A Time to Pray

It would be interesting to hear what qualifies a prayer having "worked." My prayers don't always get me what I want, but I always get what I need: communication, connection with God. I can surely say that turning to Him in prayer, recognizing Him in my life, has saved my life - literally, as well as spiritually.

Tests have shown that prayers don't work.
The reason they don't work is because there's nobody listening; or at least that's the most sensible conclusion to come to.

If prayer worked we'd know about it by now.
Prayer is what you do when you can't do anything else; a shot in the dark. A last hope; and an otherwise waste of time.

Or, let's put it this way. You Christians were directly told to do your praying and supplicating in private, Pagans find it unseemly under these circumstances, and America says that's not what we hire Presidents for.

Dig?

"I am sure, with so much of President Obama's public opinion teetering on the balance of economic recovery, a quick military/political solution to the growing tension in Afghanistan/Pakistan, and rapidly expanding government-run infrastructure, that to have an event at the White House to gather people across party lines, regardless of religious affiliation, and dedicate a day to remember; to grieve and celebrate the dawn of hope in the human spirit; to invoke a heart of adoration and supplication -- "

Well, sir, I dunno about the last two bits, but it'd still be nice.

Today, however, we're talking about the 'National Day of Prayer, a bitterly-divisive and nasty partisan exercise in appropriating the American people's attention away from the work to be done and onto empowering a small religious minority while insistently trying to mark territory out of terror of anyone noticing the real spiritual strength and diversity of our nation...

Yet another hollow photo-op to give voice to those who confuse 'spirituality' with 'Voting for Republicans cause they say it'll mean you can say you're part of a privileged class in America if you're a Fundie or willing to pander to them.'

When you got an event like you have in mind, and it's Constitutional, great, but this is another matter. This is the 'National Prayer breakfast.'

You want to get any praying done, turning the cameras off couldn't hurt.

"There is a difference. I understand in a country of diverse backgrounds that to have an event that is predominant to one religious affiliation is dangerous, but to have none? "
What's so hard about that? First, how can you have one that is NOT predominant to one religious domination? Even the subtle 'in the name of the father, son, etc.' is predominant to christianity, which isoloates the muslims, hindus, jews, etc....
So unless you can cover them all, monotheistic as well as atheistic and polytheistic, you are stuck trying to whip up a prayer that is so generic and safe that it will lack meaning.. and I don't think the god(s) of whichever religion may prove to be the real god(s) will be fooled either.

Pray amongst yourselves, stop trying to make the government a religious institution. It cheapens both government and religion.

"... a minority of people who choose to live a life devoid of the ontological question?"

As an atheist, I am presumably one of the minority to whom you refer. My life is not devoid of the question. I am very happy to ask myself this, and other, questions. Indeed, to apply reason and logic to these questions is wonderful. But my life is devoid of the same 'answer' that you come to.

"Is that a solution or an avoidance of criticism by a minority of people who choose to live a life devoid of the ontological question?"

As an atheist, I am presumably one of the minority to whom you refer. My life is not devoid of the question. I am very happy to ask myself this, and other, questions. Indeed, to apply reason and logic to these questions is wonderful. But my life is (thankfully) devoid of the same 'answer' that you come to.

Just so we're not talking about magical thinking and superstition; or some sort of code to prove who is in and who is out of the Christian club.

One commits oneself to prayer sincerely in private.

I believe that the intent of the U.S. Constitution Article 6, Paragraph 3 is clear. Too many people want to make a National Day of Prayer a religious test for a public and homogenized (Evangelical Christian babbling banality)display of Christian bona fides.

Shame on them. Prayer is between the one praying and his or her diety. A "National Day of Prayer" seems to cut against that.