Consider this a poll.

1. Have you ever prayed before?
2. If not, why not? If so, please proceed to the next questions.
3. To whom did you pray?
4. When and where did you pray?
5. How often did you pray?
6. How long did you pray for a praying session?
7. Did you time yourself while you prayed?
8. What did you say or think while you prayed?
9. What did you do during, before, or after your prayer?
10. With whom did you pray?
11. For whom did you pray?
12. Did you engage in intercessory prayer?
13. Did you engage in prayer, meditation, yoga, or a tea ceremony?
14. How did you feel when you prayed?
15. How old were you when you prayed for the first time?
16. When was the last time you prayed?
17. Do you pray regularly or irregularly?
18. Do you venerate your ancestors (e.g. honoring your mother and father, bowing to your elders, respecting your elders for wisdom and experience)?
19. If you have anything about prayer, please include this in your discussion.

I can't wait to hear your responses!

Why do you ask? What are your answers?

1. No
2. Because I didn't want to.
3. Nobody
4. Never, and nowhere
5. Never
6. 0 seconds
7. No
8. Nothing
9. Ate, nothing, watched t.v.
10. Nobody
11. Nobody
12. No
13. No
14. The same
15. N/A
16. Never
17. Never
18. No
19. This was redundant, I found it silly to open a thread so only people who pray can participate.



Yes, because we're just DYING to know what YOU think. How could we live without your opinion?

Just to be on the safe side, after the last two locked threads: off-topic discussion is not the place for "argument" about religion. I believe you've been directed to the religion threads in the debate forum already. If you want to have those arguments, please have them there.



I don't like the idea that I'm being observed and analyzed rather than having a discussion, so I'll have to give this a miss.



Hey, to be fair, I did specifically ask. Because I like conversation, not being interrogated.

Well, I think Question #1 and Question #2 can be answered by anyone. It basically asks "Have you ever prayed before?" and "If not, why?" For people who answer "Yes", then they may proceed to the next questions systematically.

I am going to wait a bit to hear some more responses.

I love your response, by the way! It's quite interesting that you have answered "No" and "Never" for the vast majority of them.

Have a good day!

I'd have to sort of agree with Blake there. If you're interested in the spiritual histories and practises of everyone, including atheists and agnostics, why limit participation only to those who pray or have prayed?

Asking "If not, why not?" isn't going to get many results. Praying isn't a default state that individuals choose to deviate from for an interesting reason - it's the other way round. I might as well ask "Did you eat a banana for breakfast? If not, why not?".

I think I am going to remove those claims.

Thank you for your response.

When I was younger I did. I stopped believing when I was about 16. I'm not spiritual at all.

Sure, you may ask that. As a matter of fact, I can make up a series of questions based on yours.

Did you eat a banana for breakfast?
If not, why not? If so, please proceed to the next questions.
How did you eat your banana?
Did you like eating your banana?
How did you feel when you eat the banana?

No. Because I had cereal. Have you learned anything useful or interesting from this interaction?

Wouldn't you rather ask whether I deliberately choose to avoid bananas, or whether I just never really considered having them for breakfast? If the former, why? If the latter, would I consider them in future, or do I think they are inferior breakfast material?

You can't claim to be interested in non-bana... I mean, non-practise as a spiritual path, if you grace it with a grand total of one dead-end question while practise gets 17 meaningful ones.

Cool! When you were younger, how did you pray? Did you enjoy praying? What did your parents/guardians think about your behavior? Did they approve or disapprove of it? I am also pretty interested in what you believed in before you turned 16. What happened at the age of 16? What has led you down the pathway of non-spirituality?

1. Panda
2. Spots
3. Cartwheels
4. Inexplicably
5. Boston
6. Candy
7. Timeline
8. Vegas
9. Verify
10. Chancy
11. Pollen
12. Guard Duty
13. Camera
14. X-Ray
15. Sam
16. Juicy
17. Druid
18. Manly
19. No.

Hope this was informative.

Food Poll:

1. Conversation
2. Pillow
3. Laura
4. Lists
5. Cod

Just doing my part.

