Your thoughts on prayer

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Ruth Gregory Posts: 8072 Joined: 25th Jul 2007 Location: USA	Posted at 15:25 on 28th August 2008 On 28th August 2008 10:14, John Ravenscroft wrote: Hi, Ruth. I love your posts. Always calm, balanced and thoughtful. OK, getting back to the idea of prayer - did you know there have been scientific studies designed to find out whether or not it works? I'd be interested to hear what people have to say about the results. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3193902.stm Hello, John. Thanks for your kind remarks. Just trying to walk the talk, you know? It's 7:25 here and I'm fixin to run out the door, so I'll check out the link tonight and get back to you. Hope you're having a great day and your arm isn't hurting too much. Seeya later. My favourite: Pictures \| Towns \| Attractions
Ruth Gregory Posts: 8072 Joined: 25th Jul 2007 Location: USA	Posted at 15:28 on 28th August 2008 On 28th August 2008 11:09, Mick Bean wrote: Sue wrote... Mick, speaking only for myself, I have no desire to change your or John's beliefs. I am just defending my own. Like Alan, I am sorry that due credit isn't given to a the Supreme Being for his stupendous handiwork. But that is entirely up to you and I respect that. If anyone is trying to 'convert' around here it's John!! Just to say none of my comments referred to anybody on this thread, it was all references from my past experiences. Hi Mick: Thanks for explaining that. I agree, I've been in some heated discussions, but not online. At my church!! We've simply got to lose the us and them mentality. My favourite: Pictures \| Towns \| Attractions
Ruth Gregory Posts: 8072 Joined: 25th Jul 2007 Location: USA	Posted at 15:31 on 28th August 2008 Thanks, Cathy. Hope you're having a good day too. My favourite: Pictures \| Towns \| Attractions
Alan Marron Posts: 726 Joined: 14th Jul 2008 Location: UK	Posted at 17:18 on 28th August 2008 A wise man once told me that prayer doesn't need a single word to be spoken, because it's nothing more than a believing heart uplifted to God. Perhaps that's why so many of mine seemed to go unanswered. My favourite: Pictures \| Towns \| Attractions
Alan Marron Posts: 726 Joined: 14th Jul 2008 Location: UK	Posted at 05:15 on 29th August 2008 On 28th August 2008 14:13, John Ravenscroft wrote: I've never heard of him either, Alan - so I looked him up on Google. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacGyver Isn't the Internet wonderful? Thanks John, I never thouight of Wiki for some reason. As I never watch television at all, it's hardly surprising that I'd never heard of him. My favourite: Pictures \| Towns \| Attractions
Ruth Gregory Posts: 8072 Joined: 25th Jul 2007 Location: USA	Posted at 04:21 on 30th August 2008 Remember way back when, over a month ago now, when I started this thread? The book by Joyce Rupp called Prayer that I quoted? Here's another excerpt: "The longer we pray, the more we realize prayer is bigger than we are, more expansive and deeper. When we least expect it, our prayer brings us into further clarity about who we are and how we are to be with God and the world. These experiences encourage us to lessen our stroghold on wanting to control, to know and have proof. Unexpected graced moments in prayer restore our confidence in the process and help us trust our intention to become more loving. These little glimpses encourage us to give ourselves to what we believe to be of most value. We leave the finished product of prayer to the one who knows the longings of our heart." My favourite: Pictures \| Towns \| Attractions
John Ravenscroft Posts: 321 Joined: 21st Sep 2007 Location: UK	Posted at 09:41 on 30th August 2008 On 30th August 2008 04:21, Ruth Gregory wrote: Remember way back when, over a month ago now, when I started this thread? The book by Joyce Rupp called Prayer that I quoted? Here's another excerpt: "The longer we pray, the more we realize prayer is bigger than we are, more expansive and deeper. When we least expect it, our prayer brings us into further clarity about who we are and how we are to be with God and the world. These experiences encourage us to lessen our stroghold on wanting to control, to know and have proof. Unexpected graced moments in prayer restore our confidence in the process and help us trust our intention to become more loving. These little glimpses encourage us to give ourselves to what we believe to be of most value. We leave the finished product of prayer to the one who knows the longings of our heart." Ruth, the problem with quotes like that (in my opinion) is that they sound fine but they don't really mean anything. You can substitute almost any word you like for the word 