Why and what for is prayer and bowing to a deity is needed IF there is a loving god who takes care?

That's my question to all who pray and bow to a deity, any deity or god. Why and what for would a loving mother, for example, need to be prayed and bowed to, if she knows what her child needs and wants by being a good mother?

In other words: Does a child of a loving mother "pray" and/or "bow" to its mother to be fed? No? How comes that that is not the case?

My point is: Prayer is a means to disengage the devotees from taking real (non-violent) actions. What better way to distract a devotee from being active than letting him or her pray or bow to some god or deity to get things changed? Annddd? Did anything change? By having prayed and bowed? And if yes, how does that work. I, personally, can't see that prayer and bowing to some god or deity does change anything in the real world at all.

So many usernames, it's becoming annoying.

To answer your question, praying is the same thing as meditating, going within yourself and searching for answers there. This is why Jesus said to go into your room (mind) and pray alone, not to a synagogue (church) to be seen by others.

"Praying" (the common practice) does nothing, but meditating (what Jesus actually meant by "prayer") does a lot on a personal level.

a reply to: Willingly

It is about humbling oneself before something far, far greater than our own egos. It is a gesture of respect and surrender to all that surrounds us and includes us.

a reply to: Willingly

I prefer meditation, mysticism, and philosophy over worship,... but that is just my preference, doesn't make me correct or better than anyone.

You mentioned bowing to a mother,..... according to my ancestral culture, we bow to our parents, elders, and dignitaries as a way to humble the self and show honor and respect for the other.

a reply to: 3NL1GHT3N3D1

Another question but he already has his answer.

I don't bow when I pray. I am usually standing or sitting

Prayer can be done lying down, standing, sitting, kneeling, in a building, under a tree, next to a river, in a jail cell, in a home, in the assembly, by yourself, in a closet, on a mountain. all can be found in the Bible

a reply to: Willingly

OK i'll be the devils advocate. I'm a spiritual agnostic but i have my own beliefs on how I think it works.

When we come to earth we are here to fulfill certain tasks and experience certain events/emotions that we think will help us grow spiritually.
When we come into our 3D world we forget these experiences but some do remember and especially when we are new to this world. Look up prebirth experiences.
When we are struggling with our path and need the strength or guidance, we reach out to a higher deity like a spirit guide or any other that may help.
We are meant to be here to learn and we won't do that if we reached out all the time for help, praying is showing intention.
That's my take on it anyway.

a reply to: 3NL1GHT3N3D1

So..."meditating" and praying is the same? How comes there are different terms for it?

Billions of Asians still bow to their parents, elders & peers a sign of respect.


It's not just about bowing with prayer though, it's about the passion involved in doing so.

Ever since Abraham fell to his knees, and probably before then, it's been a custom of the Faithful to fall & prostrate to who we consider to be The Merciful Creator of all.

a reply to: Willingly

When you enter a dojo, you bow out of etiquette and respect..

Quote ;"
"In order to bow well physically,
you must first learn how to bow well in your mind".

a reply to: Sahabi

In my coulture, we do not bow to our elderlys, we just love them, if they can be loved.

a reply to: Willingly

Right, Jesus once said do not keep repeating endlessly the same prayer God know's what you kneed and when asked how then to pray he gave them a simple prayer which is the Our Father prayer.

www.learnthebible.org...

Jesus said Love god (whom is the source of order and law) above all else and love your neighbour as yourself.

One man asked him on another occasion Lord whom is my neighbour and he replied with the parable of the good samaritan pointing out how even a rabbi walked past the injured man whom had been robbed but a Samaritan whom the Jew's were often at odd's with saw him and had compassion taking him (carrying or in his cart as the man was not able to move so was probably unconsciouse or in a bad way) to an inn, since the man whom was a jew had no money having been robbed this samaritan paid the innkeeper to look after him.

SO your neighbour is not just the guy whom lives in the next house to you but rather the guy whom does not pass by when you are in trouble but it is also a story that say's to be a good samaritan ourselves and so not to be bad to the other's but to treat them as the samaritan treated this stranger he found ignored and wounded on the road.

Hatred for god does not serve any purpose, in the book of revelation John threw himself on the floor but the Alpha and Omega made him stand back up calling him a fellow servant.

