Question about praying--your opinion

[Nova]

I find myself saying little prayers all day long. Sometimes just "one liners", or when a person pops into my head, I ask the Lord to watch over them, things like that.

When Harry first got dx'd, I prayed he would be cured. When that didn't happen, I prayed for more time. Then I prayed he wouldn't be so sick from the chemo, then I prayed that whatever chemo he was on at the time, would at least "contain" the cancer to one area, etc., etc.

Then I started getting frustrated, and started praying for more of my prayers to be answered!

I've often wondered what the best prayer is?.... I hate to say "Lord, Your Will be Done", because if it's his will to take Harry away from me for some unknown reason,I'll be darned if I'm going to pray that! Nope, nope, and absolutely not.

Just wondered what you guys think about it?

Ever find yourself outright begging for things? (I do!) I wasn't raised that way though. I was taught that the Lord is a loving God, not someone you have to beg and plead things to, over and over.

Just curious about your thoughts.

Take care All,

Nova

[sharyn]

Actually, my prayers have changed alot through the past years. Being brought up strict Catholic and going to Catholic schools most of my life, I prayed like I was taught too. The Hail Mary, The Our Father etc....

Now, I don't really "pray", I simply talk to God... Could be a simple.. Thanks Lord for the beautiful sunset I am looking at right now...

I often ask him to look after my Dad - make sure Dad knows how much I love him etc... just plain old conversations... it works for me.

[wendyr]

When Maurice was first diagnosed, my prayers were frantic pleas for healing and I wanted that healing fast. Over the last 2 years I have come to accept that healing may not be in Maurice's future and so most of my prayers now are not really formal prayers, just conversations with God. I still ask him for healing for Maurice, recognizing that He alone is the Great Physician, and I thank him for all the blessings I've enjoyed in my life, but in the end I always let him know that I understand that it is His will that will be done, and not mine. I guess I've reached a level of acceptance that 2 years ago I never thought would have been possible. When little things go my way or when an obstacle is overcome, I always try to remember to thank Him.

wendyr

[kathy86]

I try so hard to follow what they say about faith. You should only ask once, and then really believe that your prayers are answered. I too struggle with the God's will be done. I prayed that His will is the same as mine, to live many more decades. I recently read the book, The Secret, by Rhonda Byrne. This book, like many others before it, talks about the power of positive thinking, positive attitude, positive everything. . When I was little, my Mom's favorite book was "The Power of Positive Thinking" by Norman Vincent Peale. My Mom is still the most positive influence in my life. My husband trys so hard, I don't think he can think of my condition in "reality", it's too hard for those so close to us. Faith is really the only answer. Stay positive and keep positive thoughts in your mind, shove the negative ones out the second you know they are there. I imagine being a primary caregiver is more heartwrenching then being the patient. Hang in there. My positive thoughts and prayers are with all.

[laban]

Nova,

This is a great question and an excellent subject. I talk to God all the time. I do let him know how thankful I am for the strength he gives me. I thank him for sharing with me,his birds that land on the feeder outside the kitchen window. I thank Him for the peace I have in my heart sometimes. I will tell you that more and more I say the Serenity Prayer. I say it over and over at times. I use it for many different situations and in the end, it's simply acceptance and courage and faith.

[Donna G]

Boy this is a deep question. I don't believe the Lord wishes any harm on us for He loves us. The Lord's will is that we know him, love him, and be with him forever. I believe he can use any circumstance for our greater good. I believe we can pray for a cure but it is most important that we know he is with us through life and in the bad times we need to pray that we can see him and his work during these times. Perhaps in these times we learn how to reach out to others.

By the way studies by Harvard University done by double blind also showed that people who were prayed for did better, had fewer complications etc even if they did not know they were prayed for.

DonnaG

[Guest hearrean]

I am currently reading a book (perhaps somewhat controversial) where the author states that each of us already have healing within us. Everything that we typically ask of God has already been granted when Jesus gave his life for us on the cross. IOW, God has already healed us from any & all afflictions. We just have to learn how to make that healing manifest from the spiritual realm into the physical. It goes on to say there can be many things that keep our wishes from being fulfilled; faith, Satan, etc.

