Friday, March 12, 2010

short post on prayer

My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer last week. I live in the South, and most of my friends are Christians. Therefore, I have received many prayer requests for the swift recovery of my mother.

Please allow me to make the point that I am not offended by the prayers. I believe that prayers are a powerful resource for many people, and if you find value out of something, then so be it. My mom, however, has hinted that she is tired of it all.

If mom were religious, she would be praying along with the thousands of others who are suffering from the same condition. Wouldn't it be haughty of her to believe that God would consider her more special than the thousands of others who are suffering from the same ailment, and therefore grant her leniency from the disease?

While this website may sound ridiculous at first glance, it raises a very important question about the true capacity of prayer.

http://whywontgodhealamputees.com/important.htm

5 comments:

  1. It's been proven time and again that prayer does nothing to help a sick person. All it does is help the non-sick person to feel like they're doing something.

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  2. Whether you believe in jesus or the power of prayer or not it does not make him any less powerful forgiving, caring, or loving. I was nearly killed 11 yrs ago and the power you don't believe in saved my life and just because you don't believe in him don't mean he don't believe in us.

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  3. I definitely agree that prayer is a personal choice. If your mother does not believe, or is otherwise inclined, that is obviously her right. I am curious though as to the point from Alice. How exactly has it been proven time and time again? I was, unfortunately, not privy to such a display. I do not claim to be an expert on such matters, however a quick google search with the keywords "testimonials of prayer healing" revealed a scant 5.7 million returns. I would assume at least one of those would beg to differ with your summation. Believe or not, it matters little to me, we will all be proven either right or wrong in the end. I ask merely that you consider that your lack of knowledge on the subject is equal to that of the rest of us. The distance between what we believe and what we know is often great, only those that think they have all the answers cease asking questions.

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  4. Shall I wish her well then? Good thoughts for strength and healing going out to your Mother from me, on the east coast. My sister-in-law is battling cancer.

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  5. I am sorry to hear about your mother. My sister was diagnosed with breast cancer almost two years ago and I felt so shocked, as must you and your mother now. My sister underwent it all: hard chemo, operation (removal of breasts), reconstruction of one breast (the other this year), radiation. She is well now and, although we are not on best terms, I hope she remains so. Since I only believe in me, I never prayed and never will. It seems to me, if "God" is so powerful, why allow the cancer in the first place? But, clever Christians have learned the answer to that one as well.

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