Concerning Free Will: Why pray?

[DdMac679]

I have always wondered this. When it comes to the majority of all religions most can say that prayer is an important part of their life. Their prayers can focus on having a good day, that their friend gets better, or even to end abortion. Now we can agree that humans have free will and in such we live our lives by our choices. So if God gave us free will, then is it safe to say God doesn’t micro-manage? If thats true why do people pray to God to end let’s say abortion (just using as an example)? If God was to end abortion tomorrow wouldn’t that mess with free will? If so since God hasn’t ended abortion why does one continue to pray for what God won’t change?

The mind is just clunky away with thoughts. I appreciate yours.

 

[kib]

Hi. Maybe this will be of interest to you.

peterkreeft.com/audio/29_lotr_fated-free.htm

 

[John_Pascendi]

‘Free will’ is the greatest gift our Creator gave us…His children! As children we cant be expected to understand each and every action by such a superior Being. If one believes what will be will be…then dont look both ways before crossing at a busy intersection…just stare straight ahead and cross…yeh sure!..Praying as we christians do takes time and effort…hardly a prayer wheel one happens to wander near now and then and giving it a spin…no in a busy complex world we take the time and effort to have a conversation with our Maker!!! I have always liked the illustrations by Norman Rockwell on the Four Freedoms…one on the freedom of speech…it depicted a working man standing up at what looks like a town hall meeting giving his thoughts on current events…asking the whys and wherefors…thats kinda like I feel about 'free will"…we stand and ask and while waiting for an answer we go and plow another row for our crops…Pas

 

[Eucharisted]

Prayer is God’s gift of communicating with Him. Communication means communion. By offering himself to God, by giving himself to the Lord so that he is one with God, both in the sense of atuning his will to God’s and of entrusting himself to God’s providential care and holy love (and God is His Will, His Providence, and His Love), man exercises the virtues of hope, humility, and love. In hope, humility, and love, man adores and blessed God (adoration and blessing), gives Him thanks (thanksgiving), praises His Name (praise), asks Him to give him his daily needs (petition), and advocates for others as a type of meditator between the one and God (intercessions). The more the soul unites itself to God, the more it shall share in His happiness and life in the world to come, and God, wanting to give man as much of a share in His Nature as possible, gives to him many ways of communication: Prayer, sacraments, sacramentals, acts of spiritual communion, meditation, contemplation, etc. Because it is God who gives to man the gift of communicating with Himself, man can only say that God works through, with, and in him: prayer is not his to claim. But there are some who choose not to cooperate with God; rather than accept the grace of prayer, that is, rather than pray, they choose to trust in themselves, live a life of vice, and be swallowed up by the jaws of Hell. Only God can save the soul, and God, more than man, desires his eternal and absolute happiness, that is, his share in His Nature, so for man to choose to not pray is foolish and irrational.

 

[thirdn6]

I’ll try…

I’ve just saw an ad of a movie titled “The Invention of Lying”. If I have to act on my own free will and I THINK I like the movie I’ll go see it, pronto. Right away! But that’s maybe you not me. You are not a Catholic. I am. You are not aware of the graces from God that is in you maybe. I am. And my conscience is formed along with that grace.

I have free will, too. Same as you. But I’d go further than just making instantaneous decisions that depend solely on whims. I’ll read reviews. Trailers are enticing but I’d still have to find out if it’s not a bad movie. What effect it’s going to bring me. If it’s a good one I’d be tempted to see it. If it’s a bad one I’d still be tempted to go see it. But if it’s a movie that can destroy my Catholic faith I’d have to refrain. The consequences will not be good for me. To you maybe it doesn’t matter.

But God’s mercy and grace is upon me. Giving meaning to my faith, my hope for eternal life. Because of that grace I’d have to choose NOT to see that movie because it is harmful to my faith. But since I am weak (probably like you or anybody) now I have to pray that God may not take away that grace and mercy He’s given me so that I can resist the temptation. Whatever temptation. Grace that I probably have a little right now because I am still weak in my faith. Grace and mercy I don’t want to lose and I have to protect. I have to grow. The one reason I have to pray. The one reason we have to pray for others as well. Many are weak needing God’s mercy and grace. We pray for others that they may be aware of those graces and grow in their faith and become strong. Strong in resisting temptations. Strong in making godly and NOT ‘come what may’ choices. Strong in choosing life not death.

I do not pray and somehow tell and expect God’s direct intervention to stop all abortions tomorrow and interfere with women’s free will. If I do that it is tantamount of me tempting God. And the good book says that God can not be tempted.

Peace. But Truth is more important…

 

[Reuben_J]

Now we can agree that humans have free will and in such we live our lives by our choices. So if God gave us free will, then is it safe to say God doesn’t micro-manage?

I narrow it down so as not to confuse the issue.

Free will does not contradict prayer. Free will means we are free to decide what we want with our life and that includes whether to reject God or not. Free will that gives us the conflict sometimes - shall I do it or don’t?

Prayer in general is to strengthen our relationship with God so that we can act in accordance with his will and not our own. We are free to choose this. If I choose to act according to God’s will I have exercised my free will. In reality it is not as simple as that because my decision is always layered with indecisions - often attributed to other influence and attraction in life other than God’s.

I need to pray to help me to keep my decision and even to ask God to strengthen my decision so that I can be successful in implementing it in my life and in my aspiration. My aspiration can include what I want to happen in the world, for example that there’ll be no abortion. I aspire there’ll be no abortion. Why I pray to God to ask for it? - because those who undergo abortion also are exercising their free will. My free will is to ask God for them to change their decision.

It is not forcing them - many people would not go for abortion if they are convinced that God does not want them to. They will only obey God if they love him. If they don’t love him it is maybe they have not known him enough. I can always pray for God’s grace so that he may be known to those who do not know him. We can know God through many experiences in our life. God can always make a way for him to be known to such people and then it is up to them to decide.