mainstream christianity has taught us to pray for things we want or need in our lives: a healthy newborn; a kidney transplant and many other important issues in our lives.. this has been a common practice for thousands of years.. however, i believe that prayer as taught in the bible and prayer as practiced since the ascension of christ into heaven have become 2 different approaches to asking for something from god.. we often pray for material benefits for ourselves and others: a job, a date, winning the lottery.. i am not a student of the bible, and if i am wrong, i will surely hear about it and will withdraw my discussion..

i believe that god, thru jesus and the prophets, originally taught us to pray for abstract goals: strength to deal with present and imminent crises and for accepting god's will.. we can pray that others will gain strength to deal with their burdens and that god will help them to set a proper agenda for living their lives, but to pray that a law student will pass his bar exam on the first try is not, i believe, the best approach in defining the objective.. i am not criticizing anyone for praying to receive specific gains.. millions would say their prayers were answered and i have no argument with them.. anyone who believes their prayers for a material benefit were answered has my encouragement..

i believe that god is not "santa claus".. he is not making a list of those who are deserving of his favors and those who are not.. notwhithstanding those who pray for disaster victims to receive aid or a child to be rescued from an abusive home, biblical prayer does not, i think, advocate these objectivers.. biblical prayer would offer prayers for the child to have the strength and will to survive the abuse, and the abuser to see the mistakes that were made and to stop harming the victim immediately.. a similar prayer would be offered for disaster victims.. god isn't sending bandages , or vaccines or fresh water, that's man's job.. it is god's role, i think, to offer strength and the will to help others over oneself.. there are a multitude of situations where one could say that a material request is consistent with a spiritual goal: paying that god will guide a surgeon's hand in removing a cancer; a prayer that god will aid a pilot in landing a disabled aircraft.. im just saying there is a difference between biblical prayer and prayer as presented to god since christ's return to heaven.. i have prayed since a child for specific things, and i doubt there are many who have prayed differently.. the distinction here might only be of interest to a theologian and if prayers in the bible were offered as requests to god for material benefits, my post is a total fallacy..

however, that does not blur the distinction between prayer which appeals to god for strength to handle one's burdens and prayer which contains a list of things for god to do before he calls it a day.. the former is prayer for our soul; the latter is prayer for our bodies.. the former is preparation for the hereafter; the latter is for making our way comfortable in the here and now



DEO GRATIAS!