As a frequent 'assistant' (at least, I think I'm helping!) on the NCLEX Discussion Forum, I see something posted over and over and over again. It's a very common theme, actually, and although in the past it didn't much bother me, it has been getting more and more under my skin. I know those who post it obviously don't look for discussion on that topic, but...on THIS forum, it seemed most appropriate :)
I frequently see people who have failed the NCLEX more than once (or more than twice, or more than three times) who will write "please pray for me". Are there really people out there who add to their personal prayers "oh, and G-d? Please help FailedNclex-3x to pass her exam" ?
Seems to be pretty low-brow for G-d, doesn't it? As if The Almighty WOULD have 'let' FailedNclex-3 fail yet again, BUT FOR the prayer from someone on AN...nope, that tilted the wheel the other way and now a PASS is in order!
I cannot see myself EVER thinking to ask G-d for something like that. Pray to understand why things happen the way they do. Pray to ask for strength through a difficult time. Pray to find goodness where there doesn't seem to be much....pray for assistance, but not for personal gain.
Maybe that's it. People are asking for personal gain. I wouldn't pray for someone to win the lottery, I wouldn't pray for them to get into grad school. I'd wish them well, I'm going to "send happy thoughts", I'm going to hope they succeed. But PRAY for this?? No.
I also believe that thanks are in order when one has a success such as passing the NCLEX: thank your spouse and kids and family and friends for putting UP with you while you went to school and while you studied for the exam. Thank the financial institution that fronted you the money, if you like. And yes, thank G-d for the ability to get through it all! But IMHO there's also a difference between thanking Ad'nai for strength, courage, determination, etc and thanking the Holy One for passing a test. YOU, the TEST-TAKER, took and passed the test! He might have been 'with' you in the testing center (strength, support) but He sure wasn't taking that test FOR you!
So no, don't say it was G-d who 'allowed' you to pass the test. If you passed, you EARNED it. Give thanks where it's due, but....remember the limits of what you'd "get" for your prayers, too :)
Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
Um I said that God answers the prayers of an individual in my post. That does not mean that prayer as a group has no effect. The two are not mutually exclusive. We are talking about God here.
You said in PP that you believed that prayers from a group held more weight than those of an individual. That's what I was addressing. I didn't say a group prayer is not heard; it's just not given preferential treatment.
That Scripture is referring to Christ's presence being with those who are gathered in his name, not prayers of a group of people getting special favor over the prayers of one.
Y'know, this not being from one of 'my' books, I took the "I" in the quote to mean "G-d", not Jesus. Oops! But same idea, different entity :)
I think it's understandable, after seeing all that you've seen, to wonder how the hell it's all supposed to be ok with G-d. I don't get it myself, it makes NO sense to me.
When I feel like there's no way this is "supposed to be", I just have to believe that there is a picture that is SO big that I couldn't understand it no matter how hard I try. I HAVE to believe that there is some kind of purpose to this whole freakin' mess, because if I allow myself to believe there simply IS NO purpose, I don't know how I could continue to get up and go to work every day, rinse, repeat.
To me, with what I've seen and experienced, I do take some comfort in knowing that it IS how it's supposed to be for reasons that little ol' insignificant me cannot understand---and will never be privvy to such understanding.
I'm not conflicted at all about my beliefs or lack thereof. I don't think that just because I don't believe I have a soul that will float in the sky for all eternity that I have no purpose on earth. My purpose is here in this life, not to obtain something after I die.
I'm not conflicted at all about my beliefs or lack thereof. I don't think that just because I don't believe I have a soul that will float in the sky for all eternity that I have no purpose on earth. My purpose is here in this life, not to obtain something after I die.
And we're on the same page in that. When talking about The Big Picture, nowhere in there did I talk of heaven or souls or floating or....whatever :) I didn't cringe because I feared for your soul (I don't). I cringed because if I didn't hang onto all this "junk" meaning something.....it'd probably kill MY soul!
