Is Prayer = Begging ?

Are we not supposed to get equal share of natural resources and talents to live satisfactorily on this earth?
Then why few are deprived of few things and asked to pray, which sounds like begging

I don't know what you believe in but I gonna go ahead with my answer anyway.

If we take for instance that Paradise exists,then it means there we live satisfactory and in happiness.
If we end up in hell we live in a state of constant sadness.
So what is earth?Something of both,although Adam and Eve were thrown here as a penalty,they lost their hapiness,the beauty of paradise and their eternal life.In earth they had to face death,illnesses,demons and all those for their action.Also the world lacks ultimate justice so it is also unfair,that's why you see that there's no equality in what you are asking for.
As for praying I don't think it necessarily means beggining,except if done excessively it means that the person praying like that expects everything ready and to be handed to him,also unable to face the world.
Praying is mostly a form of expression and connection to spirituality I'd say and a way to give us hope.

Like I said though I don't know what you believe in so I gave you an answer related to Christianity.

I think it depends how and why you pray.......for me it is for insight into what I need to see and explore and experience in order to live this life to its fullest. I dont really see it as a method of material request. I like the thinking that you have to develop happiness peace and contentedness inside and then that is reflected in the world around you no matter what your circumstance. It is not what we have....it is how we feel about what we have that makes the difference. A rich man may feel poor if he has a belief in scarcity, where a poor man may feel rich if he has a belief in abundance. It depends on your world view and what you value.

One person's dream of a plasma tv maybe comparable to someone else's dream of a bird saying hello on a window sill.......depends where you look for your pleasures....

My thoughts for what they are worth

FleaXX

Some people think they are praying but they are actually begging.

I pray everyday, but I never ask for anything for myself. I usually don't ask for anything at all.

I just give thanks to everything that can easily be taken for granted.

I was at a talk the other day....Caroline Myss....she related a story about a woman in a car crash......she had a NDE (near death experience)....and saw a lady pray in the fifth car behind the crash and see the light from that car go straight up into the heavens and come back down directly to her body. She survived that accident and remember the number plate from her out of body experience and was able to thank the lady who prayed. Needless to say many people were grumbling in their cars about being late for something or another.

It is very powerful......maybe if when we prayed for something we also prayed that everyone on the planet would have the same if they so wish we would change the world one prayer at a time.

FleaXX

Perhaps praying merely redirects our attention/focus...from the material wants of the Ego to the spiritual needs of the Soul...

...and that changes our behaviour...thus changing the behaviour we attract from others...which changes our lives.

["What things soever ye desire (need)...when ye pray, believe that ye have them (now)...and ye shall have them (at some time in the future)"...(Mark 11:24......Or, any modern self-help book on the technique of "visualisation")]

EJ

I think prayer can be incredibly powerful, and I really believe in intercessory prayer. I think if someone prays, "Oh please God I want a new tv," or something selfish and material then that's different than praying and asking, "please God help me feed my family." I think it's the intention behind the act of praying. Even if you pray to help someone, but you have an ulterior motive that would benefit yourself, I believe God knows. Like I said it's the intention. It's where your heart is in the act of prayer and there's nothing stronger than a selfless prayer.

Intercessory prayer, praying on behalf of others, is very powerful I think. I think that change in the world starts with one thought and it snowballs. I think we're completely capable of changing the world with positive thinking. Imagine if everyone for one moment in the entire world stopped what they were doing to think one good thought for someone else. I think that helps to get us outside of our ownselves and our own problems. It's just a matter of what we choose to focus on.

Nothing quite like selfless caring, though

I don't think the act of begging or desperation are problems in prayer unless it's for a selfish superficial reason. Begging god to help you through a difficult time isn't a bad thing.

kbell said:

Intercessory prayer, praying on behalf of others, is very powerful I think.

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i noticed this too!!! everytime i pray for myself nothing comes of it but when my mother prays for me it works. i didnt know it was called that.

I'm not talking about self motivational prayer.
Intercessory prayer or other way, asking for external help is begging or not?

The way I see it, personally, prayers that are true reflections of what you really want and you honestly believe you'll recieve it get answered. If you want to win the lottery, and you just passively pray for it, not really expecting to actually win... you're never going to get it.

Its a tough subject... like mothers who pray for the safety of sick children. Maybe she just doesn't really believe it'll work? Who knows.

I don't think its begging though.

Its exercising your free will. You don't even have to pray, just really believe you're going to get it and bam! Mission accomplished.

It really does depend on what you mean by praying.

When I commune with God, it's mainly to check in, and feel that 'buzz' of communion, and if I'm asking for something, it's almost never for myself.

MSO said:

Its exercising your free will. You don't even have to pray, just really believe you're going to get it and bam! Mission accomplished.

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I believe that we live what we believe, and since prayer may often come from the conscious mind, it doesn't always work, especially if there is an unconscious `script' at work.

flea, I was interested in the tale told by Caroline Myss (did you see her in Perth???).
A friend of mine used to teach in the Waldorf school system, and she says that whenever staff got together to discuss a child - in a helpful way, and not in a judging way - they'd find that whatever had been a problem for a child seemed to immediately lift from that child, just by a few staff members discussing how they could help this child. This is a form of prayer, since the discussion of the staff members was intended to free the child from difficulty or struggle.

I believe that intent is everything. Whatever we pray for or about will always have an underlying intent.

Is this begging? Only if we feel fearful or desperate, because we are praying from a sense of lack.

why do we need to communicate with someone( be it god) and request something (even some information).

When you pray genuinely from deep within your heart, it WILL be answered. But don't tell God/Universe/Love (or whatever you believe in) how to answer it. God/Universe/Love (or whatever you believe in) wants to help you and knows what's best for you, so your prayers will not always be answered in the way you expect and/or in the time frame you want.

I believe INTENTION is key.
Prayers will sound like begging if your intentions come from ego-based or fear-based place. Also if you're just trying to find a quick solution about something or if you want things to be answered in certain way, your prayers will not be genuine, and will be like begging.

Virinchi said:

why do we need to communicate with someone( be it god) and request something (even some information).

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That's a deep question Virinchi.
The answers will depend on what people believe in.

I have my own beliefs and it won't be easy to answer in a simple way, but I will do my best.

I pray when I want to speak to God/Universe/Love and I meditate when I want to listen to God/Universe/Love. I do this because I am a spiritual being having an human experience in this life time, in this earth, and because I COEXIST with the Universe.
I pray because I am part of God, and I am in this earth to learn from my experiences and grow as a human being and a spiritual being so that I can experience LOVE in it's purest form. I cannot exist without God/Universe/Love. That's why I always communicate with God through prayers.

Love and Light~

i felt , Prayer is one of the communication forms with present religions have made this into mere begging