Why pray for others?

[caredondo]

Catholics are taught to pray for others. This is a real mystery to me. Does it really make a difference whether we pray for others or not? Does it matter how intently you pray, or how long you pray, or how much faith one has? Does it matter how many people pray, or how virtuous or sinful the person praying is? If these things do matter, what does that say about God, who may respond if people pray, but does not respond if people don’t pray? If these things matter, then is it the degree of virtue or intensity or duration that counts? And if these things don’t count, and God responds indepently of the quality of our prayer, then what real value is prayer?

 

[lovemybatman]

I think praying for others is more about the person doing it than it may seem. Praying for others shows an ability to think and care about someone else besides yourself, which is the essence of God’s love. This ability helps curb the human tendency towards selfishness which is so anti-God and helps one to become a better and more Christ-like person. I think it’s also a way to practice patience and catharsis in the face of trouble, expressing it to God instead of keeping it all inside.
One of my favorite sayings on prayer: “There are three answers to prayers: Yes, Not yet, I have something better in mind”…
I know this doesn’t answer everything you asked but I just wanted to put a few thoughts out there.

 

[LilyM]

Catholics are taught to pray for others. This is a real mystery to me. Does it really make a difference whether we pray for others or not? Does it matter how intently you pray, or how long you pray, or how much faith one has? Does it matter how many people pray, or how virtuous or sinful the person praying is? If these things do matter, what does that say about God, who may respond if people pray, but does not respond if people don’t pray? If these things matter, then is it the degree of virtue or intensity or duration that counts? And if these things don’t count, and God responds indepently of the quality of our prayer, then what real value is prayer?

Of course it makes a difference - God (Jesus) wouldn’t teach us to pray for others, and scripture wouldn’t command us to pray for and with each other, if it didn’t. God doesn’t command us to perform useless things.

Does the virtue of the pray-er or intensity of the prayer matter? Well, I think they go together, a virtuous person is one who has an intense and loving relationship with God and so will naturally be intense and fervent in their prayer. And yes, God makes clear that they do matter.

Abraham bargains with Him about the fate of Sodom, and God makes clear that for the sake of a small number of righteous people (Abraham starts at 50, then whittles it down to 10) He will show favour and have mercy on the inhabitants of the whole city.

And numerous times in the Old Testament He speaks of sparing Israel for the sake of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who were devoted and faithful followers of His. One example being when, after the incident of the Golden Calf, Moses pleads with Him not to destroy the Israelites for the sake of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, and God relents.

What does it say about God? It shows the depth of His love for those who are faithful to Him, for starters. And why should He not love those who are faithful to Him? And reward them? Do we not expect the reward of heaven if we are faithful, after all?

For another, it demonstrates the simple fact that the more faithful someone is to God, and the better their relationship to Him, the more likely they are to pray for things that are according to His will. Rather than making selfish or petty prayers or demanding all sorts of preposterous things as so many of us do at times. And so the more likely they are to be answered for that reason alone if no other.

It’s not as if God plays favourites or anything - He many times bestows blessings on the undeserving and rain on the unjust, after all.

 

[magdelaine1173]

I think praying for others is more about the person doing it than it may seem. Praying for others shows an ability to think and care about someone else besides yourself, which is the essence of God’s love. This ability helps curb the human tendency towards selfishness which is so anti-God and helps one to become a better and more Christ-like person. I think it’s also a way to practice patience and catharsis in the face of trouble, expressing it to God instead of keeping it all inside.
One of my favorite sayings on prayer: “There are three answers to prayers: Yes, Not yet, I have something better in mind”…
I know this doesn’t answer everything you asked but I just wanted to put a few thoughts out there.

Very well put, I was about to type the same sort of answer, and then I saw yours. This is very true. Praying for others is a selfless act of Christian love toward your fellow brother/sister in Christ. It provides us a way to be closer to God in all ways possible. Keep praying, we’re praying for you.

Magdelaine1173

 

[roveau]

Also well put LilyM.

In short we pray for others because the Bible tells us to, that’s how God operates - He works through our prayers.

 

[JohnJFarren]

JMJ / MMM 22Aug Sunday 2010
Warm Greetings caredondo –
Although we don’t fully understand it … GOD IS LOVE! And we are meant to become – with God’s help, grace, of course – LIKE God. Surely this is one reason why we should pray for others. So that we become more and more like God.

We all know that not every little boy who prays in Jesus’ Name for a new red bicycle for Christmas gets one. Nor does every mother who prays for the life of her baby in Jesus’ Name get that her baby becomes healthy. So what’s the story? Jesus tells us in several places, “Whatever you pray for in my Name I will do. Ask … and you will receive.” So what’s the story.

