How can I help others?

Go find a shelter for homeless people and offer to help serve food, sweep floors or whatever they need.

Become a coach for a team at the Boys and Girls Club.

Go to your church and ask the pastor if there is something you can do to help the church or its members.

Volunteer at a hospital. They always need folks who can help people find their relative’s room, bring coffee to folks waiting in the Surgical Waiting Room, deliver flowers to patients, and even just be available to pray with folks who are worried.

There are countless ways to help others. Just use your imagination.

Every community has a population of aging folks who could use help with chores, housework, shopping, driving to doctors, garden maintenance or simply someone to play
Scrabble or Double Solitaire with. Personally, I’d rather have someone weed for me than pray.

Find me a lawyer in Strasbourg?

ok, that was sort of an inside joke (trying to cheer myself up).

Yes, helping others does make you feel good. I’m very much like that too. There are tonnes of charity organisations that you can help, and you’ll feel better if you pick the smaller ones, the ones no one’s ever heard of, the ones that cater for mentally retarded WWII veterans that everybody else has forgotten about. Yeah puppies are cute, and so are little girls, but you won’t be making as much difference there. And the people you work with could be pretentious and just there to prove something.

If you really want to make a difference, seek out the abandoned.

I was hoping to get some prayer requests, because that is a way I can help others right now. Thanks for all the ideas thus far. I have done and will try some of the other you have suggested.

troll. i sees it.

it went away.

Be available.

If you want to pray for someone this lady is asking for prayers. Sounds like she needs some support right now for sure.

In that case maybe you could pray that my daughter stays sane long enough for me to help her myself.

http://www.fluther.com/disc/41859/any-legal-way-out-of-this-international-abduction-case-in-schengen/

@Judi I did get your prayer in by the way.
@Darwin I will definately do that. Thaks

If you really want to help others, volunteer or give money to a charity.

This smacks of self-indulgence.

@Jack79 I will do that.

@Qingu Thanks for the tips done both of them. Now leave me alone.

Yeah. @Qingu. This is pretty self-aggrandizing. “Look at me! I am so helpful! I care about others!” Yet not having to lift a hand to do it. To my mind, people help because they want to, and they do it outside of the public eye, and they eschew recognition for it. If you’re going to help, @ShauneP82, do something that counts, and don’t bother telling us about it.

@daloon I don’t really understand what you are talking about. I am not trying to self-indulge. I am trying to offer help to people that need it. I am sorry you feel that way.

@ShauneP82 I can only assume you’re pretty religious… instead of asking us if we can find you someone to pray for, why not go to your church and find out like-minded people who want prayer? Or to a religious retirement home?

@Likeradar From what I can tell this is a site open to all. I can ask any question I choose. I choose to ask people if they would like some prayer for them. What is wrong with that? I don’t expect you to understand. Nobody forced you to to comment. If you don’t like it. Ignore the question. I am sorry you feel that way.

@ShauneP82 Dude, relax. Sorry I feel what way? I answered your question. I gave you advice on how to find people to help in the way you want. Chill.

I’m not religious. When people declare that they are praying for me, I find it presumptuous and intrusive. I actually appreciate that you are asking people if they would like for you to pray for them (instead of just doing so).

That being said, thanks. But I will pass.

@ShauneP82 You can tell yourself what you want, but I’m telling you how I see it. I doubt I’m the only one. The effect of this question is to trumpet your goodness all over. That makes it seem like you are doing it for getting people to approve of you, instead of for actually helping people. You may truly be trying to help people, but I think this is a singularly ineffective way of doing it. I think that if you are serious about helping people, you’ll get away from your keyboard, and get out in the community. You can pray while you’re at it.

@preggers Thank you for the openness. I don’t mean to offend anybody. I can respect your will to pass. Have a good day…evening…whatever. lol.

Back in the day a Christian group started handing out sandwiches downtown. They made you listen to a bunch of crap for them to give you food. It was mostly homeless kids..

So we made a bunch of sandwiches and handed them out. We added Doritos too.

And it sounds like you want a reason to feel good about yourself without really doing anything.

@johnpowell I am sorry you feel that way.

I would say if you want to help others make sure you yourself are fulfilled. Then keep an eye and an ear open as you go through your daily life. Soon an opportunity will arise when you can give of yourself. Sometimes it may be something as small as listening and being a friend to a neighbor or you may be lead to do some type of service in your community.

@GAMBIT That pretty much why I asked this question. I am here. i thought maybe somebody would need an ear or simply a prayer. Thank you for your input.

My point was that something as simple as making sandwiches can be a great thing for someone that needs one. It is easy to do real things that will help real people. Even giving a single sandwich to the next homeless person you see is better than praying.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think you might not be getting the feedback you’re looking for here is because many of us don’t think prayer does a whole lot to help people.

@johnpowell I agree more than you know. However, my current situation does not allow to do that. It is a great way to help.

