I’ve been meaning to write a follow-up to my
previous post concerning
PrayerMarket. I received
a reply in my comments from Mr John Wilson concerning that post. He stated a general agreement that “in general…[it’s not] a good idea to bring economics into spirituality” by way of charging money for prayers. The core of his reply—and perhaps the core of our disagreement—is (with my emphasis):
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Mr John Wilson wrote:
However there are people under some circumstances who need others to pray for them, who do not have the time or ability to exchange prayers. We wanted to give these people the ability to have others pray for them, but in a fair way. These people can pay for "prayer credits" and we use the virtual credits to encourage other people to pray.
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By implying that “fairness” is involved in prayer requests--I’ll pray for you if you’ll pray for me, or if you’ll pay me to pray for you--economics has already been brought into spirituality. If this is generally a bad idea, then why does this particular case warrant an exception? The very premise that intercessory prayer should be “fair” springs from what we already agree to be a bad idea “in general.”
Prayer is not meant to be “fair.” We aren’t called to pray only for those who pray for us (or who pay us), but rather for anyone and everyone. Our Lord commands us to
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Our Lord in the Gospel of Saint Matthew wrote:
“Give to him that asketh of thee….You have heard that it hath been said: ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thy enemy.’ But I say to you: ‘Love your enemies--do good to them that hate you--and pray for them that persecute and calumniate you--that you may be the children of your Father Who is in heaven, who maketh His sun shine upon the good and bad and raineth upon the just and unjust. For if you love them that love you, what reward shall you have?” (Matthew 5:42-46, with my emphases).
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We are to love those who hate us, and to pray for those who persecute us. No less should we love those who are strangers in need (Luke 10:27-37), or pray for those who ask it of us, and just for the asking. We aren’t called to pray for earthly rewards or even in the hopes that those for whom we pray will in turn pray for us. If this is our intention, then we have already received our rewards (Matthew 6:1-8, 16-18).
As for the intercessions themselves, the Catechism of the Catholic Church has this to say:
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Catechism of the Catholic Church wrote:
“Since Abraham, intercession--asking on behalf of another--has been characteristic of a heart attuned to God’s mercy. In the age of the Church, Christian intercession participates in Christ’s, as an expression of the communion of saints. In intercession, he who prays looks ‘not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others,’ even to the point of praying for those who do him harm....Prayer of intercession consists in asking on behalf of another. It knows no boundaries and extends to one’s enemies” (CCC 2635, 2647 , emphases mine).
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Prayer is not meant to be fair. It is in fact, a decidedly unfair proposition. We don’t pray to others as a service in exchange for their good (money) or services (prayers), or even as a courtesy, as a type of “party favor” because they are our friends or family. Rather, we pray for others because this is a form of loving our neighbor, which we are commanded to do by God Himself(see Matthew 22:36-40). We may be imperfect in our prayers, or at times forget them in part or whole (and I can sympathize with this); but we pray as an act of charity towards our neighbors, be they our friends and family or our enemies, or even a stranger who approaches us in need.
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Note: this was
originally posted on my
Equus Nom Veritas blog.
Tags: Catechesis Religion Religious-Refle Ction Prayer Christian-Livin G
