“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.” 1 John 5:14
As an individual with a number of chronic diseases and ailments, I am a common recipient of silent sympathetic prayers and the headliner of church bulletin boards. Earnestly, I have thanked the well-meaning individuals responsible for these efforts, yet perpetually wondered about the true potential of their intentions. The power of prayer, it seemed, has been a heavily disputed issue for years, and determined to learn the true effects of this ancient ritual, I turned towards the pursuit of answers.
With a pencil in one hand and a notebook in the other, I anxiously jotted down any information I could find regarding the nature of prayer in today’s society, but my research presented me with a much more confounding question: who are these people praying for me, and what are their intentions?
From my own Buddhist perspective, prayer was always defined quite differently to me than by my Christian peers. I viewed meditation, self-reflection, and the invocation of benevolence within one's self as the defining qualities of a successful prayer session. However, from the Christian perspective, prayer is the act of communicating with God, a chance to bring one’s self closer to his or her faith through expression. I understood the differentiation of these concepts, and regardless of my own faith, I appreciated the meaningful intentions of individuals concerned towards my well-being.
This is not the sort of prayer I have always been subjected to, however.
Growing up in a highly Christian and conservative neighborhood, my religious beliefs have always protruded from the social norm. As early as five years old, I recall being bombarded with threats of eternal damnation and attacked with derogatory terms, despite the fact that I was at the time attending a Christian church. I was not deterred for long by these hurdles. Growing into my own faith, I began to understand that the nature of these offensive acts was not hatred, however, but fear in disguise. And so as life persists, I maintain my appreciation of all religious faiths, and I humbly accept all compassionate efforts regardless of their spiritual nature. Upon a deeper look into the character of these devout individuals, however, I revealed an alarming trend between the altruistic act of prayer and the selfish tendencies of those who practice it.
According to Pew Research Center, 55% of Americans attest to praying every day. The action of prayer in this instance is not defined from a Christian or Buddhist standpoint, but rather by the unique faiths of the individuals themselves. Being exposed to my heavily faith-influenced childhood town, I was not surprised by this statistic. This trend applied not only to Christians, but those of other religions as well, with Jehovah's Witnesses holding the highest percentage of those who pray daily at 90%, and Jews holding the lowest at 29%. Of these people who prayed on a daily basis, 86% believed in heaven, 72% believed in hell, 85% believed in God for certain, and less than 1% didn’t know if they believed.
From this information, I was mildly shocked. Although many religious do teach the existence of heaven and hell, these high numbers indicated that perhaps one’s certain belief in eternal torture or bliss was a pressing cause to pray, rather than altruistic values.
A minor roadblock, but I persisted own.
This time, I furthered into the correlation between prayer and political beliefs.
47% of people who prayed daily attested that government aid to the poor does more harm than good, and 52% opposed or strongly opposed same-sex marriage.
Again, I encountered a slight pattern of hypocrisy. Those who prayed ritually, an act generally associated with compassion and love, an idea taught by Jesus who washed the feet of his disciples and the Buddha who preached the spread of joy, do not look favorably upon the act of aiding those in need, or granting happiness to their fellow humans.
These findings lead me to the greatest of questions: so why do we pray? The answer to this, undoubtedly abstract and widely varied upon the individual, is important to the understanding of our own spiritual beliefs. Most, if not all, religions base their framework upon love, compassion, and acceptance towards the individual and the world around him or her. Christianity teaches us to accept God into our hearts, to love ourselves as we love our neighbor, and to lead an altruistic, spiritual existence. Buddhism guides us to refine our thoughts and actions, to ease our souls from the burden of hatred and loathing, and to gain strength from compassion and tolerance. As we have been instructed by our own faiths, we must act upon our core values in all aspects of life. Regardless of our religion, political beliefs, sexual orientation, or race, we must understand that our faith defines who we are at all times, even if we often find ourselves misguided.
I began my journey with an endeavor to find a meaning for prayer, and I undoubtedly uncovered an answer. It is time that we begin to delve into our own faith, to understand and accept the perpetually changing world around us, and to harness our beliefs into feelings of love, compassion, and acceptance. Prayer holds immense power, and it is time that we begin to utilize it.
