Janeane Garofalo and Joy Behar wrong about prayer

On Joy Behar's show (probably one of the worst shows on TV), Janeane Garofalo said that praying for an end to the oil disaster was a waste of time and anti-intellectual. Joy Behar didn't disagree with her and later on the View, Behar repeated the same sentiments about prayer. They are both completely wrong.

Pray is often misunderstood by nonreligious people. They see it a sort of superstition, where when all rational and realistic things fail, we throw a "hail mary" in the air hoping that something will work. It's seen as a last ditch effort after everything has been tried and the old axiom "can't hurt, might help" is employed. But prayer is much more than the last kick at the cat, it's a way of life.

Prayer serves many purposes. It gives praise to God (adoration), it can ask for something (petition), love for God, prayers of thanksgiving, and expiation where we seek forgiveness. It represents a deep, personal connection with God. It's not something we do when all other options have been tried.

Many people believe in God because there is a lot of proof for God, and also because he has been faithful. Faith is not about believing in something that's unproven and invisible. Faith is about recognizing God's promises throughout history and deciding that he is trustworth and worth following.

By praying, we submit ourselves to the will of God. We connect with God. People pray for patience, love, kindness, mercy, self-control, bravery, etc. and more often than not they receive it. We give praise to God for our life, and everything in the world. How can we have so much pride that we give praise to no one or nothing? Do we believe we put ourselves on this Earth and that life is good because we made it so? This is the heights of pride.

Another misconception is that people who pray will do nothing else. Many miracles have happened throughout the centuries, but most of the time, even after praying, we must use what God has given us to make the world a better place.

I find it shocking that some people would oppose prayer for a great disaster. Even if you believe that prayer is just people talking to themselves, what harm could it possibly do? People do not pray and then sit around and do nothing. In fact, prayer often spurs them on to do even more. They are then motivated to act not just for selfish reasons, but for humanitarian reasons as well.

Some people seem very threatened by God or people believing in God. They should keep in mind that God is love and that he loves them also.