
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quote:
My only question: What if you don't find it in your heart to support the church or to answer the call of the divinity?
Well, it seems that God obviously didn't want you, eh?
-me. |
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chee
New Member
USA
35 Posts |
Posted - 01/28/2002 : 10:11:21 [Permalink]
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Prayer requests are somewhat foreign to me because I was taught that all prayer should be prayers of thanksgiving and not requests for help. The rationale was something along the lines that since everything that happens is preordained, our prayer requests would be useless unless the healing or whatever was already supposed to take place. Instead you thanked God for operating with infinite wisdom and perhaps asked him to give you strength as you coped with whatever He threw in your path, supposedly to help you grow and develop spiritually. Go figure.
A colder place I've never known, than with someone but yet alone. |
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Trish
SFN Addict
USA
2102 Posts |
Posted - 01/28/2002 : 10:46:15 [Permalink]
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Slater,
I think the RCC did away with prayers for those in purgatory a while ago. Unless you go to the pre-Vatican II churches.
'Operation Rice Bowl'. I remember that. During Lent that's my mothers swear jar. Needless to say - I give up swearing for Lent. I don't want to stick my quarter in there for saying 'damn'.
chee, the RCC has 'prayers of petition' since there's this thing called 'free will'. I never could figure out what we were supposed to be praying about following communion.
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There is no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our world. It underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've known. Sagan |
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Slater
SFN Regular
USA
1668 Posts |
Posted - 01/28/2002 : 11:57:47 [Permalink]
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quote:
I think the RCC did away with prayers for those in purgatory a while ago. Unless you go to the pre-Vatican II churches.
When I left we were still eating sacred fish 'n chips on Fridays, since hot dogs in those days would damn you to eternal torment in the flames of Hell. Woe is Oscar Meyer.
Now they just damn me to a little indigestion.
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The brain that was stolen from my laboratory was a criminal brain. Only evil will come from it. |
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Trish
SFN Addict
USA
2102 Posts |
Posted - 01/28/2002 : 11:59:40 [Permalink]
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quote:
quote:
I think the RCC did away with prayers for those in purgatory a while ago. Unless you go to the pre-Vatican II churches.
When I left we were still eating sacred fish 'n chips on Fridays, since hot dogs in those days would damn you to eternal torment in the flames of Hell. Woe is Oscar Meyer.
Now they just damn me to a little indigestion.
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The brain that was stolen from my laboratory was a criminal brain. Only evil will come from it.
I'm not old enough to remember that. My mother on the other hand talks about it constantly.
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There is no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our world. It underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've known. Sagan |
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filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
Posted - 01/28/2002 : 12:50:10 [Permalink]
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I have no idea what someone might pray for. I would suppose that the list is endless and as varied as the people praying.
What might I pray for if I were convinced that there actually was a deity listening to me and, if I were really sincere in my worship, might actually lay a little favor on me?
Probably no more than to be left alone. Indeed, I'd hate to think that such a monster existed.
f
"They will take away my Darwin Fish only when they pry it from my cold, dead bumper!" |
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Donnie B.
Skeptic Friend
417 Posts |
Posted - 01/28/2002 : 13:07:06 [Permalink]
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"Oh Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz?"
-- Donnie B.
Brian: "No, no! You have to think for yourselves!" Crowd: "Yes! We have to think for ourselves!" |
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Megan
Skeptic Friend
USA
163 Posts |
Posted - 02/18/2002 : 09:12:03 [Permalink]
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quote:
I have no idea what someone might pray for. I would suppose that the list is endless and as varied as the people praying.
What might I pray for if I were convinced that there actually was a deity listening to me and, if I were really sincere in my worship, might actually lay a little favor on me?
Probably no more than to be left alone. Indeed, I'd hate to think that such a monster existed.
Yes I am an atheist/agnostic (damn proud of it too ), but I will have to admit that I do do some praying. Well, I dont actually get down on my knees and say, "Oh Father...blah blah blah...." but I will catch myself saying, "Please God let this happen..." or something like that. Then I'll go back and curse myself for doing it. I guess doing it in the first place is kinda habit from growing up in a house that, of course, does a bucket load of praying.
Maybe I should add that to my list of habits to break....
~Megan~
"Dancers are the athletes of God." -Albert Einstein |
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Valiant Dancer
Forum Goalie
USA
4826 Posts |
Posted - 02/18/2002 : 09:46:14 [Permalink]
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quote:
"Oh Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz?"
-- Donnie B.
Brian: "No, no! You have to think for yourselves!" Crowd: "Yes! We have to think for ourselves!"
My friends all have Porche's I must make amends.
Seriously, I can only say the perponderance of prayers offered in a group setting ("prayer request") that I have experienced was for more peace in the world. Personal prayers of individual practioners tended to run the gamut of health to material. In some cases, for consolement for the survivors. Since prayer requests are based on needs of individuals, I doubt that any poll would return accurate information.
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Mespo_man
Skeptic Friend
USA
312 Posts |
Posted - 02/18/2002 : 10:40:11 [Permalink]
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quote:
"Please God let this happen..." or something like that. Then I'll go back and curse myself for doing it. I guess doing it in the first place is kinda habit from growing up in a house that, of course, does a bucket load of praying.
Maybe I should add that to my list of habits to break....
[~megan~]
I "pray" that you not injure yourself in the process.
(:raig |
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Donnie B.
Skeptic Friend
417 Posts |
Posted - 02/18/2002 : 11:13:48 [Permalink]
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The great thing about prayer requests is, of course, that you can never really tell whether or not they do any good.
Consider a prayer for world peace. If a war breaks out the next day, did the prayer fail? No, of course! The war might have been a much worse one if it hadn't been for the prayer; or perhaps, the results for the world with no war might have been much worse than the war itself (think Nazi Germany running the world).
Even in the case of a prayer for an individual (for recovery from illness, say), it's impossible to know how that individual might have fared without the prayer.
There have been attempts to test intercessary prayer in a controlled, scientific way. These tests showed a slight positive effect in the "prayed-for" groups. However, it's not clear that the tests were sufficiently randomized and well-controlled to give meaningful results. For example, if some of the patients in the "prayed-for" group found out about it, they may have done better due to a placebo effect. Likewise, if the selection of "prayed-for" individuals was slightly biased towared "healthier" patients, that would mask any prayer effect.
In my opinion, for an individual, prayer acts as a kind of meditation and self-discovery. The act of prayer may help a person set priorities and "keep his head on straight" by reminding himself what's really important.
-- Donnie B.
Brian: "No, no! You have to think for yourselves!" Crowd: "Yes! We have to think for ourselves!" |
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PhDreamer
SFN Regular
USA
925 Posts |
Posted - 02/18/2002 : 13:21:08 [Permalink]
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quote:
There have been attempts to test intercessary prayer in a controlled, scientific way. These tests showed a slight positive effect in the "prayed-for" groups. However, it's not clear that the tests were sufficiently randomized and well-controlled to give meaningful results. For example, if some of the patients in the "prayed-for" group found out about it, they may have done better due to a placebo effect. Likewise, if the selection of "prayed-for" individuals was slightly biased towared "healthier" patients, that would mask any prayer effect.
The methodological problems that I noticed in that study had to do with the application of the independent variable (prayer). The short version: they told some people whom to pray for and when but they didn't specify a particular prayer and they couldn't make sure the patients weren't being prayed for by anyone else. In other words, 'prayer' isn't a sufficiently defined process and without an objective measurement, one can't tell whose prayer is having an effect.
Laws of Thermodynamics:
1. You cannot win.
2. You cannot break even.
3. You cannot stop playing the game. |
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