Praying to God?
By GemmaR
@GemmaR (8517)
October 20, 2012 2:10pm CST
If you are a religious person, then you would probably have prayed for some things or situations in the past. However, are there some things that you would never choose to pray for? For example do you think that it is okay to pray for things which could be considered a little bit selfish for example praying to come into some money? Or do you make sure that everything that you pray for would be of benefit to some other people in the world apart from you?
4 people like this
20 responses
@subhojit10 (7375)
• India
20 Oct 12
Thanks a ton for posting this discussion. Well i think we all pray for our goodwill and also for the well being of other people. But sometimes we also seek God's blessings to help us overcome certain obstacles in our life to attain our selfish needs and i think there is no such issue in that unless and until those selfish needs are not in that order that will mean cutting others heads.
What say?
2 people like this
@GemmaR (8517)
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20 Oct 12
It is good that we feel as though we can turn to God when we are going through hard times in our life, and I do think that this can be something that is very comforting to people. I think that there is a difference between hoping that our life can get better if we are going through a hard time than praying for something that we don't really need because this would just be selfish and I know that there are a lot of people who are going through worse times in their life so I need to take the time to think about others more than myself, but I think that God should be able to help me with that.
1 person likes this
@dainy1313 (2370)
• Leon, Mexico
30 Oct 12
Hello
subhojit hi gemmar, I think that God is our father, and as well we should ask him all we need, but we should think also that people around us are also sons of God.
I have a daily prayer since 11 years ago, it says: "God I ask for my family`s needs, but I ask you for those who suffer more than we do. I ask God for my family, but I ask you for my community, I ask God for those who need my prayers, I ask for innocent kids who suffer"
In the Bible God says that it`s not fair if we serve our community, and we get poor and our community enriches. So we should ask for ourserlves too, as we ask for other people
.
I read a said: "God please blow on my field, but blow also on my neighbor`s field, so each one will be in peace".
Don`t you like it?
Blessings subhojit & gemmar...dainy
subhojit hi gemmar, I think that God is our father, and as well we should ask him all we need, but we should think also that people around us are also sons of God.
I have a daily prayer since 11 years ago, it says: "God I ask for my family`s needs, but I ask you for those who suffer more than we do. I ask God for my family, but I ask you for my community, I ask God for those who need my prayers, I ask for innocent kids who suffer"
In the Bible God says that it`s not fair if we serve our community, and we get poor and our community enriches. So we should ask for ourserlves too, as we ask for other people.
I read a said: "God please blow on my field, but blow also on my neighbor`s field, so each one will be in peace".
Don`t you like it?
Blessings subhojit & gemmar...dainy
@aliahnicole69 (231)
• Philippines
21 Oct 12
Hi GemmaR,
Nice question; I am not a religious person rather a believer and a christian who believes in Him and accepted Him as my own Savior and God. Naturally i always pray in the morning,lunch,at night and before going out.. its a part of my daily routine with my family,to give praises, thanking Him for the blessings, ask for guidance and protection and ask for forgiveness- praying for my friends, job,and others whose in need of prayers most specially those unreachable, through prayer i can extend my sincere help. I just want to emphasized that before we pray, God already knows what in our hearts,what our needs and desires are. All He wanted us to do is to be dependent unto Him by praying sincerely and wholeheartedly.
1 person likes this
@GemmaR (8517)
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21 Oct 12
I don't know how you mean that you're not a religious person but you still believe. Somebody else said that a little higher up and I think that it would be very interesting to see what people define as "religious". God does indeed know what we want in our hearts, but the only thing that He can do is guide us, we have to make our own choices for ourselves at the end of the day. I think that as long as we speak to God, He can help us through the hard times in life and make it so that we can get through it together.
@aliahnicole69 (231)
• Philippines
21 Oct 12
There is a big difference between Religious and Believer(faith)...Being religious means you are a follower of a religion and it also speaks to be of reverence for God but not necessarily in regards to which God is involved. Being Spiritually Believer are those who have learned the great value of living by the spirit, so to answer your question, a person can be religious without being spiritual or believer,but for me i don't debate when it comes to religion, I respect everyone's belief as long as we have the same faith in God the Father Almighty.
