so do you think,

[fflo]

when people say someone will be in their prayers, that they (generally, more often than not, almost always) really have regular prayers in which they remember that person or situation or w/e?

i did hear somewhere recently that some high percentage of americans, like 80+%, pray. many more than consider themselves religious.

i'm thinking maybe it's not so much a figure of speech. but i really don't know.

if it's not all that different from somebody or some situation being in your thoughts, i don't find that hard to imagine. it's that concerted praying thing. i did have bedtime prayers in my early childhood, and i think they had people in them. i know church bulletins have suggestions for people to put in yours.

when i heard that thing about americans and prayers, i also wondered how many of us pray for something to come out a certain way, or to get something. like, acquire. that seems pretty american. and that seems pretty cynical, of me, to go right there.

last coupla days people have been praying for my brother, who it looks like isn't as seriously sick as it looked like he might be. that is, he's pretty sick, but not with a dire prognosis. should get better.

Comments

[wednes.livejournal.com]

That's a tough one. I'm always a little bit squicked when people (H's mom, for example) tell me they'll pray for me. It conjures images of people kneeling by a bed, hands pressed together, telling their god to relieve me of whatever trait they think I shouldn't have. I guess because when some people say "I'll pray for you" they mean something more akin to "I'm gonna tell god on you, and hopefully you'll change in the ways I think god wants you to."
This obviously differs from the prayers people give to help someone do well in something or recover from something. Those are more like beseechings as far as I'm concerned. Asking for something is not the same as giving reverence to a deity.

I've never seen H praying that I am aware of. I don't think I know any Christians who have a schedule for prayer. Some have even told me that scheduled prayer is "more of a Muslim thing," which I suppose makes sense. My Uncle Vic follows Krishna Consciousness, and he says that the chanting they do brings the actual presence of god (or God, as it were) to their lips. I find that kinda neat, even though I'm not one for the chanting. I'm more a fan of that red dot on the forehead that becomes a portal to let in all the joy, love and divinity in the world right into your body. If I had one of those, no one would need to pray for me at all...I hope.