Prayers of Petition
Dudley Nightshade asked 5 years ago
I have a question concerning prayers of petition. Despite receiving prayers for healing or restoration, God does not seem to respond positively to people with lost limb injuries. I have never seen the restoration of a lost arm or leg for example. And unless God discriminates against such injuries, something that makes no sense at all to me, I have to presume that God responds to prayers for the healing of cancer or diabetes or heart disease or other illnesses in the same way...which is to say He doesn't intervene or respond at all. And if He doesn't intervene in prayers of petition for healing, why should we presume He intervenes when we pray for peace or the cessation of hunger or anything else.
In other words why bother to pray for anything??
George Carlin summed it up pretty well in one if his comedy routines. If God has a plan for the Universe, what kind of a messed up plan would it be, if every few milliseconds He has to make changes to the plan to accommodate the prayers of people who would like some small changes made to accommodate their needs or desires.
What is your understanding of prayers of petition?
I prayed for many years that my mom would have a peaceful death... She didn't, she had the type of death that that she MOST hoped to avoid. Of what good were those years of prayers of petition?
The answers that I have heard often suggest that God answered, but said no. But that means God is just going to do what He wants to do anyway...so again, why bother to pray? It would seem to me that all prayers of petition are essentially worthless.
What say you?
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1 Answers
Rabbi Yosef Karpman answered 5 years ago
Shalom,
You make great points.
1-every person has a spiritual bank account = all the completely selfless acts they accomplish in all their lifetimes.
2- petitions by a truly selfless person are much more effective at achieving the desired effect.
3- there are two phases of petitions.those before a decree is sealed and those that are after a decree is sealed. The petitions before a decree is sealed are most effective.
4-The Torah teaches that humanity is one and the sins that the average joe tramples underfoot can have huge effects on the collective whole. Certain souls are righteous enough to absorb the pain that the collective is due onto themselves. They don’t have to be famous leaders or community heads frequently they are children or people that we see everyday.
5-As we are close to the redemption the speeding up of spiritual cleansing means many people go through major hardships now to clear their records from multiple lifetimes
Of course we see obviously evil people enjoying carefree existence- but the Torah. Verse “and he pays those who hate him to their face “applies— those who seem to have it easy now are either perfectly righteous or in for a rude awakening.
Best wishes———
R.Yosef Karpman
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