I'm gonna change 'did' to 'do' cos i still pray.

1. Have you ever prayed before? yes
2. If not, why not? If so, please proceed to the next questions.
3. To whom did you pray? God (I'm a Christian)
4. When and where did you pray? at home, at churc, when driving, when walking, anywhere i feel like it
5. How often did you pray? mostly daily, sometimes several times a day
6. How long did you pray for a praying session? depends on available time and why etc but i can't concentrate for longer than 10 mins at a time
7. Did you time yourself while you prayed? nope
8. What did you say or think while you prayed? i pray for people, situations
9. What did you do during, before, or after your prayer? sometimes i'm driving, sometimes sitting, walking, standing
10. With whom did you pray? on my own, at church corporately, in a small group etc
11. For whom did you pray? i pray for many different people depending what's going on at the time. recently prayed for a friend who was having dialasys, she's better now
12. Did you engage in intercessory prayer? yes see above
13. Did you engage in prayer, meditation, yoga, or a tea ceremony? prayer only to God, sometimes meditate on Bible passages
14. How did you feel when you prayed? uplifted
15. How old were you when you prayed for the first time? can't remember but when i was a child
16. When was the last time you prayed? today
17. Do you pray regularly or irregularly? regularly, several times a week
18. Do you venerate your ancestors (e.g. honoring your mother and father, bowing to your elders, respecting your elders for wisdom and experience)? yes but i don't pray to them
19. If you have anything about prayer, please include this in your discussion.

Prayer to me is like a conversation between me and my God. I can pray anywhere at any time. I can pray a short arrow prayer like 'help' or longer involved prayers about situations in the world or nearer to home or for people. What I do believe is that God always answers prayer. It may not be the answer that you want but it is answered. I believe God answers in the following ways:

* not now
* yes
* later
* no

Remember these are my views. I am not foisting any of my beliefs on anyone else. I believe in God and have a relationship with Jesus, my personal Saviour.

1. Have you ever prayed before?
Yes

2. If not, why not? If so, please proceed to the next questions.
3. To whom did you pray?
To God, of the protestant Bible. To God, of the Catholic Church. To the Universe.

4. When and where did you pray?
In a Catholic church on Sundays, in a Protestant church on Saturdays, on Friday evenings, at school before classes and after classes, at dinner, at night before bed. Sometimes when something hits the news, like 9/11.

5. How often did you pray?
Every day, usually 4 times a day.

6. How long did you pray for a praying session?
2-5 minutes.

7. Did you time yourself while you prayed?
Not really, but was anxious to be done with it. When you say "while I prayed" this was almost always led by someone older and with a group.

8. What did you say or think while you prayed?
Often, I would peek around at others and marvel at their closed eyes. Other times we would make faces at ourselves while the teacher continued the prayer.

9. What did you do during, before, or after your prayer?
During prayer I would look at girls. Before prayer I would think "how long will this take?" After prayer, "oh no, it's the pledge of allegiance now."

10. With whom did you pray?
My mother, teachers, the principal, the youth group leader, the choir leader, the head of whichever household I was visiting. Never with a fellow student when a representative of authority wasn't around to lead us.

11. For whom did you pray?
For people that we knew. People inside our group that we had contact with, and our families. For parts of the world we believed were suffering. Mostly for ourselves, but after giving thanks.

12. Did you engage in intercessory prayer?
Not really, but I never got caught peeking at girls. Unless you mean for certain events like the Oklahoma city bombing.

13. Did you engage in prayer, meditation, yoga, or a tea ceremony?
Prayer, communion, vespers. Not really anything else. I once went to a foot washing before knowing what it was. When they told me that I would be getting on my hands and knees to wash the feet of males, knowing how these guys judged others by accusations of homosexuality, Oedipus complex, etc, and that they were MALES that I would be giving a male on male sensual foot massage to for the symbolic of whatever... I had to do something. What was that word? Ah, yes. Bounce.

