Did you know it's bad form if certain people pray for you? I asked this of Mahwainah (whose real name is Jeff) during our morning walk. Mahwainah's cackle could be heard over the jackhammer we passed moments before,

"What?" he snapped. "Where in the world did you hear such an absurd idea?"

"The handicapped stall in the women's restroom," I answered.

"This place is a cesspool of oppression," Mahwainah snorted indignantly.

"According to the disembodied voices, some people don't have your best interests at heart and this is confusing to God."

Always the smart ass, Mahwainah challenged the not so keen insight of the voices. "So, God has the ability to make a platypus from spare animal parts, but needs to work on His/Her listening skills?"

"So echoed the voices in the stall."

"That is just, well, vile."

I don't think vile is the word I would use to describe the concept, but it was definitely one of the more asinine ideas I have ever heard. By this rationale, a few misplaced words could ruin your life; that is unless the person knows you, I mean really knows you.

I started thinking about the topic of prayer and asked a couple of Buddhists, a Christian, and an Atheist the question, "Do you find it offensive if someone says they are going to pray for you?" One Buddhist and the Christian said they would not be offended. The other Buddhists said it would depend upon the person offering to put in a good word for them with The Big Guy. The Atheist asked a question that I believe gets to the gist of the stall commentary, namely, "What is the intention behind the prayer?"

If the one praying truly has the prayee's best interest at heart, then any and all thoughts and sentiments are most welcome. However, if the prayee believes the intentions of the person praying are not coming from the right place, then it is understandable if the recipient takes offense to the unwanted prayers.