Insights on prayer for the non-religious, recovering/retired or those who don't really pray much:
Why pray?
Shouldn't God just "Do the thing" automatically?
I don't believe in any religion or any deity with a name - Why should I pray?
Who should I pray to?
We pray because we have free will. God has been so hands off and respectful of our sovereignty, autonomy and freedom to make our own choices, that we must specifically ask for help. A good analogy would be a school kids doing his adobe hut project and the parent steps in - "I can do it better" - When the child didn't ask or want the help.
So no, God isn't going to jump in automatically and fix everything UNLESS you specifically ASK for help. Even so, you still need to do your part.
Whether you believe in a deity or not, I think anyone with even half a brain recognizes that there is a higher power. There's no way humans could have endured this long completely by themselves without help.
You don't have to pray to anyone specifically... but you DO need to clearly state your intent and genuinely ask for assistance. There's nothing wrong with throwing your hands in the air and asking the "universe" for help or to generically direct your plea to God. Whatever that means to YOU and whatever feels right to YOU.
I'll be the last one to tell you you're praying wrong...or tell you there's only one way or one entity. The important part is understanding that praying requires your initiative to ask for assistance. Without that, the "people upstairs" are not going to intervene. That's been made clear to me on several occasions.
Insights on prayer for the non-religious, recovering/retired or those who don't really pray much:
Why pray?
Shouldn't God just "Do the thing" automatically?
I don't believe in any religion or any deity with a name - Why should I pray?
Who should I pray to?
We pray because we have free will. God has been so hands off and respectful of our sovereignty, autonomy and freedom to make our own choices, that we must specifically ask for help. A good analogy would be a school kids doing his adobe hut project and the parent steps in - "I can do it better" - When the child didn't ask or want the help.
So no, God isn't going to jump in automatically and fix everything UNLESS you specifically ASK for help. Even so, you still need to do your part.
Whether you believe in a deity or not, I think anyone with even half a brain recognizes that there is a higher power. There's no way humans could have endured this long completely by themselves without help.
You don't have to pray to anyone specifically... but you DO need to clearly state your intent and genuinely ask for assistance. There's nothing wrong with throwing your hands in the air and asking the "universe" for help or to generically direct your plea to God. Whatever that means to YOU and whatever feels right to YOU.
I'll be the last one to tell you you're praying wrong...or tell you there's only one way or one entity. The important part is understanding that praying requires your initiative to ask for assistance. Without that, the "people upstairs" are not going to intervene. That's been made clear to me on several occasions.