14. How did you feel when you prayed?
"How does God actually process all of this? Doesn't it get on his nerves? If he is swamped by so many prayers then he cannot please everyone. Do we annoy him? How do we NOT annoy him? Is he watching?"

15. How old were you when you prayed for the first time?
Young enough that I was not aware of what praying was for.

16. When was the last time you prayed?
Last time was 8 years ago or more.

17. Do you pray regularly or irregularly?
Not any more. But I have prayed to the universe, if that makes sense.

18. Do you venerate your ancestors (e.g. honoring your mother and father, bowing to your elders, respecting your elders for wisdom and experience)?
I've prayed for my mother and father to stop their fighting. Why would I respect the elders of the church after having seen their true colors from years of being involved? And hearing stories from them that I can't accept. For example, the doctor in the clinic told us about how he watched his wife get hit by a car from her backside. Amazingly, she survived and he could have just been thankful to God for her safety. But that wasn't enough for him. Later he said that there must have been an invisible angel that got between the car and his wife and cushioned the impact. Wisdom and experience? My pastor is proud of his conversion story about how he was a rebel who got really high and took a nap, woke up to see a form of smoke which had to have been the devil, and turned on the television to a channel that led him to giving his life to God. I get it, you've got your street cred. It's all about getting credit with peers.

19. If you have anything about prayer, please include this in your discussion.
When there is absolutely nothing you can do in a very crucial situation, like when the blue team absolutely must intercept and make a pass, then prayer is an option. Also for Jane Velez Mitchell to stop trying to be Nancy Grace, it's like the Highlander there can be only one.

I considered myself Christian at the time, but it made less and less sense to me as I got older. Once I went to college religion/spirituality seemed like a complete bag of nonsense, and even more so by the time I turned 30.

If you were a Christian as a child, then that would imply that your parents or guardians were Christian, I suppose. Do you still love your parents? Do you still talk to your parents? Are your parents still Christian, or have they left their faith too?

Regarding being a Christian, my parents were not Christians, well they didn't practice it anyway. I was 'sent' to church as a child and as I grew older I decided for myself that I wanted to continue going to church. I have done so ever since.

1. Have you ever prayed before?
I've engaged in social praying, but it was never wholeheartedly.

2. If not, why not? If so, please proceed to the next questions.
3. To whom did you pray?
It was supposed to be the God in the bible, but it might as well be the Flying Spaghetti Monster for all good it did.

4. When and where did you pray?
In the church, I guess. Ages ago. Nowadays I only go to church if there's a family event of some sort (because I'm expected to show up whenever there's a funeral/Christening/whatever, not because I absolutely want to. Unless there's a concert of some sort - good acoustics in church...). And I don't really pray. I just sit/stand quietly, and pretend to listen.

5. How often did you pray?
Never of my own free will, really.

6. How long did you pray for a praying session?
As long as the person doing the prayer session talked.

7. Did you time yourself while you prayed?
Don't see the point of that, except if I'd wanted to know the time I'd thrown away. Usually ends up being an hour or so with prayers, preaching and various other church actvities in the mix, so it usually feels like I've sat on those church benches for a month...

8. What did you say or think while you prayed?
Mostly my thoughts went in the direction of "This is so pointless!"
I couldn't bring myself to actually say the words, so I just mouthed them whenever someone looked at me.
I was 7-8 when I realized that Christianity wasn't anything for me, though I was probably the one who held out at Sunday school the longest (though not for religious reasons - to me it was mostly just a place to meet people).

9. What did you do during, before, or after your prayer?
My thoughts:
Before - "Oh no, here we go again!"
during - "please finish please finish please finish!"
after - "Finally!"

What I did?
Stand up if required (remain seated isn't much fun when everyone else is standing). And maybe place my hands on top of each other (not fold them, though - it feels awkward).

10. With whom did you pray?
The rest of the church, I guess. If it can be said that I really prayed.

11. For whom did you pray?
No one.

12. Did you engage in intercessory prayer?
Not sure what it is, though I doubt you can say I've ever really enganged in any sort of prayer. Couldn't even bring msyelf to sing hymns (unless it's one of the very few that I actually like).

