Should we downplay prayer?

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sunnyman3

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I’m really struggling to believe prayer has much affect at all. I think all have heard the why doesn’t god heal amputees question. But for me it struck me that god just rarely intervenes in a big way. So how many people with cancer are really being healed by god versus it just going away?

I struggle to believe that its really god involved in any of the smaller things we pray for.
 
God doesn’t always grant our request when we pray. He didn’t grant his own Son’s request to “let this cup pass from him” in the Garden of Gethsemane, because it wasn’t God’s will that the cup pass. In the case where God is not giving us what we ask for, we need to think about how and why God’s will might be different from our own. We also should make any prayer request with the understanding that God’s will be done, not our will. We need to wholly submit ourselves to God’s will, realizing that God is in control and he knows best.

We don’t measure the efficacy of prayer by “how many people get cured of cancer”. We have no idea if our prayer is somehow helping in a different, even greater way, or preventing greater ills from falling upon the world. And at minimum, prayer is building our own relationship with God while providing a positive benefit somewhere of God’s choosing. So it’s always good.
 
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The most powerful prayer we have as Catholics is the one that our blessed Mother asked from us at Fatima, rosaries and sacrifices for the conversion of sinners and peace in this world. When we unite our struggles and sufferings that come every day, united with Christ on the cross, for this intention, we are drawing down grace on the whole world. This is where we really shine. This is our time, like the little boy in the gospel who gave Christ a few loaves and fish, he witnessed the feeding of the 5 thousand. That could be our story.

At the end of the day, if our focus moves from ‘what can God give me’ to instead ‘what did I give God today’, then we are going to be heavy hitters for God.
 
Our Lord knows what we need and what is best for us. Trust Him. He desires to sanctify us so that we will be with Him forever. There are many good books on how to get into good prayer habits.
 
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Even if God does not fulfill our requests it is still fruitful to ask. Part of prayer is discerning if what you request is in fact God’s will and if you do in fact truly need it. Another part is growing in intimacy with the Lord enough to be transparent. Who else can you be 100% yourself with and only receive love from in return? Prayer also involves expressing gratitude. I feel that the more I am thankful the happier I am given any circumstance. Prayer also is a perfect vehicle for practicing selflessness. Praying for someone doesn’t necessarily grant them what you ask but it does present an opportunity to focus on willing good for someone, especially when you may not be able to do something tangibly. Prayer can also be meditative. Prayer has many benefits.
 
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Does this imply that those who are not healed do not have enough faith? I hope not.
 
I recall once I was watching television with my father and a commercial displayed a woman who had won the lottery exclaiming “Now I know there is a Gd!” My father turned to me and said, in his own inimitable, half-joking, half-serious way: “Now she knows there is a Gd because SHE won the lottery? What about all those who needed the money and did NOT win? What about all the people in the world who are suffering and dying of disease and famine who are not helped by Gd?” It made me think that people can sometimes be so selfish or self-centered, especially with regard to their prayers for the smaller things in life being granted. And even for the bigger requests, such as those who have cancer and recover: what about all those who do NOT recover? Are they any less worthy of being granted a longer life? Then when I think of the needless deaths in wartime and the Holocaust…what about these people’s prayers just to live?

It is still a conundrum for me. I’ve read Rabbi Harold Kushner’s book “When Bad Things Happen to Good People,” and remember his saying that the title is NOT “Why bad things happen…” but “When…” because the “why” is not something we can really know. At the same time, I remember what my maternal grandmother once said to me: that at the Friday night candle-lighting for Shabbos, one can pray to Gd for ANYTHING and He will grant one’s request in His own way.

So there you have it from my personal perspective. Prayer remains a mystery to me. Is it mainly for improving our relationship with Gd, as some in Judaism tell us, or do we really believe that Gd fulfills our prayers in the best way for our own welfare? I cannot say, but I think it is worth pondering.
 
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If I may add, I have my personal witness to say prayer often does come through for petitions even if that isn’t the main objective. I recall praying for deliverance from debilitating depression, anxiety, financial stress, a toxic job, unhealthy relationships, all those prayers were answered. I’m not sure if it was God ticking off my self selected boxes or the prayer fortifying me to rise above these things, or both, but prayer was essential. I went years without prayer in my life and the difference is remarkable. I was stuck and sinking without prayer.
 
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sunnyman3 said:
So how many people with cancer are really being healed by god versus it just going away?
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I’ve always seen the practice of medical science a great way that God answers prayers. He gave us a world in which we can understand things to a point that we can be of service to others on such a profound level.
 