No, for me it's not about an afterlife. I also believe that what we do here and now is what matters, it's not about a reward system for after we die. I just find some comfort in believing the Big Picture makes all the crap we go through, pain and suffering, unfairness and lack of justice worth it...somehow. Not that it's US who gain something in the end, but maybe....all of us? Mankind? I don't know, just my own ramblings at this point!
My initial thought is that there's nothing wrong with praying to pass the exam, if that lines up with your belief system. However, if you don't put the information into your noggin, God can't help you recall it. I'm of the school of thought that prayer is a good thing, but so is hard work, and if you don't put the work in, there's no amount of praying that's going to help you pass. (That's a general "you", to be clear) :)
My initial thought is that there's nothing wrong with praying to pass the exam, if that lines up with your belief system. However, if you don't put the information into your noggin, God can't help you recall it. I'm of the school of thought that prayer is a good thing, but so is hard work, and if you don't put the work in, there's no amount of praying that's going to help you pass. (That's a general "you", to be clear) :)
I think what you're talking about is a little different than the OP's topic. If it makes someone feel better about the test to pray, so be it. But to come on a message board and ask strangers to pray for them is a little weird, IMO. And do people who read this message board really go to sleep at night saying "Dear God, please keep my children safe, take care of Grandma and help NursingStudent123 pass NCLEX?" In my life, I recall asking others to pray for me ONCE... when I was 19 years old and about to go into major brain surgery.
I think what you're talking about is a little different than the OP's topic. If it makes someone feel better about the test to pray, so be it. But to come on a message board and ask strangers to pray for them is a little weird, IMO. And do people who read this message board really go to sleep at night saying "Dear God, please keep my children safe, take care of Grandma and help NursingStudent123 pass NCLEX?" In my life, I recall asking others to pray for me ONCE... when I was 19 years old and about to go into major brain surgery.
KelRN, just wanted to say that that's a really funny visual. Maybe it's my warped sense of humor or coming off a run of three overnight 12s but I cracked up out loud.
Despite our differing personal beliefs, I'm 100% in agreement with you. Imagine that? People who hold different viewpoints agreeing with each other. What a concept.
Editing to clarify that I was giggling at the thought of someone praying a laundry list of nclex passing prayers, and not at your brain surgery. It read back wrong to me after I'd posted it.
Well it depends on what you believe. The bible clearly states that "you have not because you ask not" and that God will "give you the desires of your heart"and that "the prayes of the righteous availeth much". In a nutshell God DOES care about assisting us with our daily challenges regardless of what they are. People put a size on things but if you know who God is and believe you will understand that everything is small to him. I am not surprised at many of the attitudes expressed given that people treat the name of God like its a curse word though.
Got to keep Scriptures in context though. For example, James 4:2 says "you do not have, because you do not ask." James 4:3 says, "You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions."
Anything we ask for has to be in line with God's will, or it's not going to happen. Word-faith type teachers (think TBN's lineup) are pretty adept at hermeneutical gymnastics and have a bunch of prooftexts to back up claims that our words have creative power and that we can name and claim...but if you read the verses before or after any of them, that's not what the passages are about at all. Getting back to the James 4 example, reading the whole entire chapter one will find that it's a warning, not about how God is just waiting to give us what we want.
Sorry I'll try not to derail the thread any more. Word faith theology is something that really grieves my heart though...especially when you consider how much it can hurt sick people. "You would be healed right now if you just had enough faith to claim that healing," etc.
Oh! Wait! I do have a contribution, similar to the previous commenter who said something about god choosing a side in the war. I had an ex significant other who used to go on a rampage when sports players would do interviews, and they'd thank god for the win. OMG the rampage! "Because kids are starving in Africa, but god decided to pull that one out just for you!"
For example, James 4:2 says "you do not have, because you do not ask." James 4:3 says, "You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions."
OCNRN63, RN
5,979 Posts
You said in PP that you believed that prayers from a group held more weight than those of an individual. That's what I was addressing. I didn't say a group prayer is not heard; it's just not given preferential treatment.