Do you believe prayer can change this world?
I heard of a fantastic experience in Africa and this week we will pray
together with my friends and readers for the Saint Joseph’s Party on
March 19th.
We will pray to help to improve the state of the world. Some believe
that prayer is too abstract – but I would like to hear your opinion on
this.
Thank you
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May my boyfriend finally find people that will really help him staying out of drugs and may God give him the will to go there and strength to share his pain and burden with others.For him,for our son and for me.Amen.
Since I’ve been posting this here,the day after,he was having a big smile.It is still the case today,but I know it can change again,I have seen it too often.But what’s new is that he is going to go to the N.A. from monday,I hope he will go continually and I wish he finds people to talk to.Since,he does not write to share nor he is the artist type and since he does not have many friends,do not seem to keep relation with people,he needs to find support and understanding somehow.It’s a tough life for him and us.This is the biggest problem in my life,because it is permanent,all the rest is temporary.Thanks,joy remains ideed,because behind the Devil’s mark,there are blessings still living.I do concentrate on the beauty,I hope he’ll do the same.<3
Prayer is the respiration of the soul, I strongly believe it helps all the time,in good and bad days.
Simona Lucescu
prayer is communing with God, talking to God through your heart that even if you dont say a word , with his intercession you will experience calmness and peace within your self .
prayer is talking to God its the strongest thing prayer can move mountain…….
Today I was telling my friend via email that I had exams coming up and that I would like to achieve an A on my exams. She said she would pray for me to get an A. I realized that her words were a kind gesture but somehow when she said she would “pray for me to get an A” my heart tightened up and I overlooked her remark.
Why is she praying for me to get an A?
I did not want to say thank you and it took me 20 minutes before I could go back to the email she sent me and say thank you and apologize for not saying thank you sooner. But I could not understand why my heart had averted from such a seemingly positive gesture.
“I’m going to pray for you to get an A.” In my heart I felt like I didn’t need to pray for an A, what I needed was to study hard to get the A because the power, which was indeed given to me by God, was in my hands. So I couldn’t fully grasp the concept of why she said that. In a way, it felt almost fake. Like something to say when someone doesn’t know what other kind word to say. But anyways I said thank you and then I remembered the part where she said, “Study hard” and conversation continued.
I don’t think prayer is something necessarily abstract when it is combined with action! Like people say, “I’ll pray for you” as a sort of cop out from actually helping just a few people in the world. I think prayer has a good effect when people draw courage from it and proceed. But when it’s just praying and then continuing the same way you were without any change or attempt to progress then what good is it?
..Im going to pray for you to get an A.
this statement reflects your friend’s concern about you and believe me, its not fake.. It is a true concern and it works.
Further, dont we pray for someone who is undergoing some medical treatment and say things like’”get well soon.”
Do you say ‘Good Luck’ or ‘All The Best’ to your friends before exams? Or your friends say these words to you? What does these words mean to you? In other words, what is the significance of these words for you?
Just give it a thought.
Its equally true that my prayer for you will not be suffice for your success in exams. You have to study and study hard. The role of prayer is to help you to attract those positive forces of nature which will help you to focus on your study.
Have faith in the forces of Nature.
Regards.
A força da Oração é a Fé….
Está sim…feita de coração pode mudar, construir e fazer enxergar…
A minha preferida é a prece de Caritas….
Beijo*
The only kind of prayer that exists to me is “upper room prayer,” payer in the highest levels of the mind, prayer win which no distinctions exist and the only sight that exists is motivated by the eyes of the heart. This is prayer that, when spoken, inflames the heart with its tongues of fire and unleashes a world that can’t be seen except by faith. When more than on e person come together with their hearts on the floor to ask the world of Heaven, the world is given – even if in the world of the judges and angels. Then its in the record books.
Honestly; I don`t know! I dont have to know it, maybe… I don`t have a religion too. I am a materialist…
But i believe! together, with these positive energy of the humans in different languages; every second is a beatiful change and i am feeling very peaceful and good, after/while i am praying…
Yesterday, one thing you wrote, Mr.Coelho; and that was more dense and meaningful for me, more than 100 Philosophie books that i have read; more than 100 words i have heard;
“It is easy to be a hater. Go for the difficult task: be a lover.”
i don`t know, if it would be accepted and i dont know how to praying, i am always late:) but i will try; in couple of minutes, i will praying with my own words in my mind for every human being and life forms in our home planet; the earth …
Thank you,
öner
Thanks Mr.Coelho
I think prayers do work… though initially i was a bit reluctant in believing. However, when i first read one of the prayer from your book “like the flowing river”.. “God give me some doubts..”
