🔒 Closed What do atheists do if they have problems? Wouldn't it be better to pray?

[plhbg1]

I understand why atheists don’t pray (that would be silly) ...but why do believers pray?

God has a perfect plan, but in your case, you believe he screwed up, and if you beg him, he’ll change his mind?

I thought you guys thought that God was better than that - no?

Disclaimer: The views and opinions E×ρréššed in this post are those of the original speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of the thread starter haha.

 

[Kaplok Kaplok]

Prayer does not make sense in the Christian belief system. Becuase of the belief that God already predetermined everything in a perfect way. If that was the case, why do have to pray for anything you want?

Here is the known and recommended structure of prayers.
-adoration
-confession
-thanksgiving
-supplication

If God was omniscient, then he would know what you want, he should know everything. He would already know your sins(confession), he already knows if you appreciate (thanksgiving), and he already knows what you want (supplication). So the only remaining purpose is Adoration, where you flatter him with how great you think he is. Maybe that is the only purpose of prayer for theist. To flatter their god and reinforce their belief in it.

But here is the kicker. I am an atheist, and I practice praying. How?

Adoration - i do not flatter an imaginary god. I structure this to acknowledge that I am an imperfect version of myself. It allows me to humble myself to the greatness of everything else.

Confession- i am not confessing to someone. I am just verbalizing my mistakes, putting it in the light so I know what needs correcting

Thanksgiving- here I enumerate things that I am happy about. The gratitude just makes me a happier person overall.

Supplication- in relation to my mistakes and what i am thankful about, this part provides me of what will be my plans moving forward. It gives the personal "vision and misson".

The whole process of what we call prayer serves as a "defragging of the mind" like how a computer does it. It helps with clarity and efficiency of thinking. And it is good for the wellbeing. We can also call it meditation.

Doesn't it seem now that prayer makes more sense for an atheist?