God not just guide us but He can do anything for us because He knows everything about us...Just before our world begun, He created us and Has a wonderful planned for us only if we choose to live with His words and put Him in the center of our lives.
@pahak627 (4558)
• Philippines
21 Oct 12
Honestly, I am not a religious person I talk to God in my own way. I thank Him for all that he had given me, ask forgiveness and others. I don't always ask things from him. What I asked were those that would benefit my family, friends and sometimes for the whole world.
1 person likes this
@GemmaR (8517)
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21 Oct 12
I think that asking for forgiveness is one of the most important things about praying. One of the things that God likes to do is to teach us lessons about how we should be living our life, and by asking for forgiveness you are showing that you know that something that you have done is wrong, and also that you would like to change the way that you behaved in the future. It's good to ask for things that would be good for your whole family because these are the ones who are the most important to you and are the constants in your life.
1 person likes this
@pahak627 (4558)
• Philippines
27 Jan 16
@GemmaR I forgot to state, there were times that I really ask help from God specially during times of troubles, problems, sadness, etc.... I remember that time when my younger sister had her surgery when she was already inside the operating room, I went to the chapel of the hospital and asked God for him to help my sister during that time. Honestly, I could say that I considered my prayer at that time that comes from my heart. There was also one time that I asked forgiveness from God because of my son who also underwent surgery. He was still about 10 at that time, The doctor who examined him made a wrong diagnosis. We believe the doctor but the pain did not subside. When we went to another doctor, that was then that the doctor referred my son for appendectomy due to ruptured appendicitis. I asked God for forgiveness for letting my son suffered for almost a week.
@prashu228 (37524)
• India
21 Oct 12
I am not very religious . I don't like to ask anything to God. Rather i should say ,i am fed up. No use of praying , what ever happens it happens whether we pray or don't pray. Nothing stops for us. I just sit and read bible ,when my mom say to do it. That's it but not with the hope that God will do this or that.
1 person likes this
@GemmaR (8517)
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21 Oct 12
It is a shame that you have felt as though God does not listen to your prayers, but I do respect your opinions if you feel this way. One of the things that I always say to people is that your own religious belief has to come from you. It cannot come from being forced to read the bible, because if you don't believe then reading a book is never going to make you. You should never give up hope, as I know of a lot of people who have had prayers answered in their life even if it wasn't in exactly the way that they would have hoped that they would be.
@prashu228 (37524)
• India
21 Oct 12
I respect your valuable suggestion. But i don't act while reading bible, i just read it .
@GemmaR (8517)
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21 Oct 12
You say that you're not religious, but you pray? I guess that it would depend on what you define as being religious. For me, I would say that if you pray and believe in God then you are religious. Others would say that you have to go to church to be considered a religious person, but I think that you can communicate with God no matter where you are in the world. It is good that you thank Him for your family and good health, because these are the most important things that you're ever going to have in your life.
@romzee (937)
• Philippines
26 Oct 12
In a way, you're right. Communicating with your Creator doesn't have to be in a church. But religious are words I meant to the devotees of any religion. I seldom go to church and I seldom practice my religion.
Surely I need many material things in life and for my family as well, but certainly I will never ask them in prayers because I believe He knows the best for me and I thanks and 
love Him for that.
@mariemay_dominguez (121)
• Philippines
21 Oct 12
Obcourse we should know first what is the Principles of Prayer. Why do we need to pray? as what you have mention in your discussion "If the content of our prayer is asking for money to God it defends upon your intention of asking for something if we ask with Good intention and faith is there then God will give those blessings for you but we need to act for what we asked to We always remember our Heavenly Father is always ready to hear and answer our prayer. The power of your/our prayers defends on you/us. If we strive to make a prayer a part of our/you life we should make our/you prayer meaningful.