I believe, things started working out then. It gives me a lot of courage to deal with any problem that i confront in my personal & professional life…. We all are full of doubts, full of questions and through prayers we can actually connect to our inner self… because, we all try to find of answers outside, when those are well within us.. so all we need is to constantly connect to our inner self through prayers and meditation.
Have been closely following all your moves on internet and books. I enjoy and feel self awakening..Thanks for everything… May God Bless us all
God is love.When we pray,his loves fills us.
Just like when one comes closer to fire, heating is more on the person;similarly when ones prays with silent mind with deep desire to hear and see God,God’s love,spirit and its fruits(Gal5:22) fill us.
Prayer helps us to be with God deeper.
Jesus set the example of a role model life by being with the Father God,hearing and doing His will in His life.He with Father,and Father with Him(John14:10).
Jesus also gave the word that if we belive Him and ask in His name, He will give us.This is also through prayers.
Prayer is powerful and can change the world,if we pray with belief and surrendering fully to God, without depending at all on self in us.
God bless….
I believe that prayer can definately change the world. By praying I believe tha we are acknowledging that we need the help of God cause the situations are above us. By praying we are acknowledging that as spirits nothing is cast in stone and no matter what our destiny is circumstances can change and we can make the road less painful and get more and learn more but allowing the goo spirits in the universe to take care of us and cast out all the bad spirits that are ready to see us suffer through life more than we bargained for. So yes I believe you can change the world through prayer as it gives or opens a world that is filled with love and protection.
si concuerdo contigo, la oracion mueve al mundo!!
Talk between two people is communion: a form of prayer. I have written a book called The Joy of Talk (Quartet) all about the subject. Famous writer, William Dalrymple has described the book as “an eloquent guide to eloquence” but only within the context of real connection otherwise it is worthless.
Prayer vibration … just like the sound of the bell affects the physical body killing disease. So surprising.
I have no doubt that prayers can change the world,as well as our personal lives.
Based on my experienced, I will try to convey my faith to the non believers out there.
Last year, I have suffered an acute back pain which was so unbearable to the point where
I even considered committing suicide. Nonetheless, no doctors nor any medication cure my affliction.
Then I’ve turned to god. I was placed in the hands of my pasture by my request to come and pray for me. After a full long day of praying, I finally met god. He has cast all the evil spirits out of my body and gave me a new body as well as a new life.
All this may sound too fantasitic and unreal. Nevertheless they are all true.
Sure
Prayers are the secret language of the heart.
Coupled with a strong faith it nourishes the soul
in multitude it can move mountains.
the endless source of miracles in this world.
I stopped praying. I used to pray out of guilt, like I owed it to God to pray even if I didn’t mean it. I felt like my life was a mess but it would become an even bigger mess if I didn’t pray. It also felt hypocritical to pray mostly when I’m in ‘trouble’.
Prayer involves telling God how great he is, all the wonderful things he’s done (like he doesn’t know), how we’re not worthy of him and letting him know that we’re forever at his mercy. That paints a picture of a very insecure God. If there was a human being that needed to be talked to the way we talk to God, what would we think of him/her?
Dear David,
I understand you and think that you gave up beleiving in God as you were taught so far. And you are absolutely right. God doesn’t need to be figured out in our minds, or hear the nicest words. Here is the key point; He wants us to pray with His names ( with the ones that have meanings for you too)to make us remember that we are loved, protected and not alone. He wants us to feel Him with us everytime because He wants to see us stronger than we think we are. That’s why we mostly pray when we have troubles in our lives. God wants us to pray anytime because he wants us to see the other problems around us and be strong to deal with them without any fair. ;)Our duty is to represent Him in the best way we can.
yes i have heard too…prayers can change the world..and people too….it can change how a person thinks,it can change what a person belives in…it can change the whole personlaity of a person….
but it depends whether prayers are answered or not….
unanswered prayers too bring changes…more negetively though….
All prayers are answered.
All prayers are answered, sometimes the answer is no.
hello Paulo and friends,
i am a big believer of prayer. i never give up on something i really want so i guess God always took pity on me and answer my every prayer.
thank you my father in heaven. love
I don’t know what to believe when it comes to pray together.
Sometimes it seems to have given miracles – less murders in a big town, someone who healed from death, someone who got the exact exam-questions they had prayed for.
