Ora Pro Nobis

We never had the internet when I was a kid. Heck, we didn't even have a TV until I was in second grade...not that many other folks did, either, it's just that the medium was in its infancy. Atari was the first video system my kids owned, then Sega; now, it's Playstation 3, Nintendo and Wii. It's all a bit too much. It seems like one can find ANYTHING on the internet. The ability to buy things might ultimately be the cause of the demise of the malls in America as well, but I'm not here to go on and on about the internet. I'm talking religion today: prayer, specifically.
It occurred to me today as I sat in chuirch listening and responding to prayer requests that I really didn't even know any of the people for whom the pryer was being offered, and I must admit that I wasn't giving it my wholehearted attention (sorry, God!) So, one can only imagine my surprise when I discovered that there are many prayer sites on the internet! One simply writes in a request, and people somewhere offer prayers on your behalf. It's called "intercessory prayer," and it's available on PrayAbout.com, iPrayToday.com and Beliefnet.com (billed as a "religious Facebook")as well as many others, I'm sure. But I'm not sure about the whole deal: will total strangers take the time to really invest themselves in my needs? Beliefnet claims to have more than 1,000 active members and gets about 20 new prayer requests each day. Do they then divide the number of requests by the number of members, or do they simply create a generic prayer that fits everyone under one umbrella like that insurance company always advertises?
This has even become noted in the scientific community. Several studies have been done to determine the efficacy of praying in cyberspace for an unknown person, and sadly, the studies were not conclusive. It reminds me of the time Oral Roberts claimed that God would take him if he didn't get a ton of money by a certain date. I was all ready to believe in what he had to say if God did, indeed, strike him down for not getting the money. Alas, someone donated the money, and there was no proof in the offing though there was, apparently, enough money for Roberts' son to invest in his daughter's graduation party, lavish living and humopngous phone bills racked up by his wife calling a college guy at all hours. But I digress...
One scientist indicated that he felt the only real benefit was the comfort afforded to the petitioner. OK, I can go with that. Even if there isn't proof of intervention, making people feel better is a good thing.
Now, if lighting doesn't strike me in the next week or so...