Jesus once said when someone called him good, Why do you call me Good only God is Good, this was not denying he was good but pointing out that the worship and adoration of persons is not godly we are all in this together even if we don't know it so helping those around you really is helping yourself and it is these good work's (if they come from good intent's) that god is more interested in.

So god has no idol, you can not define him and the prayer's to him are like a conversation with god or a telephone call because though in essence he is there all the time WE are not are we and it is a way to reconnecting with God, his connection to us is not broken but if we ignore him our universe shrink's down eventually to the me, me, me universe of the self absorbed tiny minded and selfish individualism that has caused the end of the twentieth century and this first part of the twenty first century to be a time of greed and loathing.

a reply to: mclarenmp4

Well, showing intention is not to be denied. Just like a baby crys when its hungry. But that's about it, in my view. When one is not a baby anymore, action is taken to change something. And yes, to get to know how to properly act, one needs to contemplate once in while. But praying is not the same as contemplating. Or is it?

a reply to: Willingly

Meditate originally meant "to pray", but the word prayer has gained a new meaning over the centuries to mean something completely different from its original meaning. Meditating is asking God for answers, prayer means the same thing but with a totally different context and method. When you see a Buddhist monk meditating, they are praying (in the original meaning of the word).

a reply to: LABTECH767

What ever, dude. Here is who is the re-incarnation/second-comming of Jesus Christ for me:

Bill Hicks - It's Just A Ride:

www.youtube.com...

a reply to: Kantjil

IF I enter some church, dojan, moshee, or temple, I do what is asked of me to be considered as appropreate action. That you can be sure of.

a reply to: Willingly

The bow takes the place of hand shaking and other western etiquettes and pleasantries. Doesn't make one culture correct or incorrect, just different approaches to show respect upon greetings.

a reply to: Sahabi


Sure, but what I'm talking about is: bowing five times a day just to get food or praying some prayer just to get accepted by some god or deity, THAT is what find upsetting, personally. And I also find it un-neccessary IF there is a loving god or deity that takes care. Too much hustle.

a reply to: Willingly

Why and what for would a loving mother, for example, need to be prayed and bowed to, if she knows what her child needs and wants by being a good mother?

Kind of flies in the face of being so loving and kind, huh?

Somewhere in my wee little boy past I remember being taught by churchianity that 'God is a jealous God' and shall have no other gods before 'Him'. As the one true God he insists you worship 'Him' and no other.

Jealous, envious, spiteful and vengeful, pretty dysfunctional if you ask me.

Considering 'He' knows everything, including every need but doesn't selflessly fulfill them out of Godliness, insisting you beg first. Whatever God is, thats not it.

a reply to: intrptr

I'm certainly, most definitely, not a god-concept promoter. That you can be sure of. Haven'd I made it as plain as possible by now? If not, I'm sorry for not having done so.

Prayer is more than just words...

Prayer can also be worship as well.

God once spoke to Norvel Hayes and told him: 'My church is sadly lacking. And they are lacking because they don't worship me.'

Several years ago I was driving down the road just minding my own business when the Spirit of God came upon me. He comes upon me in some of the most unusual places! Then He said to me, "Son, the church is sadly lacking." I said, "What do you mean, 'sadly lacking'?" "Well," He said, "My children basically love me, but they live in poverty and sickness and defeat. They don't live in heaven's blessings because they don't worship me enough." "You said that right, Lord," I said, "in fact I know whole congregations who don't spend any time worshiping You at all. The pastors don't ever say, 'Let's worship God for a while just because He's God.' They just teach the people to go to church, sing a few songs and listen to a song or two sung by the choir, but they don't really worship You."

Then He said to me, "And neither do you." All I could say was, "Is that right?" He continued, "You're going around the country teaching My Word. You're teaching faith and confession. You're praying for the sick, but you need to worship Me more, and you need to teach My people to worship Me more. I'm their God, and they're My children. If you'll teach my children to worship Me more, I'll do great and mighty things for them." By this time I was weeping. Every time the Lord tells me I'm a flake and I've missed it, I always repent and weep.

Worship - Unleashing the Supernatural Power of God in Your Life