Remember the needs of others as we pray. Offer prayers for your welfare, and also for the welfare of others those who are around you would be benefited.
@GemmaR (8517)
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21 Oct 12
You are right when you say that God is always there to answer our prayer, even if it might not feel as though there is anybody listening at the time. You're also right when you say that we should be praying for somebody around us, and I have done that only this morning. I prayed for a lady who is all alone in her life and has nobody who she can talk to. I would very much like for her to find somebody who she can confide in, whether that is a new friend or a family member, because I think that she could be a lot happier if she was able to do so.
@mariemay_dominguez (121)
• Philippines
22 Oct 12
Good to hear from you that your pray for somebody that was God want for us to pray for the welfare of others not just our self. As much as possible we should pray as long we needed His guidance not just for us only but for the benefits of others. Have a nice day Gemmar.
@ajithlal (14716)
• India
31 Oct 12
I think when we pray to God, God will always answer our prayer. God always do the best for us in our lives. Like a Father who knows what His children needs and what is the best for His children, God always does the best for us in our lives. I think is always good to pray to God to do the right things for us in our lives.
1 person likes this
@GemmaR (8517)
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9 Nov 12
I think that one of the things that we have to make sure that we do is trust God to do what He thinks is right for us. When I was younger, I would think that I was being ignored because I might not be able to tell right away that God had answered my prayers, but I think that prayers get answered in ways that we might not always expect them to. We just have to trust Him to do what is right, and we have to try and follow the signs to make sure that we're able to continue living our lives in the way that He wants us to.
@akash009 (452)
• India
21 Oct 12
hello,
i am not a religious person. i go to temples very rarely. i dont believe in the concept that people should visit the temple everyday in order to show their respect to god and everyone should pray everyday. its all about your belief. if you believe in god and respect him in your heart than that is more than enough. i think its sufficient to just go to temple once a month and show your respect to god. i believe in god and i think its unnecessary to go to temples every day. just know one thing that god never told anyone to visit temples everyday.
1 person likes this
@GemmaR (8517)
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21 Oct 12
You don't have to go to church or to a temple on a daily basis to be able to show God that you are talking to Him and that you are thankful for everything that He has done for you. Your belief is something that is very personal to you and you should be able to show it in any way that you see fit. I know that I don't go to church very often myself, but I still feel as though God is a very important part of my life and He knows why I choose to worship him in the way that I do, so I am not going to change the way that I behave.
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
22 Oct 12
I personally don't think that there is anything at wrong to pray for things that might be seen as being a little bit selfish. The reason that I feel that way is because of the fact that in the end, we really do have to think about ourselves first.
The vast majority of my prayers are for other people, but I also do have to admit that I pray for things that are selfish, such as my husband reaching remission from his cancer or praying for our financial situation to be better.
1 person likes this
@GemmaR (8517)
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23 Oct 12
I think it depends on what it would be that you were praying for. I think that if you're praying for your own health or something like that then it wouldn't be selfish because you need your health to be able to live, however if you were praying for something that you didn't really need, such as money, then that would be different. If you were in a bad financial situation at the time then you might want to think a little bit harder about it and it would probably be okay, but if you were being greedy then I don't think that you should be praying for it.
@srjac0902 (1169)
• Italy
21 Oct 12
Friend,
the prayer is lifting up of our heart and attention to God. It is being aware of the presence of God. It is a mutual encounter. Often the supernatural Grace envelopes you that you find yourself in the rapture. It is a mystical union between God and Man. Then asking for favors remains secondary. Being united to God is all that counts. That experience you will not be able to explain. It is an experience. It is the total liberty of God at what degree He wants to envelope you. It may be for just an instant but the experience invades your whole being and remains with you by making you joyful and helps you to be at peace. God is a loving Father, then He may even grant you all that you ask for, even then it is His liberty to grant you when He wants and how much He wants. It is a mystery.
