Would you pray for someone who asked you not to?

[AchillesPoirot]

Prompted by another thread.

If you are of a faith, and you said to someone you’d pray for them, and they asked you not to, would you still do it?

For honesty sake. I have no faith and find it offensive if I’ve asked someone not to pray for me that they do so.

Even though what they are doing is enumerating a list of my "sins" in these prayers and praying for me to be led from the path of wickedness that I am on? You'd actually do that?

I am shocked that this is co side red essential practice in mainstream religion. And that Christians think they have the right to carry on doing something I have asked them not to because they believe it to be "for my own good".

How is it "for my own good" to continue being abusive towards me?

Sorry, posted too soon. As a Christian I don't think that anyone who believes that they don't need God has made a good or correct choice. Everyone needs God, in my opinion. So no, I would never think 'Well, she's an adult! If she doesn't want God then good for her!' I'd never think this.

Again perfectly demonstrating the problem with organised religion. Offensive sanctimony like you think you know better than everyone else. I don't need god, i can think for myself. Religion is a fallacy designed to keep sheep in line. Why else do they refer to shepherds and flocks?

I don't think I know best. I simply trust God and believe that He knows best ☺️ I'm not sure what you mean about the 'shepherd and flock' thing. Obviously we are the flock and Jesus is the good shepherd. It's of course not supposed to refer to the institution of the church as the shepherd. It's odd that you assume I participate in 'organized religion'. I am not a member of any one church and instead have a personal relationship with God.

Whether or not you accept it, you do need God. We all do. I want to say "I'll pray for you to find Him" but given the nature of this thread I'll probably refrain from saying that! 😂

Whether or not you accept it, you do need God. We all do. I want to say "I'll pray for you to find Him" but given the nature of this thread I'll probably refrain from saying that! 😂

No I do not. How dare you impose your beliefs on me and belittle my trauma by laughing at me.

I'll never stop praying for people to find God because that would not be the loving thing to do. I don't need consent to pray for people, just like I don't need consent to talk about or think about people. It's simply not an issue which requires consent. If someone thinks they don't need God, no, I won't respect that. Not in my own personal discussions with God. I can refrain from discussing God with that person, but I won't refrain from discussing that person with God!

This comparison will probably make you absolutely furious, but in order to explain my feelings on the matter I'm going to say it anyway.

Prior to becoming a Christian and strengthening my relationship with God, I had a very unhealthy relationship with alcohol. I wanted to be left alone with it and thought I was fine and knew best about my own life, but my loved ones discussed behind my back (yes, without consent) and agreed that they should talk with me about it and try to help me overcome it. I didnt agree that I had any problem and felt that I knew best, and how DARE they tell me they knew better than me about my own life?

But they knew there was a problem and didn't simply accept that I knew best and leave me to it.

Why? Out of love.

And I understand this today, because this is how I feel about people who genuinely believe that they don't need God.

That reply wasn't even to you? 🙄

So now I'm like an alcoholic because I don't have god in my life and don't want a group of people to sit and bitch about me on a regular basis.

What the fuck.

By the way. I'm not "furious".

I am upset and traumatised. I am not "furious"

Even if that reply WAS to you (which it blatantly wasn't as it was quoting another post), don't you see that you're being hypocritical with your reply?

I can't "impose my beliefs" onto you, by answering a question that you literally asked. You asked the question. I simply responded to it. I didn't "impose" anything. You opened the conversation and by asking the question, you quite literally invited responses. You didn't post "please only reply if you agree with me" in your OP.

Secondly, you think that I am "imposing" my beliefs onto you by simply answering your question, and that's outrageous, yet you believe you are within your right to police what people say and think in their free time and that's totally reasonable?

You're literally trying to impose on what people say to God and their close friends in their free time when you're not even there? How can you think that this is reasonable?

If we are talking about imposition, your desire - to police what others say and think - is a pretty huge one.

As for trauma, you literally compared someone PRAYING for you to a RAPE? And I'M the one belittling people's trauma?

