Prayer....or Not?

The other day I asked a pointed question:

If someone who is clearly of another faith offered to pray for you, how would you respond? Are all prayers the same regardless of what deity those prayers are offered up to? Would you ever tell someone NOT to pray for you if you knew they would be praying to a god other than yours?

This question was inspired by a post I read at Steve "Wanderer" Graves blog "Life or Something Close to It."

Steve is a self-described Pagan, Wiccan, Goddess worshiper. Recently a Christian friend of his asked him to pray for her....well, let me just quote him here:

"A few months ago, a friend of mine was preparing to undergo surgery, and she called upon all of her friends to pray for her during this ordeal. I was included on that list at the time, and I must admit that it raised some rather interesting questions for me. This woman is a Christian. One with whom I have debated theology with on occasion. She has made it clear that she is of the opinion that the Goddess that I speak of and speak to is really the devil, or some demon working for him to ensnare my soul."

"I did bring up to her the fact that she has declared that the one that I pray to is an evil force, and as such, praying to Her would seemingly be something that would not be in her best interest if she is correct."

"To paraphrase the response she gave, that I don't have in front of me right now, she indicated that it was not an issue of who I was praying to, but who was listening [emphasis added]....It presents the concept that if the Christians are right about their one true god, it doesn't matter who I pray to, or what name I use, their god will respond or not the same anyway."

I don't know Steve very well at all, but I've been reading his posts long enough to say that I don't believe he is being antagonistic. I think it's a fair question.

Point two: I have recently been reading a blog that Helen pointed to, called Leaving Eden, written by a Wheaton (a Christian College) student who has left Christianity for atheism while attending college there. The other day, the blog author wrote about prayer:

"It’s midterm week at Wheaton, and everybody is frantically taking exams, writing papers, and getting ready for Fall Break. For devotions in every class, we pray for our exams, preservation of sanity, and safety traveling during Fall Break. I think it’s incredibly hokey. So I was surprised, as I walked across campus on my way to take a midterm exam, to find myself wishing that there was some atheistic equivalent to prayer."

"Is there an atheistic equivalent of prayer? A way to recognize the good, prepare for the worst, and put your mind at ease, maybe with a small ritual? How do you express concern for someone where you might normally say “I’ll pray for you”? How do you keep friends’ troubles in your thoughts and mentally provide moral support? Or are these psychological games purely the domain of religion? Or, is praying essentially the same as thinking? As I once overheard a Wheaton student say to another, “sometimes I don’t know if I’m praying or thinking”.

I originally asked you if you would mind someone praying for you even if they were not praying to your God, and the answers were overwhelmingly "Yes". You said you'd appreciate that someone cared enough about you to pray for you, even if they are of another faith.

Let me take that a step further here...I've been thinking...does the God we pray to, the Abrahamic God, hear everything? Does God have a special filter for atheists 'thougths' or a Pagan's prayers to their Goddess? Is it all the same because all humans are His children and He loves us all? Is it wrong for us to even ask that question considering that these individuals don't believe in our God and therefore they are lost, regardless? Are a Pagan's prayers or blessings harmful to you? Could a Pagan who cares about you inadvertently curse you simply because they pray to a Deity who is a "false" god to Christianity? Is the idea that the only God who truly exists is the Abrahamic God disrespectful to people of other beliefs?

I know this is a loaded question and I'm not going to claim to have an answer...I want to hear what you think and then I'll chime in a little later.