@GemmaR (8517)
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21 Oct 12
I think that you're right when you say that the most important thing is that you are true to God and to your beliefs, and if this is the case then you will more than likely be okay in your life. I think the best thing to do is just to trust Him to do what is right, and always know that He is going to do the thing that is the best for you. You might not always understand why things happen, but you should rest safely in the knowledge that God understands what He is doing, and that it is all part of the plan for your life, so you would be better just accepting it.
@mythociate (21432)
• Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
21 Oct 12
When you finish a prayer "in Jesus' name. Amen," what you are saying to God is 'thy will be done, to your glory.'
It's sad that a couple of people I'm thinking of think that 'prayer' is a one-step solution ... which is like thinking you've 'earned forgiveness from a neighbor you wronged' simply by "saying 'sorry'." (In case you can't tell: in both cases---um, no. 
)
Just as you haven't earned your neighbor's forgiveness until you have set things 'right' (or as right as possible ... repaying the damage you see you've done -the damage you can't see), your prayer is not complete until you & God come to a resolution.
That is, a complete prayer is a conversation with God---in which you tell what you think about a situation and ask-for/suggest a solution to the situation and hear/see God's reply in the way the situation turns out (often set more in your favor as you seek God's will) and accept God's will in His reply.
)
Just as you haven't earned your neighbor's forgiveness until you have set things 'right' (or as right as possible ... repaying the damage you see you've done -the damage you can't see), your prayer is not complete until you & God come to a resolution.
That is, a complete prayer is a conversation with God---in which you tell what you think about a situation and ask-for/suggest a solution to the situation and hear/see God's reply in the way the situation turns out (often set more in your favor as you seek God's will) and accept God's will in His reply.@GemmaR (8517)
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21 Oct 12
You're right when you say that just saying a prayer is not the end of the story. I love it when I pray and then I am waiting to see the way that God deals with the things that I have said to Him. If things don't go my way then I know that it is simply because I don't deserve them to, and because I must need to do some more good deeds to get the things that I desired in the first place. You should always make right the things that you do wrong, because this means that you would have paid for your sins and God would think that it was good.
@mythociate (21432)
• Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
26 Oct 12
Not exactly. God's not up there with a ledger waiting for you to 'balance your budget of good- & evil-deeds'; prayer is more a way of 'positioning yourself to receive the good gifts God has already left for your future.'
@roshigo58 (4859)
• Pune, India
28 Oct 12
Hi,
I am not too religious person but I believe in God and I always pray God for many things. I pray God for my wife for giving her normal life. She is suffering from a muscular disease. She has many difficulties in doing many things. I pray for my son for his happy and prosperous life in future. I am grateful to God as I have a very nice and kind and caring son. He has a good paying job and he always care for us. I also pray for a girl who is a student of my wife and she also helps my wife in doing everything very kindly. She is like our family member. I pray for her better life in future.
1 person likes this
@GemmaR (8517)
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28 Oct 12
I think that it is good that you are praying for your wife, and I am sorry to hear about her disease. I hope that you will be able to make her life a little bit easier and that God will help you to do this. Praying for our children is something that I think most people will do at some point because we only want them to be happy in their lives, and if this means that we are able to pray and make sure that they get the things that they want and need then I think that this is probably one of the best prayers that you could ever say.
1 person likes this
@mariaperalta (19073)
• Mexico
21 Oct 12
I dont pray alot. I do believe in god. But I think many pray for the wrong things and reasons. Many pray for money and I feel thats wrong to do.
@GemmaR (8517)
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21 Oct 12
It doesn't matter how much you pray, because the most important thing to remember is that if you believe in God then He will know that, whether you spend a lot of time praying or not. I know that there are a lot of people who pray for money, and I think that this is very wrong as well because I have always believed that you should work for money. You could ask for a little help getting a job, but at the end of the day the only thing that God can do is guide you; you have to be able to do the rest of the work yourself.
@GauthamDS7 (96)
• India
21 Oct 12
God is the creator of everything.So we should respect him.By atleast doing this we make him to realise that atleast his creation has some respect.Being thankful to god with some selfishness i do ask somethings to give me like money etc.And ofcourse i pray to keep all the things on earth to be safe and happy forever.Really i'll do this!!
