Prayer Power ?

This afternoon, I bumped into a Christian friend I hadn't seen for a while and told her about my dad. She listened sympathetically and then said, as a parting shot, "I'll include him in my prayers". It was a nice thought and I appreciated her concern, but given that my dad doesn't have a religious bone in his body (and she knows this) I couldn't really see the point. How effective is prayer anyway ? I offer this for your reflection (if you are easily offended by irony, look away now or press the delete button).


32% Of Prayers Deflected Off Passing Satellites
"HOUSTON: According to an official NASA report released on Saturday, nearly 32% of all prayers exiting Earth are deflected off satellites orbiting the planet - ultimately preventing the discharged requests for divine intervention from ever making it to the Gates of Heaven. "After impact with the satellite, these diverted prayers typically plummet back into the atmosphere, where they either burn up or eventually land, unanswered, in a body of water" the report read in part. "Of the remaining prayers, research confirms 64% fail to make it past the stratosphere because they aren't prayed hard enough, 94% of those with enough momentum are swallowed by a supermassive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way galaxy, and 43% are eaten by birds." The report concludes that, of the 170 billion prayers issued last month, one made it to God, whose reply was intercepted by a hurricane and incorrectly delivered to a Nigerian man who reportedly did not know what to do with his brand new Bowflex [home gym] machine."
This was originally posted at www.theonion.com

Ready to die ?

My 95 year old dad has been in hospital for just over a month now and everytime I visit him he becomes frailer although he remains in good spirits. He's very deaf so our conversations tend to be difficult - and overheard by the other patients and visitors in his ward. Not that it matters of course, although we did have one conversation about his bowel habits which may not have best pleased his neighbours!

When I visited yesterday he said, out of the blue, that he was ready to die. Mind you, he has been one of those lucky souls who has never had any serious illness in his life so it came as something of a surprise to me. Although he spent six years in India as a young soldier during the 1930s he has never embraced any religion (eastern or western) so it's interesting to me that he can be at peace with himself without it. Then again, why should we assume that those without a religious committment can't find tranquility as their lives come to an end ?