Scary man. I have an Indian friend of mine who told me just about the same thing. Only hes not really an elder. hes in his early 40's but a wise man.
ORIGINAL: Ricknoon
Prayer is not an order form. If God wills for me to take a deer I will take it.
A Native American elder told me that the Earth and your body has the same amount of material in it. So when you take something from the woods you have to give something back (usually tobacco). He also said every animal that you kill or have seen killed gives it's life up to tell you something, and if you offer an elder tobacco he will tell you what the purpose of the deer's life was. I don't believe in that but it's a nice tradition.