Does a communal prayer, given up from a body of people who do not necessarily believe, move or please God?
It is good for a body of believers to join in communal prayer -- we were made for both personal and corporate worship. But does it please God to hear the prayers of people who may or may not believe, who do it as a matter of ritual or public appeasement? Perhaps it is in a small way a public acknowledgment of His existence, but if this is not believed in the hearts of those who say or hear the words, does God delight in such acknowledgment?
Years back, my husband's local bar association had a meeting opened with a prayer to the goddess. He and the other Christian attorneys with whom he sat were disgusted and did not participate. Fortunately, there was a Christian Legal Society with whom he met to pray and address issues pertinent to law and faith. Within this group of like-minded individuals with a common core faith, prayer was natural and blessed. But I would prefer to do away with prayer altogether than to offer the deity-of-the-month style supplication so common in governments and institutions. Instead, I'd like to see Christians gathering together before meetings to offer prayers.
This nation has lost its moral compass. Our hope, our standard, our true north must be found in the Word of God. Rather than looking to the government for direction and for restoration, we need to look within ourselves for areas which need repentance, seek forgiveness and transformation from God, and work to make our own thoughts, words and deeds pleasing to Him, all with the indispensable aid of His Spirit. We begin with ourselves and our families, then our neighborhoods, communities, and outward, until these community prayers can be offered in earnest.
To a believing Christian, the answer -- an emphatic no -- has already been given:
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. --Matthew 6:6
"Does a communal prayer, given up from a body of people who do not necessarily believe, move or please God?"
I believe that it probably would. If there is only one true believer among the group and that person's prayer is sincere and righteous, then I believe that God would be pleased. Additionally, if the group prayer causes even just one person to begin to question and seek the Truth, then I think that would also please God.
I understand your point about communal prayers offered at the start of meetings or events. However I disagree with your views. A communal prayer most often reflects a common belief held by the majority of the community. In our society (America), that would be a belief in God. The act of joining together in prayer makes the bonds of community stronger and enhances working towards a common goal. Those who do not join in the prayer, because they do not believe in God, object, IMO, partly (and unconsciously) because they can't experience that bonding. IMO, they unconsciously sense the void in their hearts and don't really connect as well to the group, thus unconsciously experiencing a feeling of aloneness or separation.
Unfortunately, many institutions feel the need to be PC and have religious leaders from all different faiths take turns in conducting an opening or closing prayer. This is more likely to alienate instead of bond. Having a Muslim conduct a prayer in a predominately Christian setting would be as wrong as having a Christian conduct a prayer in a predominately Muslim setting and doing either is an insult to the predominate members and culture of that group or community.