Sorry but you are being very unreasonable and I think that perhaps this is something you might need to work through with a professional because you're being very irrational and hostile and seem very distressed.

Are you deliberately misunderstanding every post I write? I clearly stated that I had previously had alcohol issues. How on earth did you interpret that into me calling YOU and alcoholic?!

Try reading the thread. Thank you.

I'm no more hostile than you are.

Whether or not you accept it, you do need God. We all do. I want to say "I'll pray for you to find Him" but given the nature of this thread I'll probably refrain from saying that

You can pray for me if you like. As i say i don't need an imaginary friend to talk to. But you can talk to yours about me if you want. 😘

I'm going to stop engaging with this thread now because when you posted your question, you forgot to add that you only wanted people who agree with you to respond. It seems you aren't at all interested in actually hearing other people's opinions or honest answers, and are becoming very hostile and aggressive upon reading the replies and I don't want to fuel what is clearly a big and emotive issue for you any further. I'd advise you cut contact with the people you're upset with. Is is not, and never will be, possible to police what people say in private and think in their free time, and if this is something you can't come to terms with then I'd suggest seeking help before this consumes you. I wish you all the best with this.

This is not in their private time.

Have you read the thread?

I came back to this thread to see how it is getting on.

It's horrible to observe your upset and suffering, op. All I want to do is to alleviate it. However, you don't want me to and if I were to attempt it it would upset you more because this whole thing is about your consent and being in control of your life. You are hurt but you don't want to be comforted or healed from it, you don't want your suffering to be minimised.

The only way for you to feel satisfied, I am guessing, is for the people on this thread to unilaterally agree with you that the people, you see as your abusers, are doing wrong by praying for you without asking for your consent. However, we don't know the full story because you don't want to tell it all. We don't know the full context. Part of the story is you think people should have limits on what they pray for - but this is not part of Christian belief system. We can pray about anything, although we believe God will only grant the prayer requests according to His will - which is comforting to me incase I asked for something in error.

The thing which might be of comfort to you, although I'm not sure of it, is that faith and belief in Christianity is a choice each individual has to make - the choice remains your's (according to Christian belief) whether people are praying for you or not. All that happens is the choice is 'set before you'. So no one can take away this choice. No one can enforce faith or belief.

I have asked you to stop. You can't.

I am not going to set out the abuse I suffered from so that you and others can pick over it and decide if I deserved it, no.

I’d be offended if I asked them not to but they did a big show of “keeping Emme in my prayers tonight”. Pray privately for me all you like! I won’t know. Nobody else will know (except God, if you believe in that and he’s listening).

No one can enforce faith or belief

Curious then as to what the point of praying to god for someone to come back to the flock after they've seen the light of atheism.

And people do act in other's behalf's in secular society. All the time. When I had cancer treatment surgeons, oncologists and nurses sat round a table and discussed my case. I could agree with what they came up with or not. The only way to stop the discussion would be to dismiss myself from their care.

Which, I guess, you are in the same sort of process with, with this church, op. The process is incomplete, though, because you are still somehow engaging in conversation with them.

It is not remotely the same as discussion about a health issue.

And anyway. I have to CONSENT to that and if I don't consent it won't go ahead.

(Assuming I have capacity. And I do.)

Curious then as to what the point of praying to god for someone to come back to the flock after they've seen the light of atheism.

It is, isn't it? Curious, and something I've thought about before. My thinking is that it is so circumstances line up in just the right way to give optimum opportunity for a change of heart.

And anyway. I have to CONSENT to that and if I don't consent it won't go ahead

And you have consent here. Cease from engagement with them and your withdrawal of consent is complete.

In the health arena you sign a single consent form but it consents to more than one individual action. To stop my nurses and specialists discussing my case I would have had to withdraw from their treatment.

I have asked them to stop. I do not consent. They have no stopped.

How can you not see that?

I had an operation. I had to consent.

I have treatment. I have to consent.

When I say I do not consent they stop.

Simple.