How is prayer supposed to work?

How prayer works is a mystery. You can observe the effects but defining the how is elusive.

The theosophist Annie Besant believed in "thought forms" that radiated out from the body.

Think of other peoples prayers for your healing as get well cards you receive. You can toss out the card as junk mail or you can derive pleasure from receiving a card or feel gratitude that someone thought to send you a card. If you take pleasure in receiving cards the more you get the more joy in your life. More people praying for you would be sending more "thought form" energy to you to enhance your ability to heal. When you pray God will send you a google of get well cards; what you do with them is up to you.

It does seem that the "thought forms" function more with the vagus system than the cerebral system. It is very difficult to measure energy at this level so it all remains very much a mystery. Like remote viewing it is but defining the mechanics of it is elusive.
 
candy said:
How prayer works is a mystery.
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There is - and can be - no "mystery" as to how something doesn't work.

You can observe the effects but defining the how is elusive.
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There are no effects.

The theosophist Annie Besant believed in "thought forms" that radiated out from the body.
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Except that Besant was a fraud and/ or a nutcase.

More people praying for you would be sending more "thought form" energy to you to enhance your ability to heal.
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No.

When you pray God will send you a google of get well cards; what you do with them is up to you.
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No.

It does seem that the "thought forms" function more with the vagus system than the cerebral system. It is very difficult to measure energy at this level so it all remains very much a mystery. Like remote viewing it is but defining the mechanics of it is elusive.
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This is, in its entirety, nonsense.
 
Dywyddyr said:
There is - and can be - no "mystery" as to how something doesn't work.
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Sure there can. We really have no clue how allot of things work. But we know they are there. That’s why we keep looking and trying to understand.
 
BlueSky said:
Sure there can. We really have no clue how allot of things work.
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Which is not the same.
Prayer doesn't work - ergo there's no mystery to it.
How can there be a mystery as to how something fictional doesn't work?

But we know they are there. That’s why we keep looking and trying to understand.
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Right... we should spend more time trying to understand why brussel sprouts don't cause supernovae.
 
BlueSky said:
Except it does.
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Wrong again: it has been shown not to in properly-conducted tests.
(Personal experience - per your claim earlier - doesn't support the claim: post hoc ergo propter hoc isn't evidence).
 
Dywyddyr said:
Wrong again: it has been shown not to in properly-conducted tests.
(Personal experience - per your claim earlier - doesn't support the claim: post hoc ergo propter hoc isn't evidence).
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It’s not something that can be tested this way.
 
BlueSky said:
It’s not something that can be tested this way.
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That's a particularly egregious excuse: It failed the test, so the test is invalid.

If the test was flawed, point out the flaws; we'll refine the test and retest.
 
Jennifer Murphy said:
...If so, isn't the system rigged?
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I can't speak for monotheists, and the hole they dig themselves into with the idea of god as a neutral, all-loving arbiter. But as a polytheist, I can say that the consensus in our community seems to be that the gods are inclined to give favor to individuals or groups as part of a larger cycle of reciprocity. If you have made offerings, or promised them, or just garner the interest of a god, then might help you. Then you should give back in thanks or as a votive.
Is this "rigged"? Not anymore so than you doing your friend a favor and then saying they owe you a solid. It is reciprocity. It is the religious principle of do ut des: "I give, that you might give."

And if prayer will not affect god's behavior, then what's the point?
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That can be answered pretty succinctly, without regard to any particular theology. It's a form of meditation and focus.
 
Jennifer Murphy said:
I recently received an email from a relative saying that he was praying for me (to get well). It got me thinking. Will his prayers affect my prognosis? If so, how? Will god be more likely to speed my healing process because someone prayed for me? If I had more people praying for me, would I get better more quickly? If so, isn't the system rigged? What about people who have fewer or no people to pray for them?

And if prayer will not affect god's behavior, then what's the point?
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Sending positive vibes into the Universe can't hurt. It's certainly better than being told to hurry up and die.
 
sculptor said:
as/re
how is prayer supposed to work
Prayer depends much on the prayer(person who prays).
For some, prayer is much like meditation
For some prayer helps understand themselves
for others:
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She should direct that prayer to Santa, leave a cookie and some milk out on the 24th of December and she might get her mercedes benz(I prefer BMW).
 
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