Other times someone have been ill and although all his friends and family met to pray he still died, although douzins of people meet to pray to heal the earth – the pollution just continue to grow.
There is power in praying, no doubt about it,
it does create a stronger focus on your task in front of you.
Prayers and religion is in my culture something very private and personal. To pray in a group is for me still awkward.
I think that prayer can change the WORLD if a lot of people pray for that. If the prayer aims for sth. big, e.g. changing the world, I think a certain critical mass of people has to work together.One person’s prayer can change sth. in the person’s environment but if everyone prays for betterment, betterment shall come. however, I think this is not the only factor. Also the belief plays an important role. I remember a place in the bible which says “If your belief was as big as a nutshell then you could easily move the mountain.” So also one “believer” might be able to change.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mhu2B6r7ZSY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcXtHXaaGuc
singing together is another possibilty
I had a wonderful sight – seeing the sun pulsating and “dancing” on that very same day! Yes I belive (added by Mobile using Mippin)
Não acredito que a oração isoladamente tenha o poder de mudar alguma coisa, mas sim a fé, as atitudes corretas e o comprometimento com aquilo que cremos. Sendo assim, se acreditarmos que adorar um totem, meditar silenciosamente, ou contemplar a natureza, podem trazer mudanças, assim será.
I believe pray can change the world!
Sou brasileiro, tenho 16 anos e tenho todos os seus livros.
Paulo Coelho você é o melhor escritor na minha opinião.
Muito obrigado por escrever e espalhar toda a sua sabedoria!
Yes when person starts praying it mean he has understood the meaning of his life, human birth is very important and is to get moksha (end of life and death cycle) and when person pray it means he is actually with god enjoying his most important duty that is prayer for his lord and for him nothing is more important than this and that gives him freedom from fear of failure in his other activities and he can do it all the way in name of god and that adds real success to his life, prayer is easiest way to worship god and that definitely change the life.
As I said, I will get back on this issue,
Here is what I think … Now wait,
This is so funny, why on earth my opinions would ever count ? Why should anyone care ?
Many of us from top to bottom have given similar answers, I was just browsing all your responses. (Please do not get mad on me.)
“I believe….
or
“I do not believe…
This is so funny, what is your believe and not believe has got to do with that entity which even does not exits in real form?
You pray, you shout and you cry all of these are normal human sufferings. Most of the times you pray simply because you are not happy or you want something in your life or may be you have developed a habit of praying for good. But again,
Why are you following the tradition of forefathers? What it has got to do with trust of God or no God?
We live in world where everything is temporary, there is nothing immortal. Even the existence of the place where we are living is bound to get destroyed oneday. (Do not get afraid)
Let me give you one simple example,
Mr. A is very bad man and he has decided to kill Mr.B for some reason. Mr. A has put gun in the head of Mr. B and he is soon going to shoot him. Mr. B is very religious man and he started praying. Now, do you think some ‘religious energy’ will avoid the incident not to happen?
What is the final result of this event?
Does your prayer helped?
The result was Mr. B was shot and he is no more in this world.
Either you pray or not pray, it does not matter. Only thing that matters is your devotion and dedication to something in life and with nature.
Please do not get mad, I am not for or against the Praying.
Well, I must stop now. Maybe I have to quit my day today.
For those who like praying,
Happy praying and God blesses you !
http://paulocoelhoblog.com/2009/03/19/saint-joseph-the-worker-by-pilar/#comment-180331
For those who do not like praying,
________________________(Fill in the blank)
Believe in what you are believing (& God blesses you too…)
I believe that nobody should underestimate the power of prayer,
it’s one of the best things on earth.
God indeed listens to a simple and sincere prayer.
I believe that it could make the world better.
Eu acredito no amor, eu acredito na fé e acredito que orar, rezar, falar com Deus com sinceridade e amor pode sim mudar o mundo. Acredito que pensamentos de amor e felicidade, atraem amor e felicidade. E acredito que se cada um fizer sua parte, mudando seus pensamentos e sentimentos e com isso transformando o seu ambiente, podemos mudar muita coisa…
Um grande abraco e fiquem todos com Deus…
Prayer I believe is the time when one fills ones heart with a positive energy. a certain goodness….and purity….one may ask for something…say sorry….say thanks…..but its feeling of promise that someone listens……and can make anything happen…..
I once read a small piece…..it said of the “experience of God”…….one morning a woman was working in her kitchen…..peeling oranges……in a moment a waft of air rose the fragrance of the oranges up….and in the sunbeam streaming into her window, she felt God.