13. Did you engage in prayer, meditation, yoga, or a tea ceremony?
Don't like tea. Not yoga, for that matter. And the closest I get to meditation is some sort of activity to calm down. Sit and breathe while emptying the head for anything stressing.

14. How did you feel when you prayed?
Weird. Praying never felt right to me (not as far back as I can remember, anyway). I wasn't very old when I realized there wasn't really a god - and I couldn't see the point of praying to empty air.

15. How old were you when you prayed for the first time?
Probably sometime during my more or less brainwashed toddler years. I've not really prayed after 7-8 years of age, and can't remember what I did before that.

16. When was the last time you prayed?
I can't remember. Looooooong ago.

17. Do you pray regularly or irregularly?
none of them. I don't pray now.

18. Do you venerate your ancestors (e.g. honoring your mother and father, bowing to your elders, respecting your elders for wisdom and experience)?
Well, to a reasonable degree, I guess. And not out of religious reasons. I respect people as long as they give me good reason to respect them, and I'm more inclined to do so if they respect me back. But I don't follow their advice blindly, although I take their experience into account. I use my own reasoning to see what is right for me - otherwise I'll only be a herded sheep following the surroundings in everything. I don't bow to anyone, though - unless I've performed with something and people are clapping (although it feels weird).

My mother's family are more or less Christian (though none were weekly church-goers - more church event goers). My dad never really expressed any religious feelings (he usually fell asleep in church - almost every time). His family is quite a lot more religious than my mom's family, though. To me, the religious stuff is more grounded in tradition than actual religious faith. I celebrate Christmas because it's a nice family party (and the food/gifts), and I enjoy the Easter holiday and the rest of the days off.

19. If you have anything about prayer, please include this in your discussion.

To me, prayer is not an option - because my experience has shown it does not work.
I've never seen it have an effect when one person have prayed, and I've not seen it have an effect during mass praying.

It might make you feel good, as if you're doing something sensible - but you might as well talk to the mirror for all the good it does.

I can hope, I can have faith that things will turn out well, I can give direct encouragement, or I can try to do what I can with a situation - but I don't pray. It's pointless and a waste of time, because no one seems to be listening anyway.

I still live with them - I'm disabled. Not sure about my dad but my mom is - though neither was ever a churchgoing/praying type - more what's called a "cafeteria christian." My dad actually went to Catholic school until about 4th grade (my grandfather died when my dad was 10 and he then went to Milton Hershey school) and never had anything good to say about it.

You sound just like me. I never really got into the habit. I have been to social gatherings where some people pray before dinner, while I just stand quietly and solemnly. I am fairly agnostic myself. From my experience, I really see no point in prayer, so I actually do not pray. However, I am only speaking from my experience. I can't speak for others, and I cannot speak objectively about the efficacy of prayer, since prayer may mean differently to different people.

I was raised in a Muslim family so...

1. Yes.
2.
3. Allah (God).
4. At home, the mosque, at my friends' houses, pretty much everywhere when the time for prayer was due.
5. Five times a day.
6. Around five minutes.
7. Nope.
8. Reciting Quranic verses, the Fatihah, the Tashahhud etc.
9. Before - Wudu' (ablution)
10. Myself most of the time but also with my parents, my friends, my sister etc.
11. The standard Islamic stuff; the Prophets and the Messenger, God, the Ummah etc.
12. What's that?
13. Just the regular Islamic prayer.
14. Nothing special.
15. I think I was six.
16. Last month I think.
17. I used to pray everyday for several years but I'm not very religious anymore so it's pretty infrequent.
18. Yes, that's pretty standard where I'm from (Egypt).

Intercessory prayer is the act of praying on behalf of others

So, for example, praying for people you know who are ill/hurting, suffering unemployment etc, praying for people involved in a disaster or terrorist act or war etc. In my church we pray about events that happen in the world regardless of whether the people are Christian or not.

Yes, there have been scientific studies done on the effectiveness of intercessory prayer and faith healing. So far, the results, even on the most controlled experiments, have not been fruitful.

I'm scared...