John A. Broussard

Necessarily, since I'm comparatively unfamiliar with other gods, I'm restricting my thoughts here to the Christian god, and that's tough enough.

The consensus among Christian theists is that god is capable of what we would consider to be human emotions--anger, love, vengeance, etc.--though their exact forms are difficult to gauge, since these are obviously extrapolations from finite beings to a supposedly infinite one. But we can only work with the material we have.

The question then comes up, "What does god gain from prayer?"

More specifically, the question is, "What does god gain from Petitionary and Intercessionary Prayer"? (For those unfamiliar with the jargon, the first refers to prayer for help for oneself and the second for help for others)

Now, god must gain something from these prayers, since god made humankind "for his own glory," according to standard Christian views.

So we're left with the question, and one way to arrive at an answer is to fall back on that extrapolation from the emotions of finite beings to that of an infinite one.

When your dog (we'll assume you have one, since that's a minor assumption in this context) comes to you while your eating, sits back on her haunches and begs for a bite of food, the usual response is amusement on your part and very likely a giving-in to the begging--a reward for the action. Of course, sometimes you're annoyed and don't give her any food. That doesn't stop the dog from trying again. And again, and again.

So, if this analogy (with all of its limitations holds) then god must be much amused and must derive considerable satisfaction from watching humans beg. It also explains why god sometimes rewards, sometimes doesn't.

It also should be a big incentive for the believer to go out and find more recruits to join in the begging. Just imagine the charge god would get at having some six billion human beings begging!!

Anyhow, this is just a thought. Maybe someone else can point to other satisfactions that god derives from Petitionary and Intercessionary Prayer.

sharon45

Instead, the christian god reveals himself as to not being perfect with this admitting of need.

Ojuice5001

I do think that is part of the reason the gods enjoy prayer and other acts of worship. The dog analogy is a good one; the gods can often find the things we do amusing, including our religious behaviors. It doesn't mean that a motive of insecurity enters into the picture, any more than most humans need reassurance that they are superior to their own dogs. The extreme forms of religious self-abasement can make you wonder, but it can still be blamed on human fanaticism rather than saying that the gods actually prefer miserable grovelling to dignified ritual.

Another reason would be the transfer of magical energy. Contemporary neopaganism postulates that there's a supernatural substance that behaves like energy (not that it's the same thing), and so we call it energy. It's a short step from that concept to the concept that this energy is transferred between humans and gods, to the benefit of both, when they interact.

Bearlaker

Prayer is just part of the indoctrination process.
And God Said, "Show me the money!"

Biff the unclean

The same thing Santa gets from the letters you write to him. Information on your status. Since this information is already availabe to both Santa and God then you must look to see who would gain from it. Santa's reps (Mom) and God's are the likely candidates.

blues runner

Some of the Christians I've spoken with on this topic have told me that their god wants to hear prayers because he's interested in developing a loving relationship with us. According to these believers, god is sincerely interested in what is going on with us because he cares about our needs and wants us to express these needs to him continually throughout our lives.

Why? Isn't god supposedly omniscient? Why would an omniscient being be interested in developing a relationship when it already knows the ultimate outcome of any and everything in existence? Well, I've asked that and been told that he just wants evidence of our love and devotion. So, basically he enjoys getting his ego stroked. Also, in his omniscience, he obviously knows what people want and will want even before they know it themselves. So what's the point of praying for those things which may be desired, yearned for? He's already got the notice.

I like the dog analogy as well. I don't think most Christians would . I'm sure they'd insist that god in his infinite love for us always has the time and desire to listen if we have the time and desire to pray. If it were otherwise, how could they have peace of mind knowing they were supposedly being listened to every time they made the effort? No, egocentrism demands an absolute in this case: God is always listening; after all, it's me! Yep, everyone is important to god. Except those who get the shaft in life (get blown up, die young, become lame, etc). Then again, Christians tell me he's a selfish god and has his reasons for everything, and they all aren't mine to understand. Those who seem unfortunate in this life are blessed bountifully by the Lord, and those who die young are called home. OK.

Anyway, don't want to get carried away on this one...

DBT

For an omniscient being, trying to have a 'loving relationship' with us would be something akin to us attempting to have a relationship with a tape recorder.

Thomas II

Ok,here it goes...It's not that God needs prayers...
Forget about all the religion stuff. Let me just answer it from the energetic aspect of it...
A prayer establishes a PREDISPOSITION for something positive to happen.
A "healing" would not come from some religious god feeling good about you and granting you a favor because you kissed his ass.
It would come from the RELATIONSHIP between the energy fields of the sick person and the energy fields of his/her environment.
The "humbling"(of the ego) effect of the prayer,conditions the transmission of
energy.
Shamans know this, and even Jesus knew that when he would say "your faith has healed you", not " I just healed you" or "God just healed you".
The statement of "your faith has healed you" means in fact "your putting your ego away for a moment and opening yourself to this healing is what healed you".
The shaman or healer forms part also of that "environment" so he has input too...
The why in some cases it works and others it does not is more complicated to verify. The natural system we belong too has the last word about it.

Nothing supernatural. It's all about the interaction of energy,chemistry,physics,psychology... That does not take away from the sense of awe one can feel when it happens, just like knowing what is happening does not take away from the awe we feel when we watch a sunset or a sunrise or a child being born or someone dying...

blues runner

Are you correcting me or just echoing my point? The absurdity of that claim is exactly what I illustrated.

Peace,

JD

Anat

I have seen a Hassidic commentary according to which God deliberately made Abraham and Sarah infertile because he liked hearing them pray for a child. IOW if you are a good believer, of the kind that prays often and makes personal requests, God will give you special hardships, taylored to your personality, wishes and circumstances, just to give you more reasons to pray.