Reply to I don't understand asking for prayer. Why does God need prayer?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Rationalistic and mechanistic explanations will fail.  The bottom line is that we are commanded to pray and we do so because it is fitting (to God's glory) and obedient, even if it doesn't get us "what we want".  As Christ prayed to the Father, after making his request:  "Nevertheless not my will, but Yours be done".  And as Job said, "Though he slay me, I will hope in him;
yet I will argue my ways to his face."

You are right that he knows all things and therefore has no need of our prayers. [b] Yet he delights in our prayers[/b] and it is fitting to his glory that he receives them.[/quote]

Well, with all due respect, there is no way you can possibly know what God delights in. In the OT he delighted in burnt offerings, but that kinda fell by the wayside as time went on and verbal prayers seem to have taken their place. I seriously question if God ever really wanted burnt offerings.[/quote]

So there's no way I can know but there is a way you can know?  I thought we were more or less talking within an Abrahamic religions framework here.  And my reference to Christ made Christian presuppositions self-evident.  If you want the conversation to be more of a dope-smoking "like, how do we even know we're not, like, in a matrix, man" then you've lost me.

Christian teaching is not that burnt offerings "fell by the wayside" but that burnt offerings were Old Testament sacrifice typology that was pointing to the final sacrifice of Jesus Christ.  Obviously Jews and Muslims will disagree with this based on their traditions, but I'm speaking from mine.[/quote]

Prayers are just the verbal equivalent of burnt offerings. Intended to find favor with God for one reason or another.  [/quote]

No. [b]Prayers are a way to get to know God.[/b] And to put your thoughts in order and meditate. CS Lewis writes about this if you’re interested, which you aren’t. [/quote]

Most people pray to ask God for something. Maybe they didn't read C.S. Lewis[/quote]

No. As an atheist, you wouldn't know what people pray for, so it's a little funny that you're trying to tell us how we pray.

Mostly it's to review our day, [b]ask[/b] forgiveness, ask for help to do the right thing. Here's the Lord's Prayer, which is how Jesus taught Christians to pray.

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. 
Thy kingdom come, 
thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 
[b]Give us[/b] this day our daily bread. 
And [b]forgive[/b] us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. 
And l[b]ead us[/b] not into temptation, but [b]deliver us[/b] from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory.
Amen

Other faiths will have different takes. I know Muslims say there's no God but Allah, although maybe a Muslim can chime in for more. [/quote]

So, the prayer is primarily to ask for something?[/quote]

Why can't you at least admit that it's not about praying for a basketball victory?

If you're outraged that someone is asking for forgiveness, or not to be led into temptation, then you've got bigger issues. This is why it's hard to take DCUM's atheists seriously. Or to respect them. [/quote]

?? "Give us this day our daily Bread"?  What, you can't go to the store and buy it for yourself?[/quote]

:roll: You know what Jesus meant. Don't play dumb. It's so hard to respect atheists when you pull this cr@p. [/quote]

By it's plain words the prayer is asking for something.  Give us this day our daily bread.  Like "We can't figure out how to make it ourselves with out you giving it to us."  Most prayers are like this - asking God to do something for you [/quote]

:roll: Stop trolling. Jesus wasn't telling us all to quit our jobs and beg on the street corners. You should read it as "help me eat today, nothing fancy, but sustenance," and for most of us that involves a job, too. [/quote]

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