@chaney3 saidYou either allow for the freedom to love one another, or hate one another. You can either will care for others, or hate others. You either allow those to turn to God or reject God, it is who-so-ever will, or will not. While this is playing out, people are going to make horrible choices. I'm surprised you are shocked at the ugliness in the world, what makes you think it should be different?
Then you remove free will.
We certainly do pray for intercession, but we are also told to have faith in divine providence. Many of the early Christians faced death and martyrdom resolutely and their deaths were used to bring about conversions and give us meaning in the world. I think it is possible to believe that the deaths of these people were not in vain, either, and that their lives also touched millions of people and impacted them positively.
We say in the Lord's prayer thy will be done, after all, and understand that our own death is inevitable.
So, I think that it is hard to think about tragedy and death as somehow us being betrayed by God.
@philokalia saidSo, praying to God for a safe flight can be futile?
We certainly do pray for intercession, but we are also told to have faith in divine providence. Many of the early Christians faced death and martyrdom resolutely and their deaths were used to bring about conversions and give us meaning in the world. I think it is possible to believe that the deaths of these people were not in vain, either, and that their lives also touched ...[text shortened]...
So, I think that it is hard to think about tragedy and death as somehow us being betrayed by God.
Taken further, prayer can be a waste of time.
@chaney3 saidThere is a childhood prayer we used to say that went:
So, praying to God for a safe flight can be futile?
Taken further, prayer can be a waste of time.
Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my Soul to keep,
If I should die before I 'wake,
I pray the Lord my Soul to take.[2]
Theoretically, all prayer should include within it this sort of symmetry to be theologically sound, as the Lord's Prayer consists merely of asking to be given one's daily bread (though this is meant to be symbolic for the word of God) and to forgive us our sins.
Moreover, the most common prayer that we say in Orthodoxy, the Jesus Prayer, is a variant of the Publican's prayer: "God, have mercy on me, a sinner." But we say, "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner" (or a slight English variant of that).
The concept of mercy is a prayer both for the life we currently life, but, if not this, then mercy for us at the judgment.
Praying at length for the hope of specifically overcoming something that may be the will of God would be incorrect and a wrong understandign of the purpose of prayer, I think.
St. Porphyrios told us to not despair of providence and to pray for others by saying the Jesus prayer as it is (and not changing the words to Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on X or some such).
@chaney3 saidNot futile, but if you believe God is in control even in the bad things in your life, you should praise God through them. Look at what the people did in the Old Testament; delivered out of Egypt, and they murmured whenever they didn't like the ways things were. God was providing everything they needed and doing great things for them, and they complained.
So, praying to God for a safe flight can be futile?
Taken further, prayer can be a waste of time.
If you want to be on solid ground in prayer, praise God in all things and not murmur for this is the will of God concerning you. If God adds to your life or takes away, it doesn't change His great love for you, and He is working to the outcome for you desired by God. Our best prayers are for altering our hearts towards Him that we trust and obey to the point of death for this life isn't all there is. Yes, we should pray for good outcomes, but as Jesus is our example, sometimes we need to say, your will Father be done.
-Removed-Dive, you're a terrible person to debate with because you are too arrogant for your own good. I have questions, don't mock me for them because it shows your own immaturity.
Example: the Bible says hell exists, however....dive says it doesn't. Am I to call you a child because you thumb your nose at the Bible?
Stop being such a rude child when replying to others. We all have questions.
Note: I think you are too arrogant and self righteous for your own good. Your persona here is not that of a Christian. I would not want to know you.