Our prayers don’t change God, but they do change us. And for that reason, I am thankful for prayer. But also, God instructs us to pray. Jesus modeled how to pray. And so we should pray out of obedience. What’s awesome is that in God’s providence, prayer is for our good and His glory. Matthew 7:11, “If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”
 
sunnyman3 said:
I’m really struggling to believe prayer has much affect at all. I think all have heard the why doesn’t god heal amputees question. But for me it struck me that god just rarely intervenes in a big way. So how many people with cancer are really being healed by god versus it just going away?

I struggle to believe that its really god involved in any of the smaller things we pray for.
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A Christian with Faith would remember to capitilize God… ?

No Faith. Prayers would never get answered
 
sunnyman3 said:
I think all have heard the why doesn’t god heal amputees question.
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I’m an amputee and have never once asked God why He hasn’t healed me.

As much as I miss my beautiful, perfect hand (only lost one finger, but lost sensation in another, and movement in a third), and as much as I would love with all my heart to be able to play the piano and guitar and flute the way I used to – I think it would be more than I could handle to receive a miracle of that level, to have my hand fully restored in this life.

Can you imagine my colleagues’ responses to my hand suddenly being perfect, when they all knew it had been a mess the day before?

Can you imagine the confusion of my young students (all 500+) when they see a body part grow back that shouldn’t grow back? And my youngest students (the kindergartners) don’t even yet understand that fingers do not grow back – how confused would they be by such a miracle?

And what about the families at the school? I wouldn’t be able to carry on teaching, there would be such a fuss about the miracle! There would be people begging for prayers, as if I’d somehow earned a miracle through holiness. There would be skeptics talking about my fake injury and fake recovery. And they’d also be talking about my lack of holiness and why would God grant a miracle to faithless fool like her?

And oh my goodness, can you imagine the response from the Catholics in my area!

Jesus told us that from one to whom much is given, much is expected. If people witness a miracle – something that cannot be explained by science, like the regrowth of a body part – that puts a greater burden on them to believe.

And when people saw that God had done such a miracle in my life, they’d watch me more closely and see and hear all the stupid things I do and say that are not in alignment with my beliefs – and that could actually turn people AWAY from God instead of towards Him.

No, I never ask God why He doesn’t heal my hand. I thank Him for His continued grace to remain strong and courageous, to be an example to my students (some of whom also have injured or deformed hands), and to use my hands to make music and art.

But I will say that when my accident first happened, I was stunned how many people made a point of telling me they were praying for me. Some of them I didn’t even know. But I credit the prayers of these people for the calmness I felt in the face of losing so much as a pianist and guitarist.

Anyway, that’s my two cents. 😃
 
How do you know how much faith one must have for Gd to answer prayers?
 
meltzerboy2 said:
How do you know how much faith one must have for Gd to answer prayers?
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God

M… . It’s not the quantity, per se, which counts…
Even a small am’t of Faith (known only by God) is of another order than having no Faith at all.
And No matter what, God’s never going to answer Prayers which go against His active Will.
Faith? To an call it outsider… can not be fully grasped…
I.E. To one who has no Faith…
 
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meltzerboy2 said:
It made me think that people can sometimes be so selfish or self-centered, especially with regard to their prayers for the smaller things in life being granted.
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I don’t see it as particularly selfish for a person to be happy that God granted their prayer. So what if it was a prayer for economic gain? The vast majority of us wouldn’t turn down economic gain if God sent it to us, whether or not we had prayed for it.

It’s unfortunate also that people who see this immediately start in with “So why didn’t God go help a child with cancer instead of granting that person’s prayer which in my opinion was totally self-serving” etc, instead of just saying Praise the Lord along with the person giving thanks. For all we know, God let that happen in order to build the person’s faith, or to teach them a lesson about material goods, or to challenge their neighbors not to be jealous of them.

Of course, the real acid test is whether they still believe that “there is a God” when he says no to their next prayer, or something negative rather than positive happens to them.

One of our priests, before homily time, always has us do the call-and-response, “God is good, All the time, and All the time, God is good.” I think of that often, especially when I am experiencing difficulties.
 
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Great insights. My small group was discussing some of the stories of people healed by Jesus and what it must have been like after the fact. Yes, you were healed but you had to forever be known as the “healed” person. Part celebrity, part oddity. Would people have accused you of witchcraft or being a demon? Would people be afraid of you? If you are meant to receive a miracle it is a blessing but also a cross to bear.
 
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