tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355086750486200439.post8082458180071215532..comments2024-03-24T19:55:32.537-05:00Comments on The View from This Seat: Does Intercessory Prayer Work?LKSeathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08860725174433173015noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355086750486200439.post-60863707291145408292012-08-17T19:01:38.213-05:002012-08-17T19:01:38.213-05:00Clif, there are numerous issues in the Bible passa...Clif, there are numerous issues in the Bible passage you referred to, but I doubt that it was included in Matthew's Gospel as a teaching about prayer. (I don't doubt, though, that some have used that story in the way you indicated.) LKSeathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08860725174433173015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355086750486200439.post-36939191929824890332012-08-17T18:39:04.693-05:002012-08-17T18:39:04.693-05:00A Thinking Friend in Indonesia wrote,
"Indee...A Thinking Friend in Indonesia wrote,<br /><br />"Indeed our prayer doesn't change God and His will towards us. But I believe that our prayer does change and make our relationship with God and others BETTER!"LKSeathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08860725174433173015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355086750486200439.post-67794434697511200972012-08-16T20:29:36.964-05:002012-08-16T20:29:36.964-05:00Matthew 15:21-28 is an example where persistence a...Matthew 15:21-28 is an example where persistence and repeated asking of help from Jesus made a difference. I've heard others use this story as an indication that the number, length and frequency of prayers can make a difference. Clif Hostetlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09192652526880912362noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355086750486200439.post-67845735124100648052012-08-16T20:28:38.087-05:002012-08-16T20:28:38.087-05:00That, I think, is mainly how intercessory prayer w...That, I think, is mainly how intercessory prayer works.<br />LKSeathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08860725174433173015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355086750486200439.post-31389833000422832132012-08-16T20:13:31.073-05:002012-08-16T20:13:31.073-05:00If I pray for hungry children in third world count...If I pray for hungry children in third world countries, I don't believe they will have more to eat as a consequence. However, there's a possibility that it may change me and my actions.Clif Hostetlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09192652526880912362noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355086750486200439.post-24997051937618895222012-08-16T18:03:12.074-05:002012-08-16T18:03:12.074-05:00Clif, thanks for your comments, and for the emphas...Clif, thanks for your comments, and for the emphasis on community. Certainly, I think, God is there in the mix where there is prayer for one another in a community of faith. But what about people outside the community? What about those in poverty, say, in the U.S. and around the world who are not a part of Christian community? Does intercessory prayer for such people do any good objectively?LKSeathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08860725174433173015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355086750486200439.post-82903572034983636902012-08-16T11:32:43.868-05:002012-08-16T11:32:43.868-05:00Anton, thanks for sharing these ideas. You express...Anton, thanks for sharing these ideas. You expressed questions about and problems with intercessory prayer more strongly than I did, but I basically agree with what you wrote. I have long thought mistaken ideas about prayer have caused many people to leave the Christian faith (and that may be true for people in other traditions also). And I have also thought that there has often been a mixture of belief in prayer with a magical view of the universe that is ill-informed.LKSeathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08860725174433173015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355086750486200439.post-36131348288684788642012-08-16T09:22:02.299-05:002012-08-16T09:22:02.299-05:00My Thinking Friend in California, who was also a b...My Thinking Friend in California, who was also a boyhood friend in northwest Missouri, sent the following comments yesterday:<br /><br />"I feel a tad different than you on Intercessory Prayer. Since Only God knows the Future and HE asks us to Pray, I think it Benefits both the Prayer and the one being Prayed for. I agree that we probably can`t change God`s mind because HE is the same Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, but isn't it possible that when God looked out into the future and saw what we were praying for and because of that HE didn't change HIS mind; but answered our Prayers because of our Intercessory Prayers?"<br />LKSeathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08860725174433173015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355086750486200439.post-47577133981754041672012-08-16T08:27:15.330-05:002012-08-16T08:27:15.330-05:00I appreciate the honesty of this Thinking Friend, ...I appreciate the honesty of this Thinking Friend, and several others who wrote yesterday.<br />LKSeathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08860725174433173015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355086750486200439.post-48645435165596461672012-08-16T08:26:24.504-05:002012-08-16T08:26:24.504-05:00The first e-mail response I received yesterday was...The first e-mail response I received yesterday was from a local Thinking Friend. She wrote,<br /><br />"Thanks, Leroy. Intercessory prayer is certainly a puzzle gone unsolved in me. Often I find myself still praying the same juvenile 'gimme' prayers I've prayed since I was a child but not from a sense I could possibly change God's mind. Seems more a ritual like washing your hands before dinner. Puts structure on our thinking so we can keep our thoughts clean and our faith nourished."LKSeathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08860725174433173015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355086750486200439.post-78454513218293155442012-08-15T10:41:28.453-05:002012-08-15T10:41:28.453-05:00Many happy returns, Leroy.Many happy returns, Leroy.David M. Fulknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355086750486200439.post-82179741393583284322012-08-15T08:49:28.104-05:002012-08-15T08:49:28.104-05:00Intercessory prayer is a version of knowing one is...Intercessory prayer is a version of knowing one is part of a caring and supportive community. It's true for both the prayer and prayee. I prefer not to attempt to separate the spiritual from the psychological benefits that come from the self awareness of such an environment. I'm pretty sure God is in there somewhere.Clif Hostetlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09192652526880912362noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355086750486200439.post-62764643508353697002012-08-15T07:09:56.322-05:002012-08-15T07:09:56.322-05:00Well, I'm writing from a hotel room in Hays, K...Well, I'm writing from a hotel room in Hays, KS. On our way to sociology meetings in Denver. Thanks for the honest appraisal of intercessory prayer. There is of course the possibility that it harms people and religion in this way: People are told incessantly by religious leaders that prayer works, that they should ask God for God's favor, God is listening, and, after all, God wants the best for them. But disappointment and discouragement often result then when God doesn't prevent or stop some terrible tragedy from happening. I suspect we'd be better off if we would refashion our prayers in such a way that we're sharing with God our dreams, hopes, and desires rather than asking God to do something. To say it a little harshly, intercessory praying takes us pretty close to the practices of magic and superstition.Antonkjacobshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01734526091623931154noreply@blogger.com