Look up John’s First Epistle 5:14 > “We have this confidence … that whatever we ask for … that is according to God’s Will … we shall receive.” If it is according to God’s Eternal Will, we shall have granted what we pray for.

At first sight it almost seems as if Jesus’ promise is being cancelled any time God wants to … any time God feels like it.

Not so. God Wills what is truly good for us. Truly good. We do not have God’s Wisdom. We often do not know what is truly good for us – and the other people too. When God says NO – as the Father did to His Divine Son Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, God is guiding us, leading us, in the way that is best … for us and others … best in the long run. Yes, this requires on our part faith and trust in God.

Also > Who are we? Am I just John? And are you just “caredondo”? Not so. You and I are very closely related in Jesus Christ in the Trinity. And so are all people ever created. We belong to one another in Jesus Christ. Indeed we ARE, together with Jesus as our head, the Whole Christ. In God’s Eternal Plan for His creation … we are all meant to be “one in Christ.” Therefore to pray for others in need is to pray for the benefit of what we all are and will be … the Whole Christ, “the Mystical Body of Christ.”

For the past 2 1/2 years I have been praying, BEGGING, for the most important thing in my life. So far God’s answer has been NO. I have suffered more emotional and mental pain than ever in my quite long life. But I DO trust God’s Love for me and I DO choose to believe that God is working all this for my true and best good … and the good of someone else. You pray for ME. And I will certainly pray for you.
May God’s Love for you possess you! John (JohnJFarren)

 

[EmeraldWings]

Catholics are taught to pray for others. This is a real mystery to me. Does it really make a difference whether we pray for others or not? Does it matter how intently you pray, or how long you pray, or how much faith one has? Does it matter how many people pray, or how virtuous or sinful the person praying is? If these things do matter, what does that say about God, who may respond if people pray, but does not respond if people don’t pray? If these things matter, then is it the degree of virtue or intensity or duration that counts? And if these things don’t count, and God responds indepently of the quality of our prayer, then what real value is prayer?

we pray for our own sake, and not for God, God does not need our prayers, He is perfect after all, He cannot be added to because He is infinite,
so why do we pray for others? what do our prayers do? why does God want such a thing?

the answer is, it is for us, God knows what is good for us and what will properly shape us, if God just gave us everything without us asking, how ungrateful and tepid we would be,
and not to mention, if we did not pray, how would God be able to show us He is answering our prayers? everything would kinda “just happen”,

of course prayer is not just formal vocal prayers, but also mental prayers, which is just talking with God or contemplating on spiritual things, both are very important,
but both are also meant to be the “lifting of our hearts and our minds to God”, it is not just about saying a bunch of words, it’s about learning to love God and show Him that you care about Him and your neighbor,
of course God knows what we need, but if He did everything for us without us doing anything at all, then we’d just become lazy.
God loves us very much, and wants us to come to Him for what we need,
by prayer we learn to love God more and know Him more, and it is just very essential to our spiritual life,
and since you cannot have a back and forth conversation with God like you can with your neighbor, so then prayer is the way we speak with God, whether vocal or mental.

God knows what we want and what we need, but when someone does not want to pray, that just shows how much they do not care, and God is not going to feed that kind of carelessness by giving them everything without their effort, it would only be more harmful for them.
and if for no other reason, we should pray simply out of obedience, because God told us to…what other reason do we need? we are ignorant of so much, we should be more trusting of God Who knows all, whereas we will not know everything even in all of eternity, and at the end of your life, what you did out of obedience will mean more for you than anything you did out of understanding, so even while you don’t understand it, do it anyways, you won’t regret it.
to answer your last question - the real value of prayer is how much love you put into it.

ok, so i hope this helps, take care.

 

[caredondo]

Thanks to all for the excellent insights!

Most meaningful: we pray to strengthen our relationship with God, a relationship of love and trust in God’s own unconditional love for us. I also believe that only God sees the big picture, and how even the most agonizing experiences fit into that big picture.

What I do not agree with are the implications of some who say that you did not receive what you prayed for because your faith was not great enough, or you did not pray hard enough or long enough or were not good enough. I disagree even with the statements of some who say “Look how God answers our prayers” when good things happen when we pray. This to me smacks of a God who plays favorites.

The most powerful model of a prayer of petition is the prayer of Jesus in Gethsemane. I believe Jesus ended all his prayers with “Not my will, but yours be done.”