From: jtem01@gmail.com
On 1/17/26 10:41 AM, Mike wrote:
> Guidance for prayer:
>
>
>
> Jesus would most likely frown upon prayers that
> invert his stated values: humility → entitlement,
> compassion → advantage, trust → manipulation.
I guess I see all prayer as self serving; people want
something!
Asking for forgiveness is asking to escape consequences,
if not in this life then most certainly the next.
"No, I just want to escape consequences for all of
eternity, instead of for however many years I have
left. That's not selfish."
Healing?
"Please, lord, bend the laws of nature, reality itself
to heal me."
Because THAT'S not beneficial or anything...
The only prayers that might qualify under your rules
oops I meant "Guidance" would be prayers for other
people. And even then you might get into trouble if
you're a D bag.
"Oh, lord, please make my cousin a self righteous
WokeTard, like the rest of us. Open their eyes to the
wisdom of going mental in the streets over things that
don't actually matter to any of us, as we refuse to
prioritize the improving of life for ourselves and the
rest of the country."
If you pray for someone else to be lifted out of
poverty though? If you pray for someone else to experience
something that convinces them that God is real, miracles do
happen? If you pray for someone else to heal? If you pray
for someone else to achieve greatness as an accordion
player... the world's most famous Barista...
But even then I'd disagree with you.
What I always thought, if people are sincere, is they should
pray for those things that only God could do. So asking for
God to cure a disease which is medically treatable, but
refusing a doctor, is insane. And, asking God to end a war
which took humans to start and humans can end at any time is
more than a little nutty.
But, praying that God cure a cancer that the doctors told you
is incurable? Makes sense. Because it is something that only
God could do.
>
> Examples that clearly clash with Jesus-style teaching:
>
> Praying for wealth, luxury, or status
> “Lord, let me get rich, famous, or admired.”
> (Hard to square with camels and needles.)
>
> Praying to win over others
> Promotions, lawsuits, sports victories, or business
> success that require someone else to lose.
>
> Praying to escape consequences
> Asking forgiveness without repentance, or asking God
> to “fix” the fallout of dishonesty or harm.
>
> Praying for control over others
> That someone will change, obey, return, fail, or be
> removed because they’re inconvenient.
>
> Praying for signs, proof, or miracles on demand
> “If you’re real, do X for me,” which Jesus explicitly
> rejects.
>
> Praying for public admiration
> Asking for recognition, applause, or visible blessing
> to appear “chosen” or superior.
>
> Praying while ignoring need next door
> Asking for personal comfort while disregarding hunger,
> sickness, or injustice in plain sight.
>
> Praying as transaction
> “I’ll believe / behave / donate if you give me what
> I want.”
>
> Praying to be right rather than to be good
> Vindication over reconciliation.
>
> Praying to avoid suffering entirely
> When Jesus repeatedly frames suffering as something
> that cannot be neatly bypassed, only transformed.
>
> In short, Jesus doesn’t seem opposed to asking—but
> to asking from the wrong center. Not “What do I want?”
> but “What kind of person am I
> becoming?”
>
> These prayers treat inconvenience as moral injustice—
> and morality as a tool for comfort.
>
>
> Here are some eyebrow-raising things people have
> publicly asked others to pray for—often in churches,
> prayer chains, or online groups. They’re not meant
> to mock faith itself, but the way prayer sometimes
> gets reduced to a cosmic wish-list.
>
> -A brand-new Lamborghini or Ferrari
> -Winning a specific lottery jackpot with numbers attached
> -God “changing” a teacher’s grades after final exams
> -A rival’s business to fail so one’s own will succeed
> -A parking spot directly in front of a crowded mall
> -Clear weather for their wedding while a drought is ongoing
> -That a judge will rule in their favor despite obvious guilt
> -For a celebrity to notice them or fall in love with them
> -To become famous or “go viral” without any particular work
> -For God to make a sports team win a championship
> -For a boss to be fired so they can get the promotion
> -To pass an exam they didn’t study for
> -For an ex to “realize they were wrong” and come back
> -For a neighbor to move away
> -For a luxury house, yacht, or private jet
> -To avoid consequences after lying or cheating
> -That God will “fix” a broken phone or laptop
> -For a flight to be delayed so they don’t miss it
> -For a pastor to stop preaching so long
>
> Philosophically, these requests treat prayer less as reflection,
> humility, or moral alignment—and more like a supernatural
> customer-service desk. Many of these also quietly ask for
> reality to bend in their favor at someone else’s expense.
>
>
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--
https://jtem.tumblr.com/
--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)
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