How can I deal with "good intentioned" prayers?

[Rick336]

It doesn't bother me if people say they pray for me. What they do with their time is their own business.

I think prayer can be good for people who pray in the sense that it gives them peace of mind. But as far as prayer working, I believe it is about the same as wishing on a star or crossing your fingers. All three work an average of 50% of the time.

Unless of course, you're praying for snow and then it's clear that God loves northerners best.

Rick

[bnmoore]

If someone is praying to an external thing to reach down and show you that they're right and you're wrong I'm not sure I would even call that good intentioned. As human beings I don't feel that there is an alternative to being made in the same image and likeness as all other human beings. Whether it's holy or not there definitely seems to be a mind/body connection. Prayer with intent and direction followed by meditation or listening seems pretty effective for me. Prayer changes me. It seems to free me from the law of averages. If I don't see 51% or better results I just take another look at what I'm praying for.

[Snuffy]

Believe me, I know your pain. Though my troubles aren't to quite the extent of yours, one thing that really does irritate me, is when people pray for others because they are homosexual, bi, transgender, etc. Because to me, it seems way too similar to if someone went up to a black person and said, 'Oh you poor soul! I pray that God fixes you.' That person would probably get punched in the face. We do not need to be fixed, dangit! We are not broken.

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There are 31,173 verses in the Bible. I disagree with 6 or 7 of them in particular, or rather, how people have decided to interpret them. Therefore, I disagree with 0.0002% of the Bible. That’s 1/5000th. Can you accept that? ~Snuffy