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Mark 11:24 – For the reason I tell you: when you pray and ask for
something, believe that you have received it, and you will be given
whatever you ask for.
Is this really true? I’m not thinking of asking God for a new car.
But when someone is praying for the health and safety of someone else
and that person does not get better and eventually dies, what are we
to think? It wasn’t Gods will right?
So does this mean that Gods promises are conditional based on whether
it meets his plan or not. If this is so, then how are we to believe
in prayer when God’s already knows what he is going to do?
Mathew 21:23 – If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for
in prayer.
We can believe with all our heart, but if the Lord doesn’t want it,
it’s not going to happen. Knowing this makes it difficult to totally
believe in what you are praying for, because you are still not sure.
It reminds me of being a parent, when one of my children ask me if we
could do something and I say will see. I haven’t said no, but I
haven’t said yes either.
Mark 11:24 – For the reason I tell you: when you pray and ask for
something, believe that you have received it, and you will be given
whatever you ask for.
Is this really true? I’m not thinking of asking God for a new car.
But when someone is praying for the health and safety of someone else
and that person does not get better and eventually dies, what are we
to think? It wasn’t Gods will right?
So does this mean that Gods promises are conditional based on whether
it meets his plan or not. If this is so, then how are we to believe
in prayer when God’s already knows what he is going to do?
Mathew 21:23 – If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for
in prayer.
We can believe with all our heart, but if the Lord doesn’t want it,
it’s not going to happen. Knowing this makes it difficult to totally
believe in what you are praying for, because you are still not sure.
It reminds me of being a parent, when one of my children ask me if we
could do something and I say will see. I haven’t said no, but I
haven’t said yes either.
I've wrestled with this too. I recently read something about this, that most people, including me, pray for God to do His will regarding my or someone else's health. The person whom I read said..."Hey, when Jesus walked the earth, did He ever reject anyone for healing?".... nope.... and Jesus is the Eternal God right? Right. So if Jesus never turned away anyone seeking healing then, why would He turn away anyone now through prayer? And I thought...wow...that's a good point!
There's another side to I believe. That is that God in His mercy may take us whether we want to go or not, and the reasons are known to God, perhaps knowing we will commit sin, etc.
But the bottom line is that it's clearly God's will that we be healthy and healed. So when we pray, let's not ask Him to do His will, let's ask Him to heal us like He did every single person who came to Him when He was on the earth.
I don't believe in any god or any religion therefore I don't pray. But I am a spiritual person. I am moved by people, art, nature.
I find that not having a god or a religion (my only belief is in myself and my capacities as a human being) makes my life easier.
* If I "sin" (sex, partying, cursing, bad feelings, whatever), I don't have to worry. I'm free. I only respond to myself (as long I harm no one).
* If something goes wrong (money, health, personal), I won't be disappointed at my god for not helping me. It's just life.
* Wars and hunger and holocausts happen, and I'm glad I don't believe in any god because such awful events would shatter my beliefs in a higher being.
* If I do better or worse than my neighbor, I can feel relief or jealousy and be fine. I won't feel troubled because I feel and I'm human and my feelings may contradict what my religion mandates.
* Since I belong to no religion, I don't have to agonize over the meaning of the Holy Writings and whether I am living according to them. I live by my own book, which says: be good to yourself and the others, don't harm, help the disadvantaged.
I respect those who choose to have a religious life, but I am happy I don't have one, because I feel free to be myself in the world.
I think sometimes our prayers are motivated by our own interests and desires. We like to hear we can have anything, but Jesus prayed with God's interests in mind. We can express our desires when we pray, but we should want His will above ours. I think as we draw closer to God and know Him better we can align our prayers to His will. He does answer our prayers, just not always the way we think it should be sometimes and I am so glad for that!
I agree with ILNC.
I think when we pray for healing or for something to make our lives just a little more "peaceful, less painful" well that is not always the will of God. We do not know the Grand Plan of God, but in His almighty wisdom it is done. I like to think that when I pray for healing or someone to "become better", well if that person were to die, than what better way to be healed, that person is with our Lord, as someday we all will be.
Totally spontaneous. Everyday conversation, really. I notice teeny weeney things that I probably wouldn't otherwise, just about every day, because of this prayer in 1986. Do not believe in "coincidences" because everything in my life seems to be connected to this 20+ year old fervent prayer.
Had a dream that somebody I love got hurt (didn't specify what happened, just heard them talking about him on the TV news, I started crying, then woke up).
