Dedication - a Year of Blogging

    Following my Dream about Doors, I’ve been re-examining my goals and priorities. My year-and-a-day has passed, August 1st 2010 being the day I got my blog running in the first place and Lammas - the holiday I discussed in that post - is today. While it’s not required of me (not to mention I’m not exactly in any sort of initiatory order) I really wanted to perform some sort of dedication to mark the time that‘s gone by and to set a definitive goal for the future.

    But what would I dedicate myself to? Like I said before, a ritual without a purpose is like a door that doesn’t lead anywhere. It can be a beautiful door, and a real experience to pass through it, but if it doesn’t actually take you anywhere then the exercise is pointless… right?

    All of the study, the reading, all the research, the talking to people - it’s been a real trip, and I don’t plan on stopping any time soon. It’s changed how I think, opened up my mind, and shown me a lot of good things. Admittedly, it‘s led to some really depressing realizations about just how bad the world can be - but it‘s also shown me that it‘s alright to hope as well.
    Still, what does this all mean? What is my goal? Do I have any plans for what to do with all the things I’m learning? What has anything I’ve learned actually done for me?

Prayer

People pray. A lot. Even atheists pray. It’s not surprising - in America, the numbers are staggering. 92% of Americans in 2010 believed that there is a God, and 83% believe that God answers prayers.

I think that’s amazing, but not particularly surprising.

Our country is known for opportunity, prosperity, and excess - even in the most absolute worst situations one might find themselves in here, it’s typically still feasible that there’s a hospital, or police, or a helping hand one can turn to. If you pray to God to save you and help comes, it’s probably going to feel like a pretty convincing proof that there is a God who answers prayers.

But what about when the prayers go unanswered?

Well, for the faithful (no matter the faith) when ‘God says no’ it’s because it’s “Not part of God’s Plan.”

Hold onto those numbers in your head - remember, over 90% of Americans believe in a God (majority Christian) and over 80% believe he answers prayers. Hold onto that while you read.