The Paradox of Prayer.

It's one of those days when nothing seems to turn out right. With my own laptop deciding to give up the ghost and instead, using my wife's computer, I shall begin to write this blog in a slightly different, less familiar environment. Ah, what is it about technology? Have we become so dependent so much on it that without it we are utterly lost? Or like an illegal drug, we have become addicted, and nothing short of cold turkey would be able to free us from the addiction?

My Fujitsu Laptop - on the blink?

And so being on Tier 2 of the Coronavirus restrictions, home visits by friends are banned, although I would have much preferred to use the term discouraged. With neither of us - my wife and I - having the virus, I would have thought that some friends can visit, even if the number of households is restricted to one, maybe two. Not to worry. Over the coming Christmas period, up to three households are allowed, but only for up to five days, which is between the 23rd and the 27th of December, inclusive.

Yet despite the gloom, our health not being so great, plus a conked out laptop, under social restrictions, the threat of going into Tier 3 isn't far away, despite the promise of a vaccine. With the prospect of not being able to sit at Starbucks over a cup of soothing coffee, let alone enjoying a drink at the pub, the threat of such a forlorn lifestyle isn't that far away. Literally. As less than 25 miles from our hometown, this cloud of gloom looks to be about to settle over Greater London, a phenomenon which threatens the whole national economy and a loss of many jobs. I wonder how many fed-up Londoners are looking ahead with dread? 

And earlier this week, whilst attending a Zoom prayer meeting with a few of my Ascot Life Church friends, I expressed my concerns on quite a different topic. I was praying for a post-Brexit agreement of a deal between our Government and the leaders of the European Union. As I'm writing this, it does look very likely that no agreement will be made, therefore, we could be in for a No-Deal Brexit by the end of the year. For an example of the consequences, I can thank God that I'm not a sheep farmer. With new tariffs to be levied after the end of this transition period, the extra cost in exporting lamb into EU countries could put the farmer out of business. But hey! What difference does one unfortunate individual make? As long as the State becomes sovereign again, be all and end all. Hmm. Can I hear some sound coming form Karl Marx's grave, with both Lenin and Stalin also clapping their hands?

Will Britain become great again after its divorce from the EU? Really, at the end of the day, it's up to God to decide. I can say even further that God already knew of the fate of Britain (and Europe) in the 21st Century even before the world began. Hence God's Omniscience. After all, soon after the Fall, the certain Promise of a Redeemer was made some 4,000 years before Jesus Christ was born. And it was fulfilled at exactly the right time.

Hence the Paradox of Prayer, a title of one of the YouTube videos (with the latest count of 229,092 views) posted by our aforementioned atheist Alex O'Connor. O'Connor was the YouTuber whom I had the privilege to meet in person at Oxford early this year, thus a minor celebrity in his own right (with a present total of 34,895,163 views - and rising.) This Oxford undergrad is reading Theology, and perhaps looking, in my view, to be a future Einstein, this committed vegan has the knack to put omnivores like me to shame.  

Like in another of his videos, O'Connor's argument for veganism is based on the cruelty of animals being slaughtered just for the benefit of our taste. Thus, for raising chicken for the egg industry, all male chicks are gassed alive while female chicks are allowed to live, are fed, and grow in order to lay the eggs as adult females. The only snag with this argument is that in order for some eggs to be fertilised to stabilise the high population level, some male chicks must be spared, but O'Connor does not mention this.

My guilt in consuming milk is enhanced by the atheist when he explains that a newborn calf is forced from its mother, with both suffering distress, in order that the cow's milk, meant by nature for the calf, will instead be for human consumption. Too bad, I, as a milk, meat and egg-consuming Christian and a Creationist, would be labeled a hypocrite for what amounts to an endorsement for the cruel suffering of animals at the abattoir, while at the same time, I acknowledge the existence of a God who was supposed to approve of us eating meat, milk and eggs. 

Thus, his attitude to prayer in his video carries a valid point. If God is an all-knowing, omniscient God who not only knows well in advance what's going to happen in the future, but actually directs everything which does happen, then what is the point of prayer? Here, O'Connor gives two classic examples - prayer for someone who has cancer and prayer for the favourite team to win.

Suppose I prayed desperately for my wife to be healed of cancer (she actually had breast cancer) and there was no treatment offered to cure her of the disease. Therefore, I pray fervently. But God already knew, according to O'Connor, what the final outcome will be, and God will see to have this met. Therefore, if she recovers, it can be said that it was God's will for her to recover and thus, my prayer was considered answered. But she would have still recovered had I not prayed at all, according to the undergraduate. But if she had died, then God had already known this would happen, he allowed it to happen, and my prayer remains unanswered.