@ShauneP82 – I think it is great that you want to help people on Fluther.

@Likeradar Good point to bring up. But it is still worth asking in many folks opinion. I have already recieved some prayer requests from folks today. If that is all I get then the question served its purpose.

@GAMBIT Thank you.

Wasn’t this question originally worded differently? I’m guessing the mods asked you to revise it be make it more appealing to all people (not just religious). I think the problem is that (to the secular jelly), your main question seems incongruous with your details. There is an assumption that prayer helps others. I respect your belief that it does. But that seems to be the point of contention.

I’m curious though. If this question were worded Can I send you good thoughts?, would it still be met with such resistance?

@preggers Probably not. I can’t speak for the mob though. : ) But I would like to know why good thoughts would be exceptable and prayer is not. It is pretty much the same thing. I kind of expected the resistance.

Also, being in the minority does not scare me.

Look guys, loosen up, if ShauneP92 wants to pray, so be it. Right now I can use any help I can, and can’t see the harm in an extra prayer (though I’d rather place my hopes on my lawyers instead). Every little helps, and there’s no need for the rest of us to be judgemental.

I’ll take prayer offers from Muslims, Hindus, Zaratustrans and even Atheists (you can pray to Darwin that my ex evolves into an amoeba, which would actually be a step forward).

@ShauneP82 It might seem more acceptable because many people have a kneejerk reaction to most things religious. Another thing is that good thoughts doesn’t have an associated agenda.

But that explanation will only get you so far. If your question was rewritten as:
When the weight of the world bogs me down. I have realized that sending good thoughts is a great solution to taking the weight off my shoulders. Sending good thoughts is a good way to help others…

People still wouldn’t take you very seriously. They’d probably think you’re a crazy old hippie. But hippies are harmless and so is prayer. The desire to help people is nice, even if it seems ultimately unproductive (to some).

Either way, I’m sending you good thoughts (if you’d like).

@Jack79 Nice statement

@Jack79 – I would do it if I could but I’m afraid I’m all out of amoeba transformation gel at the moment. But I’ll think good thoughts for you.

lol thanks Darwin :)

Whether or not it is self indulgent, I am pretty surprised at some of the comments in here. I thought this was a community that had an open mind about things. So what if everyone has different beliefs. Do we know ShauneP82 personally? I don’t so I am not going to judge him based on a question he asked. If he wants to try and do good, lets give him positive feedback. Whatever he does with the feedback is his choice. If he goes off and tells everyone how great of a person is, well thats his fault.

As far as what you can do, I would highly recommend a book I just finished last night called, “Same Kind Of Different As Me.” If that book does not get you motivated, then nothing will.

@lukiarobecheck Thank you. Thank you. Too true. I was kind of shocked as well. So much anger bottled up over God. The only reason i asked this question because the moderators deleted my question asking if anybody wanted me to pray for them. Which you did respond to. In fact you were the first.

I’m late to the party; @Jack79 summed up my thoughts on the subject already. :)

I believe that this question was asked with the best of intentions. If the question was instead, “Can I send you my well wishes? Tell me your story and I’ll lend an ear, and wish the best for you” I have a feeling more people would accept it…. even though in essence, it’s the same thing, minus the religious “trigger” words.

@3or4monsters It probably was a better way to please the masses of atheists out there, but I really don’t care if it is offensive. If somebody wants prayers I will give them prayer. Thank though, for your thoughts. I am not trying to offend you at all. But have you read some of the stuff i have been sent all because I mentioned prayer.

For the rest of the masses. If I wanted to pass on well wishing I would have said “Well wishing.” I did not start an argument. I offered a kind gesture. Despite what words I used or how it came off. I am telling everybody now, to those that turned this into a theology debate or was offend…CRY ME A RIVER! How do you think it makes Christians feel everytime we ask a question in faith and get nothing but bull shit from the other side of the fence because you don’t like it. Wait, no. Don’t respond I wont read it.

I am only looking for those that need prayer.

@ShauneP82 I’ve retyped this a million times, and I can’t get around that you feel I am siding with the people who have attacked you. I assure you, I do not. I have clicked “good answer” on the people who have defended you, and even stated as such in my last reply. I even SAID that I believed your question was asked with the best of intentions.

I offered a suggestion that I thought might help you reach the most people here, but all I get is a “cry me a river” and a statement that this question is for Christians-Only.

I regret visiting this thread. Good luck with that chip on your shoulder.

Pray for yourself.

Go to these sites every day, and encourage as many people as you know to do the same:
http://www.thehungersite.com/

(watch out for this one, it can be addictive)
http://www.freerice.com/

and do all your internet searches using this charity site:
http://www.goodsearch.com/

@ShauneP82 I find nothing wrong with your question and I think it was a very kind gesture.

And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.

But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed.

One interpretation of these parts of scripture: A Christian prays in private, not in public.