I guess prayer is as simple as that – a good feeling….a feeling of goodness.
I do not see how prayers alone can change the world. Prayers, as it has been passed down by generations, merely act as an expression of one’s deep beliefs. In this era of fanatical religious beliefs, prayers in the traditional form should be avoided with.
olá Sr. Paulo:
Orar, rezar, é para mim uma forma de comunicação, não tanto na sua forma ritmada do “Avé Maria” , mas através do que se quer transmitir . Eu rezo, conversando com Deus, com Nossa Senhora de Fátima, contando minhas tristezas, pedindo apoio, agradecendo…sei que o não faço tanto quanto devería , mas se em alguma coisa é importanto, é nisso mesmo, COMUNICA, obriga-me a falar o que por vezes só penso….
A importância que tem , reside em cada um, por isso, terá SEMPRE importância e fará a diferença
um abraço
marisa
Chant the holy name of The Lord – it is the way to Him and to the perfection of your life and all world.
Hare Krishna!
Uma energia pura. Se eu pudesse traduzir esta noite, eu diria: can you stop the time now?
Não tenho palavras. Eu vou pra sempre agradecer por hoje.
Obrigada!!!
MARG,
Ca
The prayer is the only existing MATERIAL opportunity that links us directly to God. There are no other mediators: you-your prayer-God.
I’d prefer to pray for God/The Source/Spirit- to change me to accept the circumstances around me. To evolve. Otherwise I don’t grow, because I’m expecting the circumstances to be beholden to me, who like most people, is transient in thought. I have difficulty in this because my inclination through years of indoctrination is to pray to change the circumstances of myself and those around me. (Including those I don’t even know.) Sometimes this is beneficial, sometimes not. Depends on the circumstances.
Even Jesus Christ thought his prayers were not heard on the cross quoting Psalm 22: “My God, My God why hast thou forsaken me?”
To which the priests in the audience responded, “He calls for Elias let us see if Elias answers him.”
He died soon after.
I hope your party is a great success. Those are some lucky readers. :)
-C
When prayers are out of love and come from our open hearts and minds, they can really change everything for the better, including the whole world. God listens and fulfills our prayers when we are sincere, want something very much and also believe in God’s absolute power. Miracles happen all the time but some people (those who believe prayers are too abstract ;o) )need more time to see and acknowledge them.
Have a wonderful time dear Paulo and friends at the party celebrating Saint Joseph and also joy, light, music, love, life!
May God bless the whole world now and forever! May we all be worthy of receiving divine bliss! :o)
Lots of love,
Carmen Larisa
Hola todos,
Prayer for me is something very instinctive as if when I’m fallin’ down there’s a rope I can take to avoid to crash.
So in moments of great dispair, words come to my mind, old and forgotten words learnt during childhood that reappears suddenly.
maybe that ” when I found myself in time of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me”:)
Let it be!
God bless you
HELLO.IS SO WONDERFUL YOUR IDEA,IS AN IMPORTANT DATE INDEED.I FEEL SAFER THINKING YOU AND OTHERS DO PRAY FOR OUR WORLD,FOR US.I TRY TO TAKE PART IN MY WAY,I WILL PRAY THINKING TO JOIN YOUR GROUP.GOD BLESS THIS WORLD AND US!
I think that prayer is NEVER a waste of time; however, I would add to that that prayer which is directed explicitly and directly at “changing the world,” either on the whole or in part, is probably not the most effective use of the gift of conversing with God.
When we ask God to change the world around us, or even to change a specific situation in the world, and yet we do not ask to know what our part is in this change we request, then we have not lived up to our end of the bargain. We want God to do for us, but we do not ask what we can do for God. This is not good.
I read the prayer to St. Joseph posted on your blog today, Paulo, and I note that it is very different from a mere “prayer for God to change the world.” This is a personal prayer, asking for God’s guidance in showing us how we each can work to change the world around us.
First, it is addressed to Saint Joseph, “model of all who are devoted to labor,” which implies that those who speak this prayer are prepared to devote themselves to labor as well. It asks for “grace” (to work conscientiously) – grace, not favors. Not “please give me this, God,” or “please do that,” but “please help me to do what I need to do to bring about the changes I seek.” Furthermore, there is a certain consciousness, here in this prayer that, of the fact that we already have what we need to complete this task – a conscious recognition that we all have certain God-given talents and divinely-inspired gifts that we can “employ” and “develop” to achieve the aim of “changing the world.” These gifts are, after all, an “honor” and not a burden placed upon us. And finally, the prayer asks that the petitioner be granted the ability to keep an ever-conscious “account…of time lost, talents unused, good not done, and vain complacency in success.”