'pray' and the quotations still seems to make sense. Look: "The longer we vote, the more we realize voting is bigger than we are, more expansive and deeper. When we least expect it, our votes brings us into further clarity about who we are and how we are to be with George Bush and the world. These experiences encourage us to lessen our stronghold on wanting to control, to know and have proof. Unexpected graced moments in voting restore our confidence in the process and help us trust our intention to become more loving. These little glimpses encourage us to give ourselves to what we believe to be of most value. We leave the finished product of voting to the one who knows the longings of our heart." When it comes to prayer, the question we really need to know the answer to (again in my opinion) is quite simple: does God exist? If he does, and if he listens to your prayers, then all that time spent on your knees with your eyes closed makes complete sense. If he doesn't exist - if there's no one to listen to your prayers - then in practical terms you're wasting a large proportion of your life. Somewhere on the Net there is an interesting article on why people believe unlikely things. If I get time later on today I'll try to find it and post the link here. My favourite: Pictures \| Towns \| Attractions
John Ravenscroft Posts: 321 Joined: 21st Sep 2007 Location: UK	Posted at 13:41 on 30th August 2008 Haven't found what I was looking for yet - but I did find this. http://www.pointofinquiry.org/guy_p_harrison_50_reasons_people_give_for_believing_in_a_god/ Fascinating 30 min audio conversation that covers many of the things we've discussed in this thread. I'd love to hear reactions to some of the points raised. My favourite: Pictures \| Towns \| Attractions
Cathy E. Posts: 8474 Joined: 15th Aug 2008 Location: USA	Posted at 13:45 on 30th August 2008 A tiny interuption Ruth, I love your avatar!!!!! My favourite: Pictures \| Towns \| Attractions
Cathy E. Posts: 8474 Joined: 15th Aug 2008 Location: USA	Posted at 13:49 on 30th August 2008 On 30th August 2008 09:41, John Ravenscroft wrote: On 30th August 2008 04:21, Ruth Gregory wrote: Remember way back when, over a month ago now, when I started this thread? The book by Joyce Rupp called Prayer that I quoted? Here's another excerpt: "The longer we pray, the more we realize prayer is bigger than we are, more expansive and deeper. When we least expect it, our prayer brings us into further clarity about who we are and how we are to be with God and the world. These experiences encourage us to lessen our stroghold on wanting to control, to know and have proof. Unexpected graced moments in prayer restore our confidence in the process and help us trust our intention to become more loving. These little glimpses encourage us to give ourselves to what we believe to be of most value. We leave the finished product of prayer to the one who knows the longings of our heart." Ruth, the problem with quotes like that (in my opinion) is that they sound fine but they don't really mean anything. You can substitute almost any word you like for the word 'pray' and the quotations still seems to make sense. Look: "The longer we vote, the more we realize voting is bigger than we are, more expansive and deeper. When we least expect it, our votes brings us into further clarity about who we are and how we are to be with George Bush and the world. These experiences encourage us to lessen our stronghold on wanting to control, to know and have proof. Unexpected graced moments in voting restore our confidence in the process and help us trust our intention to become more loving. These little glimpses encourage us to give ourselves to what we believe to be of most value. We leave the finished product of voting to the one who knows the longings of our heart." When it comes to prayer, the question we really need to know the answer to (again in my opinion) is quite simple: does God exist? If he does, and if he listens to your prayers, then all that time spent on your knees with your eyes closed makes complete sense. If he doesn't exist - if there's no one to listen to your prayers - then in practical terms you're wasting a large proportion of your life. Somewhere on the Net there is an interesting article on why people believe unlikely things. If I get time later on today I'll try to find it and post the link here. John, If God did not exist and you spent all that time on your knees then think about the fact that by talking out all of your thoughts in peace and quiet can also help you to understand better the problems and how to handle them. You learn by calmly going over these things in your head. You come to a greater understanding. My favourite: Pictures \| Towns \| Attractions