Nothing irritates me quite as much as when a tragedy happens, such as the recent mass shootings, and people in a position to offer solutions instead prefer to say how the victims and their families are in their "thoughts and prayers."  I found it irritating enough that at one time I left Christianity as I then had known it because of how many purported Christians seemed to be using prayer as a means to avoid dealing with issues.The current wave of mass shootings makes it more direct and personal for me.  I know what it is like to hear on the news that an old friend was shot and killed, and I have seen the look on a co-worker's face as she tried to find out if her child was all right after a shooting in a school.  But the issue I raise here goes beyond that.  Deities must be very displeased with empty prayers and empty promises of prayers.Blessed Be!