Disability

Should You Force Prayer On Disabled People?

Should You Force Prayer On Disabled People?

My Rockin Disabled Life

Hi friends, my name is Sarah and I live with a disability called Spina Bifida and have more physical challenges than most people. I am on a mission to help break disability stigma and help you unlearn all the poor disability representation in the media.

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9 Comments

  1. Vicki

    This post really resonated. I have nothing against prayer but being prayed at or told that you have to pray is intrusive.

    1. My Rockin Disabled Life

      I am glad that this post meant something to you. Yeah I agree no one should be told they have to pray.

  2. Brendan Birth

    Hmmm…yeah, one common theme that I hear about from my friends who have disabilities, regardless of whether they are Christian or not, is that they get a lot of unsolicited prayers.

    Though personally, if you ask me the thing that needs prayer is that there needs to be prayer for an end to all the ableism. But I don’t hear that prayer said, just prayers for the person with the disability to be healed.

    1. My Rockin Disabled Life

      Yeah healing prayers happen a lot to everyone! I agree the thing that needs pray is ending ablelism and a more acccessible world for disabled people but people don’t think about that.

  3. Connected Carole

    I don’t think prayer should be forced on anyone! I am disabled and have been for over forty years. Also, I am a Christian who believes in healing, but obviously do not believe God heals everyone. I would love to be healed, but it seems as if God thinks otherwise since he has not healed me. And that’s okay because He is God! So, I too do not like it when people assume they should pray for me to be healed. In fact, if a stranger came to me and started praying for me, I would probably walk (or wheel) away.

    1. My Rockin Disabled Life

      Yeah, I agree prayer should not be forced on anyone, and although I have nothing against prayer I do not think you should chase disabled people down and insist they need healing prayers because some people may not want it but there is nothing wrong with wanting to be healed. I don’t know how I would feel about being healed because I have been disabled my whole life and is everything I have ever known and the thought of that changing seems weird to me. I to walk away from people that come up to me that insist I need prayer because it’s wrong.

  4. Lucy

    This is such a great post. As a Christian, praying provides me with the strength to get through each day and a real peace and comfort but I would never dream of forcing it on others. I pray for a lot of people in private behind the scenes but as you said forcing it on them only causes them to avoid going to church and wanting nothing to do with Christianity, which is the complete opposite of what we should be aiming to do. Thank you for highlighting such an important issue.

    1. My Rockin Disabled Life

      Thank I am glad you liked it. Yeah, I believe in the power of prayer and think it can do powerful things if approached in the right way but if it’s forced I believe it can and will do a lot of damage to others so that is something we should always think about with any religion.

  5. H H H

    Praying for people is great. What I really, really resent was the person who sent their adorable child over with the “we feel led to pray for you” in the middle of the restaurant and then held up their cell phone camera to get their adorable child praying on the poor person im the wheelchair. Beaming with pride and tear filled eyes.

    It was an AWFUL experience. I’m sure I’m all over their Instagram and shown at church.

    Please don’t, folks.

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