So our prayers (based upon this author's belief) should be something like..."Dear Lord, Thank you so much for healing me & freeing me of this disease........". Of course as he states, we must have faith this has been granted. The author states that once we understand this concept & truly put it's practices into motion, our life changes in an unbelievable way.

Admittedly, this is kind of hard for me to get my mind around, but it is another belief/teaching & I do read as much as I can here lately to continually help strengthen my faith.

There's much more to the book than this, but this is it's primary subject. Just thought I'd share..

Ken

[cat127]

Actually the Harvard study showed the opposite. That there was no difference between the groups and in fact that a group that knew they were being prayed for had a higher complication rate. There are some interesting articles out there by the principal investigator where he says something about God not being impressed with their academic credentials. I remember the authors stating after about 10 yrs of study, that they could never control for the fact that people in the non-prayer group were likely still being prayed for by friends and family. As a scientist used to designing studies I remember thinking at the time - well yeah, how did you think you could control praying? They had religious groups praying for some patients and not others, but that doesn't mean no one is praying for the 'control group'.

That said, and even though I'm a scientist through and through, I'm also a Catholic school graduate and I pray all the time for Kelly to have positive results from whatever is going on at the time.

[Bev'sSister]

I prayed like a monk gone mad when Beverly was going through her illness.

We have come to the realization that even though we prayed for a cure..God's will was done..but the praying helped because she did not have to suffer. She was at peace when she died and she was not in pain.

I really don't know what to say..Harry may be one of the ones he will cure..I know that it can happen.

I used to say with Beverly, that I know "HE" can cure her...I just don't know if he will.

I will continue to pray for a miracle for Harry.

Love to you Nova,

Stay Strong

Bobby

[ztweb]

Nova,

I have been through the wringer with these very same questions! I do know this...any conversation with God is better than no conversation at all.

I remember being really mad at God, when dad was diagnosed, my daughter was a preemie, and then had all day every day colic....I asked a friend (a nun, by the way) why God would do this. What had I done to deserve all of this? I told her, to be honest, that I was just mad at Him. She laughed, and told me, "That's OK, God can handle it. In fact, He kind of likes it that you are mad at Him, at least then you are admitting that He is in control."

Now, I don't know how far I would go with this one, but I will say that I do think that God is wanting your prayer, wanting your engagement, and therefore, those little prayers, as long as they are heartfelt, are great.

Thank you for those prayers, and please know you have my own as well!

Blessings,

Jen

[LovesLife]

Nova:

I have an upcoming baptism at Easter in the Catholic Church - this is to let you know I am absolutely no expert on this subject.

I, too, perform the formal Catholic prayers; however, my priest has told me repeatedly that conversation with God, as you would with a friend, is more than welcomed by Him. I have had moments of anger with him and as I understand it, so did many of His followers and they were still deeply loved. Sometimes my prayers are selfish ones, sometimes they are gratitude prayers and sometimes they are just questioning prayers (which I will not get answers to now). I don't believe there is a right or a wrong way to pray - conversing with Him is the key.

Speaking of books, my favorite book is "The Secret Things of God" which is based on The Secret but encompasses where God fits into the entire picture. I have given it to many friends and family members (including my priest) and they have loved it.

I pray for you and your family often Nova. I know, many can say it may not help, but I believe perhaps if He hears the names enough He will help. It may not be with healing (I pray it is), but perhaps with strength, peace, etc.

Thank you for bringing up this topic as it has helped to read other view points and ideas. Thank you Nova, for all your prayers for others - you are a very special lady.

Linda

[Nova]

Thank you all for posting your thoughts and beliefs.

I guess I'm just going over a speed bump right now.

It's an old habit with me, that when I see anything beautiful, (beautiful to me anyway), that I automatically say; "Thank you for sharing that with me, Lord"!

Like Laurie, the things that sometimes take my breath away, are the wild birds at the feeder, the big cranes that come to steal fish out of my pond, a mushroom in the yard that makes me think that Fairies absolutely have to live under it, , an unexpected hug from one of my grandbabie's, etc.

There are so many GOOD things. I just have to keep reminding myself of that.

Thank you, everyone.

Nova