Or in the case of a football team. During the 1990 World Cup tournament, I knew a devout English church-going Christian who prayed and fasted for England to win the Cup. However, England was knocked out through a penalty shootout by West Germany in the semi-finals, opening the door for West Germany to lift the trophy against Argentina in the Final by one goal to nil. The prayers and fasting of this Christian remained unanswered, as God already knew who would lift the trophy on that particular occasion, as He already knew from eternity beforehand, according to O'Connor. And unfortunately for that Christian, seven more World Cup tournaments took place without England winning any of them. Indeed, what is the use of prayer?

Alex O'Connor.

It is indeed an unfortunate twist for the meaning of prayer in the Italian language, for the Italian word for prayer is pregare - to beg. Perhaps looked in the same way as that poor widow who begged an unwilling and stubborn godless Judge to grant her justice (Luke 18:1-8) - it does seem that God is reluctant to answer prayer until the begging edges towards hysteria. But here Jesus went on to explain that unlike the unjust Judge, God is quick to answer prayer.

But where I would like Alex O'Connor to consider is the intercessory prayer recorded in the Old Testament book of Daniel. In chapter 9, verses 4-19, he would see the prophet pleading with God for the forgiveness and restoration of Israel, particularly Jerusalem. This was seventy years after Jerusalem was razed to the ground by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BC. After King Nebuchadnezzar died, his son Evil-Merodach reigned over Babylonia, followed by his son King Belshazzar, who was defeated around 516 BC by the armies of the two kings, Persian king Cyrus and the Mede king Darius. 

As King Darius took over the throne in Babylon, thus fulfilling seventy years of Exile, Daniel pleaded to God in prayer, acknowledging the greatness and the majesty of God, Israel's rebellion against Him, and the punishment due. He then calls upon God's mercy and for the restoration and the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the nation restored.

But God already knew that in 516 BC, King Darius the Mede would take the throne after seventy years, because through the prophet Jeremiah, he said so before or during the start of the Exile. God also knew that King Cyrus would grant the Jews to return to their homeland, for He had already foretold this through Isaiah around 700 BC (Isaiah 44:28, 45:1) and actually mentioned his name.

Therefore, what was the point of Daniel's intercessory prayer if God knew everything beforehand and willed that everything was fulfilled exactly as He said it would? Was his prayer pointless? Would King Cyrus still set the Jews free if Daniel hadn't prayed? Yes, He would. Such was His plan all along. And timed exactly right.

Was O'Connor right after all? That praying is a waste of time? It certainly looks that way! Yet God the Holy Spirit invited Daniel to pray on that particular day, even by God's own Omniscience, it looked as if deemed unnecessary. But Daniel prayed. He gave his whole heart into his plea. Daniel loved his fellow countrymen, he had a reverence for Jerusalem, already aware that from king Solomon onwards, God has written His own name in that city, and to see it destroyed must have hurt him deeply.

Daniel pleaded for his city and for his people. He loved them dearly. But to add to this, prayer is a privilege, even when it's difficult to pray at times, either due to lacking faith or not knowing what to pray for. As such, I have found that thanksgiving to God for all the good things I have is a good starter.

Furthermore, for all believers in Jesus Christ, God is our Heavenly Father who cares for us. As it's written, Cast all your burdens on Him, for He cares for you - Psalm 55:22,  Matthew 11:28-30, 1 Peter 5:7.

But it's also Science which backs the benefit of prayer, as O'Connor just about worships science. But any psychiatrist, psychologist and other therapists agree that there are benefits in prayer. It's good for mental and spiritual health, and it can also benefit physically. There is something about calling upon God. It isn't a sign of weakness but one of humbleness, acknowledging my helplessness in certain situations and calling upon God for guidance.

Prayer is about thanksgiving, recognising His goodness. And that includes thanking God and interceding on behalf of the NHS, whose skills are excellent in bringing healing against illness and disease. As God had created the brain and its vast complexities, so He had given the ability to learn and gain knowledge which includes the field of medicine. No, Science does not contradict the Bible and faith, rather it supports it, as many of the great thinkers and inventers, such as Raymond Damadian, the Young Earth Creationist who invented the MRI body scanner, a machine which advanced the NHS by leaps and bounds.

Not to mention academics such as the late Henry Morris, another Creationist and hydraulic engineer. Another example, chosen randomly, is Fred Brooks. He was the computer architect and software engineer and a committed Christian who holds the Bible as truth. And there were, and are, many others.

MRI Body Scanning.

Indeed, prayer is simply a good conversation between a man and his God. Put in perspective, prayer is not a ritualistic set of words often used in Catholicism. Rather it's a way of expression of the heart to God, to tell Him what's in my heart. Like O'Connor, I too grew up as a Catholic, and during my early teens, I learned the Lord's Prayer, the Hail Mary and the Act of Contrition by heart, but reciting these was not praying.

Being aware of O'Connor's background, I think I know where he was coming from. Prayer is not a recital. Rather, it's a heart-to-heart talk with God.