Didn't even have a crush on him, although I admired him, and had only known him casually from mutual friends. But this dream upset me so bad that I shook in tears the entire day and told God I'd give up everything I was wishing for (which I knew were attainable) to just keep him safe & happy.
To make a very long story short, things which remind me of that prayer and my promises pop up almost every single day and I do not believe these unexplainable "coincidences" are coincidences. I believe God gives us Cues each single day, and most folks are too busy and "realistic", or pass them off as "coincidence" to notice that God may be talking to us more often than we do Him.
Oh my God, "Heaven Must Be Missing an Angel" just began on the Radio ...it's 8:10 pm here and B101 FM can confirm this...
:>)
PS Delilah show, she's national, so others may have heard it too :>)
Last edited by Travel'r; 03-30-2007 at 06:14 PM..
Reason: Delilah
I think sometimes our prayers are motivated by our own interests and desires. We like to hear we can have anything, but Jesus prayed with God's interests in mind. We can express our desires when we pray, but we should want His will above ours. He does answer our prayers, just not always the way we think it should be sometimes and I am so glad for that!
I remember wishing on a star one Wednesday on the way home from work that I'd hit a daily number because my family was making me feel like crup. So stppped & played my locker combo & hit that night. Never really prayed for favors, left that to a lucky star :>)
But you hit a nerve, ILNC, because, until I had that nightmare, I never really asked God for favors and wasn't really spiritual; didn't really have a realtionship with Him. I wondered for years why I was "put in love" with this guy that I really had no personal interest in (aside from just knowing him for three years) and it took two more years before I even fell in love with him!
But God was set on it.
18 years later, here he was in another state, going through a challenging time, and there I moved just to make sure he was OK and say things to make him smile (which he hadn't been doing). An unexplainable "coincidence" practically forced me to break a deteriorating relationship to move there!
Throughout the years since the nightmare, I have foud myself smiling when I should have been crying my eyes out. "Coincidences", always regarding him -- even when we had no contact for over a decade, never ceased to amaze -- and perplex me!
This guy has been married (long before I ever met him), but mutual friends have since mentoned how horribly his SO has treated him through the years(cheating being one thing, and I didn't know this before the nightmare). But he's too religious to think Divorce, so I just act like an old friend and respect that, but only because he does.
But it was hammered into me to Love this guy, God knows why, and God finds a way to remind me every single day. I should have been crying my eyes out when other men pulled horrible stunts on me. But wasn't even phased. So wasn't as hurt as I would have been. Every backstab gave me more amunition to be happy (go figure???).
I wondered why I was being tortured like this, why care so much about somebody when they're married ... why everyone but him treats me like crup ... but all I have to do is just see they guy smile, if just for a moment, and my life is, literally, complete!!
<<<I think as we draw closer to God and know Him better we can align our prayers to His will. <<<
BINGO It took me a while to get the gyst, but this is, indeed, my case. And Miracles have happened because of those things I gave up.
(Giving a single mom a lottery number 14 days before Christmas and watching it being drawn an hour later and jumping for joy because I wouldn't play it myself, was just one of the first things, one of my favorites.)
Other things are for Steven Spielburg ... :>)
It's 9:09 and Delilah's still on and "Never Saw A Miracle" just began.
God, I pray somebosy has Delilah on tonight. ("Miracle's the Love You Gave to Me").
Please forgive typos in above posts :>) Didn't want to edit/change anything because of the timing of the song :>) :>)
To sum up, believe God works One on one, personal with each person.
No offense, but feel closer to God outside of a church (meaning everywhere else) because folks in churches I'd go to were too phony & robotic. But that's just my churches, so no offense, Thanks for letting me go on, not many around me relate to this stuff & pass everything off as "weird coincidence" all the time :>)
no i dont prepare myself before i pray
the only people that do that are like witches or satanists cause they have those altars and stuff
i just say whats on my mind and let it all out
I talk to God in many different ways. I give thanks when I am driving down the street and see a beautiful garden or sunset. When I see someone who looks pathetic, I ask for help for the person. I have longer, more formal prayers.
Today as I left my job for the last time, I thanked god verbally for getting me through a tough time when I knew no way out and literally gave him a high five in my car while driving (hope no one saw THAT!) Sometimes I just tell him that he is great. Often when I see or recieve something positive, I will just say aloud- God is great, God is good. Thank you God.
But what got me to post on this thread is that, every time I am scanning the thread topics, I always think this thread reads: Do You Prepay Before You Pray!!!! And, no, I don't prepay. Jesus did that for me!
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the point of view of a non-religious person
