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Prayers

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  • onlyroz
    onlyroz Posts: 17,661 Forumite
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    As stupid a s I think praying is, that last part would be incorrect. Those reports are scientifically very weak.
    The study linked to earlier did seem to suggest a link between complications in surgery and knowing you are being prayed for - although the authors of the study do acknowledge that the correlation was not a strong one.
  • jewelly wrote: »
    I think it is hard to be sure what is an answer to prayer as opposed to a coincidence. That is what faith is all about, surely?

    The evangelist Billy Graham is quoted as saying 'When I pray, coincidences happen. When I don't, they don't'.
    (AKA HRH_MUngo)
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    Imagine someone holding forth on biology whose only knowledge of the subject is the Book of British Birds, and you have a rough idea of what it feels like to read Richard Dawkins on theology: Terry Eagleton
  • shaz77 wrote: »
    I think my question may have been poorly worded; has anyone prayed for something and got it or prayed for something and not got it but realised it was for the best?

    In a word, yes.
    (AKA HRH_MUngo)
    Member #10 of £2 savers club
    Imagine someone holding forth on biology whose only knowledge of the subject is the Book of British Birds, and you have a rough idea of what it feels like to read Richard Dawkins on theology: Terry Eagleton
  • Person_one
    Person_one Posts: 28,884 Forumite
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    onlyroz wrote: »
    The study linked to earlier did seem to suggest a link between complications in surgery and knowing you are being prayed for - although the authors of the study do acknowledge that the correlation was not a strong one.

    There's definitely evidence that things like placebos, thought processes etc. can have an effect on health. We've not even scratched the surface of understanding how, but its interesting stuff.

    There was a study done once which showed that just thinking about performing an exercise can actually improve the strength of a muscle, without ever actually moving it. Very weird but fascinating!
  • onlyroz
    onlyroz Posts: 17,661 Forumite
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    Person_one wrote: »
    There's definitely evidence that things like placebos, thought processes etc. can have an effect on health. We've not even scratched the surface of understanding how, but its interesting stuff.

    There was a study done once which showed that just thinking about performing an exercise can actually improve the strength of a muscle, without ever actually moving it. Very weird but fascinating!
    Absolutely. It's particularly interesting that in this case prayer seemed to act as an anti-placebo, although I expect that would depend on the individual. Some people might be comforted by the thought they were being prayed for and recover faster. For others it might give them a false sense that their condition was worse than they thought.

    Either way, I suspect praying is more for the benefit of the person doing the praying than for the subject of the prayer.
  • System
    System Posts: 178,374 Community Admin
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    Originally Posted by shaz77 viewpost.gif
    has anyone prayed for something and got it or prayed for something and not got it but realised it was for the best?

    Luke 22:42

    Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.
    This is a system account and does not represent a real person. To contact the Forum Team email forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com
  • Judi wrote: »
    Luke 22:42

    Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.

    Amen. .
    (AKA HRH_MUngo)
    Member #10 of £2 savers club
    Imagine someone holding forth on biology whose only knowledge of the subject is the Book of British Birds, and you have a rough idea of what it feels like to read Richard Dawkins on theology: Terry Eagleton
  • System
    System Posts: 178,374 Community Admin
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    Another quote i'm very familiar with is :

    Be careful what you pray for, because you just might get it, although you might not get it in the way you expect to!
    This is a system account and does not represent a real person. To contact the Forum Team email forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com
  • lammy82
    lammy82 Posts: 594 Forumite
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    bylromarha wrote: »
    I know this has moved on from the original question now, but yes, I've had prayers answered.

    Most amazing one was being in a room full of people praying for a leg to grow.

    This is a very easy trick, it's one of the most common miracle-healer-showman effects there is. The tricky bit is convincing everyone that the person's legs really were of different lengths to begin with.

    James Randi quite thoroughly debunked it in his book "The Faith Healers". You can read a bit about it here: http://realityhackers.net/182/scientists-visit-the-creation-museum/

    I agree that those who don't believe in miracles will always look for an alternative explanation, but that's the best way to arrive at the truth: consider all the possibilities, and work out which is the most likely. People who are open to believing in miracles tend to accept what they thought they saw, rather than considering a much more likely explanation that they were somehow tricked.

    I used to believe in God and did try praying for something. By the time the 'something' happened I had grown out of my belief and realised that the thing I prayed for was likely to have happened sooner or later anyway, so didn't attribute it to God. If I'd still been a believer, it probably would have strengthened my faith in some way.
  • shaz77_2
    shaz77_2 Posts: 1,881 Forumite
    Judi wrote: »
    Luke 22:42

    Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.

    What does the reference to the cup mean?
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