A Response to Prayer Shaming: What Good is Prayer Anyway?

Last updated on: December 3, 2015 at 2:10 pm by Rachael Popcak and Dr. Gregory Popcak

A Response to Prayer Shaming: What Good is Prayer Anyway? 2015-12-03T14:10:29-06:00 Rachael Popcak and Dr. Gregory Popcak

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

In light of the recent tragedy in San Bernardino, the New York Daily News and other outlets (notably, HuffPo) have challenged believers by, essentially, saying, “spare us your prayers. God isn’t going to fix this.”

As a pastoral counselor, I hear different versions of this all the time. Specifically, “What good is prayer if I have to do all the work anyway?”

Many people have an incomplete–and frankly, disordered–understanding of the purpose of prayer. They engage in prayer as if they are offering up a spiritual work order. All they need to do is tell God, “Fix this” and then stand back and wait. If he does, “It’s miracle!” If he doesn’t then “It’s his will.”

Sometimes miracles do happen. Things spontaneously improve without us lifting a finger. What a wonderful gift it is when this happens. But as with any gift, we cannot take these spiritual gifts for granted. The norm is for us to pray and work. As Pope Francis put it, “You pray for the poor. Then you feed them. That’s how prayer works.”

But if that’s how prayer works, why pray at all? Why not just feed them (or do whatever else it is we are praying about)? Here is a metaphor that I find helpful.

Another Brick in the Wall

Imagine standing facing a huge wall. You can’t climb it–it’s too tall. You can’t tunnel under it–its foundation goes deep into the ground. You have to break through the wall. How do you begin? You could simply start hammering away at part of the wall and hope that you’ve picked a weak spot OR you could stop and pray.

As you pray, God shines a light on the other side of the wall. A bright, penetrating light. You can’t see much of it, but on your side of the wall, you suddenly see that certain parts of the wall are beginning to glow and some parts are glowing more brightly than others. Upon closer examination, you see that where the wall is glowing, there appear to be small cracks or weaknesses. In fact, it appears that the parts of the wall that are glowing the brightest are the parts where there are significant structural weaknesses. If you strike there, not only will those bricks come out, but they may just bring the whole wall down with them!

Prayer: Grace Building on Nature

I think this metaphor serves as a simple illustration of St Thomas Aquinas’ maxim that “grace builds on nature.” Grace, for the most part, does not stand in stead of human action and the laws of nature, but–generally speaking– it makes them infinitely more efficient. Prayer does not preclude us from working hard but it allows that work to bear much, much more fruit and do it much much more efficiently. Through prayer, God multiplies our efforts like he multiplied the loaves and fishes. For more information on how you can cooperate with God’s grace in your life, check out The Life God Wants YOU to Have: Discovering the Divine Plan When Human Plans Fail.

Previous Post

November 25, 2015

Weather Proof Your Brain: 6 Tips for Beating Winter Blues

Next Post

December 4, 2015 FAITHLESS: Why Don't Millennials Believe?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Anxiety atheism Attachment Church Conflict Resolution Counseling Depression faith Family forgiveness Gender Happiness Health Humor Marriage Mental Health Mental Illness Mindfulness morality More2Life Radio Parenting Personal Wellness Personality Disorder Popcak Psychology News reconciliation Relationship religion self-help Sexuality Spirituality stress theology of the body Uncategorized

Select a Month June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who was promised descendants as numerous as the stars?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Abraham David Jacob Moses