So Many People Pray During Difficult Times

But does it ever really help?

Photo by Ismael Paramo on Unsplash

In times of need and grief, most people turn to prayer. After each of our mass school shootings, politicians ask for thoughts and prayers. After natural disasters, community leaders ask for prayers. If we or a loved one is seriously ill, we pray to God for assistance. But there is something about this phenomenon I don’t understand.

I was raised a Catholic and attended Catholic schools. We constantly prayed for world peace, and people still do. People have prayed for world peace for thousands of years, but it has never happened.

People are still dying from mass shootings and natural disasters, such as tornadoes and hurricanes, as people continue to pray for their safety. People pray for their favorite sports team to win and continue to pray, even when they lose.

Perhaps the situation that is most perplexing to me is when people pray for their loved ones who have been diagnosed with a fatal disease. It is a shock for anyone to hear that a loved one or ourselves has been given a diagnosis that could end our life. Understandably, many people turn to prayer to spare one’s life from a deadly disease. A person would believe God could make the disease disappear if they prayed hard enough.

What I don’t understand is that God gave the disease to the sick person in the first place. Shouldn’t people pray that God doesn’t give us a disease instead? And if we are diagnosed with a fatal disease, shouldn’t we accept it because it is what God wants?

I feel the same about natural disasters like hurricanes, earthquakes, and tornadoes. God created them, so He must want them, regardless of whether or not they kill people. There is no use in praying for the victims because God wanted them to happen.

After every mass school shooting in this country, people pray for the victims and also pray that it doesn’t happen again, but it does. If it keeps happening, maybe it’s what God wants. But why doesn’t He want it to happen in other countries?

I know that some people reading this will say what all clergy and religious people always say when they can’t explain something about religion, “It is God’s will.” This leads me to ask, “Why should people pray if it is God’s will?”

Maybe we should be praying to God for help at all. Perhaps we should be doing something about the problems, like living healthier lives or taking better care of our environment. Maybe we should stop playing politics and bowing down to the almighty gun lobby to save the lives of our children instead of praying that God save them for us.

I am not really sure prayer helps other than giving desperate people hope. Yes, even though I am not religious, I still sometimes pray, in case it does work. I believe in the old saying, “God helps those who help themselves.” I also think we should help each other as well.

I am not entirely sold on religion, and I will always have questions about some aspects of Christianity and other religions. I only wish people would believe in each other as much as they believe in what they can’t see or understand.

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This Too Shall Pass

It might be like a kidney stone, but it will pass!

Photo by Ronin on Unsplash

I am not a religious person, even though I was raised a Catholic. I haven’t been to church in years, as being gay, I was sick of sitting in church hearing the priest calling me an abomination and saying I was going to hell. Usually, it was one of the same priests who was actively molesting altar boys while the bishop was covering up his deeds.

I live in a small village in Western New York State, which, despite having a college, is quite a Conservative community. We have one of each of the following churches, Catholic, Methodist, Presbyterian, All Souls Universalist, and Baptist. We also have quite a few storefront evangelical churches. But the Baptist church in town stands out from the rest.

The pastor and his wife have been called “Hippies” by many of their good Christian neighbors, mainly because they don’t dress or act like traditional members of the clergy and have progressive views. I guess you could say they are “liberal,” you know, like Jesus Christ.

The church also does weird things, such as ministering to homeless teens, giving them free warm meals and clothing, and providing free holiday meals to the poor, regardless of who or what they are, minus the preaching. I’m not saying the other churches don’t serve the community, but they tend to serve only the members of their own churches.

There is a digital sign board in front of the church emphasizing that “ALL” are welcome. The sign also delivers timely and supportive messages to the entire community. However, the messages are not always well received by all.

To the dismay of the other good Christians in the community, the church proudly displays its support for the LGBTQ+ community during Pride Month every June. Did I mention the church is the only church that performs same-sex marriages?

The day after the election, I passed the church and noticed a new message on the signboard. It read, “This too shall pass. It may be like a kidney stone, but it will pass.” Feeling depressed, this message cheered me up and gave me hope for the future. I am sure the members of the neighboring churches were clutching their collective pearls!

I very rarely give kudos to churches or religious organizations, but I felt this one deserved a shoutout. If I ever decided to return to church, this one would be my church of choice. I would be welcomed as a worthwhile human being in the same manner as Christ would do.

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