This is the perfect prayer, I think, as it places the responsibility of changing the world not upon God but upon us, each and every one, as individuals. We can pray all we want to, asking God to “change the world” and the state of affairs in it, but until we recognize our own individual responsibility as well as our own monumental power in this effort, we will see no real change at all.
Yesterday I rented the space to open a new yoga studio here, nearby in a small town. There are no other yoga studios, basically, within a hundred mile radius. Most of the people here have heard of yoga, if at all, only vaguely. It is a “mysterious, exotic” affair in their eyes. After moving back here to this rural region of Texas, it took me three full years to decide to open the studio, although the thought was in my head even when I came here. I was so concerned that the people here just “wouldn’t be ready” for something so new and progressive as yoga. I think I likely even uttered a prayer or two, something to the effect of: “God, couldn’t you just put me somewhere else, anywhere else, where people are more open-minded?” and secondly, “God, couldn’t you just change this community a little – speed up progress just a bit – so that I wouldn’t have to feel so isolated here.”
Well, over the past several months something has changed – me! Something within me shifted, moving my focus away from “them” toward “me.” I started questioning what I could do to bring about the changes I seek. So, maybe this is not the “perfect” environment in which to open a yoga studio. But I moved here from Miami, and Miami IS the perfect environment, and yet what I saw there was too many yoga studios, all competing for the same clients. A market where yoga is in high demand, but a saturated market nonetheless. And I’m not a very advanced teacher of yoga, so there I would never be in a position to have very much to offer. Here, however, where most people have never taken a yoga class in their lives, even the little knowledge and experience I have might be able to make a real impact in some people’s lives.
So, what I have learned or come to understand from this: I am in this place where yoga has never been introduced at all, and although my gifts and talents might seem limited on the larger scale, here they could prove quite effectual in producing the changes I would wish to see in this small community. So, although the environment itself is not “perfect” and I, in my talents and skills, am certainly not “perfect,” in a way, we might just be perfectly suited to one another. And that union might just bring about some small ripple in this larger pond we call the world – the world we pray to change.
Prayer changes things. :) I’ve experienced it happen many times.
I also believe that there is strength in numbers, especially with prayer. “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” – Matthew 18:19-20
If anyone’s interested, I have a blog dedicated to move people to a deep and sincere prayerful life. http://www.bemovedtopray.blogspot.com/ Just a personal mission of mine, nothing big but I hope to encourage others. :)
God bless!
Prayers are not abstract, they are very concrete, because they come from the bottom of our heart and soul – like singing.
Olá Paulo,
Sim eu acredito no poder da oracão….
O homem sem fé não para em pé…
It is so long since i wrote. I was sort of praying or asking many questions. It was not that there is pain or crisis but -a wonder. I get into this mode and wonder about life.I opened this blog without much forethought. I found peace and energy by just getting togather in the blog. Prayer is a longing of the heart. It is to create rhythm in our life.It is discovering our inner form which is uniform with the rest of the world. May be this form will create more harmory all around and create critical mass of energy to smoothen rough edges of everyone. Prayers creates harmony in the universe. This harmony will inturn effect the lives of millions in a positive way. When an iron particle is rubbed in single direction it will gain polarity and act like magnet. when a ordinary material becomes magneized, it will become very powerful. The same effect can be got by prayer in humans. Humans will become more energized and a group of people praying will have synergistic effect. The energy level of the group will increase in geometric proportion. This energy can change the world !!! This energy can create wonders and magic !!!!!!!!
Prayer can only change the world if it is aligned with God’s will. Paryer is a means of communicating with God and he hears and answers our prayers when we have a relationship with Him. It can also be used as a very effective method of spiritual warfare. In my ministry work, I train prayer warriors to take back families, neighbourhoods, communities and countries for God. we have seen amazing results in Southern Africa, with 4 nations in this region declaring the sovereignty of God. There were also amazing results from corporate prayer events held at Ground Zero after the 9/11 attack on the twin towers. Intercessory Prayer is a movement that everyone who really wants to change the world should explore and get involved in, but it has to be a strategic effort aligned with corporate worship, teaching and study of scriptures. (added by Mobile using Mippin)
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