DOES PRAYER WORK?

 Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D

I love when people say, “I am sending you my thoughts and prayers.” What exactly do they mean by it?

Many people pray on the assumption that God hears them and, if the praying individual is worthy, God will respond positively. The Bible clearly states that God “hears my voice, my pleas; for He turns His ear whenever I call” (Ps. 116: 1), or, “The Lord hears and saves them from their troubles” (Ps. 34: 18). Similarly, during the Jewish daily service, one praise God, “who hears prayer” (Amidah).

Today, almost every Jewish religious service ends with a prayer (in Hebrew called “Mi Sheberah- He who blessed…,”) calling upon God to bring healing to individuals mentioned  verbally by the worshippers. In traditional settings, this prayer is recited during the Torah service, with the scroll covered, but recently it has proliferated to the point that it is being offered at almost every congregational prayer, often using the melody by Debbie Friedman. The question is, does it work?

There are basically three types of prayer: petition, praise and thanksgiving. The issue is not with the last two; it is with the first kind. Theologians and psychologists have debated the question of the efficacy of petionary prayers for centuries, some arguing in favor and others in the negative.  Those who define God in theistic terms believe that petitionary prayers work, because God is a Persona who cares, loves and responds. On the other hand, religious naturalists, like me, claim that God, as the energy of the universe, does not respond to petitionary prayers, because that would imply that God interferes with the normal operation of the universe. God does not do that. God keeps the world going through its own internal energy, which is still not totally understood.  Furthermore, if these prayers are not heard or responded to, it would turn God into an uncaring, and worse, cruel being.  

I believe that prayers help the individual who prays. There are indeed many benefits to prayers, because they help the individual or the community to focus on the subject matter at hand; they deepen their understanding of how the world realy operates; they give voice to the desires and expectations of those who pray with a sense of reality; they strengthen the bonds that bind one person to another during worship, and help them develop a positive outlook on life. Obviously, prayers have to be realistic and not beyond the realm of possibility. Even the Rabbis of old have maintained that “to pray over the past is to utter a vain prayer” (Ber. 9:3).

So, let us concentrate on prayers of thanksgiving, expressing gratitude for everything we have; on prayers of praise that highlight the wonders of the universe, and accept the reality of life with modesty and humility. The world is not perfect, and it is our job to make it better and better. Prayer can give us that insight to do our share.