Thanks for sharing this.Good luck.
1 person likes this
@GemmaR (8517)
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21 Oct 12
When you think about it, creating everything is something that is so big that the majority of people will just never be able to understand it. God deserves so much respect for making the whole of the world, because He must have had so much power to be able to do that. And everything is made to be so perfect as well, it is absolutely amazing and I honestly don't think that I will ever be able to thank Him enough for what He has done. I can only make a good start by praying and hope that I can get my message across loud and clear.
@canjo13317 (396)
• United States
21 Oct 12
I try to pray unselfishly. I will start with thanking Him for all that He has given me and allowed me to give. I give Him all of the Glory for the things around me in this world and all of my family. Then I ask Him for something I want. He always provides me with what I need, He sometimes rewards me with what I want. He truly is Amazing. Amen
@GemmaR (8517)
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21 Oct 12
I think that a lot of people forget to thank God for the prayers that He has answered, and this is rather selfish. If you think about it, you would never forget to thank somebody if they had given you a gift that you had asked for, so should never forget to thank God for the things that you have been granted. There is nothing wrong with asking for a couple of small things that you would like in your life, as long as you don't let these things take over your prayers as you don't want to turn into somebody who is selfish.
@dragon54u (31634)
• United States
20 Oct 12
Since I know that God will make sure that I have everything I need, I pray for others and to thank God for everything He's given me. I say a quick "thank you" anything I see something beautiful, realize I'm using something that saves me trouble or money or hear or see something that makes me laugh or brings me happiness. I pray for people I know that are sick or injured or I pray for people like Malala, the girl who was shot by the Taliban for encouraging girls to go to school. I'll pray for my country, for the president, Congress and world leaders to get some sense and work for their people instead of themselves.
@GemmaR (8517)
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20 Oct 12
I saw the story of this girl on the news, and I have to say that it is disgusting and I cannot believe that there are still places in the world where people are honestly treated in this way. I think that women should be equal, and we should always be praying that this can be the case. If boys are allowed to be educated in their country then women should be able to get a decent education as well because they are just as good as boys and should not be treated as though they are only second class citizens.
@thewonderboy (7501)
• India
21 Oct 12
I just used to lend all my prayers to god and I don't matter with selfishness. It is good who bless us people for turn our prayers in our life. If we have something good and if we are sincere to it he will surely bless us.
There is a one who is above us people, who used to watch us people all the time. So there is nothing to hide anything from him. Just be open.
@GemmaR (8517)
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21 Oct 12
Being open is the best thing to do because like you say there is nothing that we can hide anyway. I think that God has a plan for all of us, so being able to talk to Him about the plan for our life is something that is very important. It might not always feel as though we get the answers that we're looking for, but they come to us in mysterious ways rather than being obvious, so we have to make the effort to look for them rather than just sitting and expecting God to send the solution that we're searching for straight to us.
@toxic_lifestyle (1213)
• Philippines
10 Nov 12
Well, I just pray for the things that I think I should as long as my prayers does't give any hurt to other people. :)
@THISISIT (63)
• Philippines
21 Oct 12
how do we pray? well different people have their own style or methods of praying. For me i pray directly at any time and any place.
@GemmaR (8517)
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21 Oct 12
I do think that everybody has a different way or praying, and I think that one thing that you have to remember is that you don't always have to be in a church to have your prayers heard. A lot of my friends know that I don't attend church, and say that I can't be very religious if I don't choose to do this but I have always said that I don't agree with them. I think that God can hear your prayers no matter where you are, so whether you choose to pray from the church or from home I don't think that it matters as long as you are praying.
@dmckenzie (80)
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26 Mar 13
I pray about everything. I do not think I would particularly ask for money but whatever situation I am having that I might need money for I lift that situation up to God in prayer and give it all to Him. I know He knows what He is doing and is control. God's will will be done no matter what. That is my belief and what I do.
