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So I take it you believe that if you pray for your friend dying of cancer, he will get better, or maybe its if your friend has enough people praying for him OR maybe its if the RIGHT people are praying for him? Which is it?
What about the person through no fault of their own has no one to pray for him, does he somehow deserve to NOT live because he doesn't have enough people to pray for him or the RIGHT people to pray for him?
When I saw do something about it, I mean in the case of someone with health problems, get treatment, get it early. Don't sit around and wait for something too happen. Do you know how many people end up alot worse off because they don't take care of themselves, don't get the health screenings they should so the cancer can be detected early and dealt with?
Sorry, but you got it all wrong! If a loved one is sick, I will pray to God to make the person feel better but the ultimate decision is always His. I do not feel in any way that God is obligated to answer my prayers. The true meaning of prayer in my opinion is to show humility, show that you have faith in God and also to acknowledge that God is the one in charge. God does not need prayers to make things happen, he can make anything happen at any given time. As far as getting treatment,You can certainly bring that person to the best doctor in the world and the best hospital in the world, if God decides it is that person's time to go, believe me, no doctor or hospital can do anything about it. In my understanding, God expects us to take action, of course, but once you have taken action, thats it, there is somebody else in charge and that is not you or the doctor. Praise be to God!
I am really starting to doubt that prayers are answered at all. Does God only answer the prayers of a select few?
What a let down!
Even when I still belonged to the faith I was raised in, I never really understood how people thought prayer was supposed to work.
There are so many problems with the whole concept ... first and foremost, by praying, you seem to be suggesting that you can change God's mind. Which to me is the height of arrogance, because you seem to be implicity saying that you can make better decisions than a supreme, all-knowing being can, and if he only saw things your way, everything would be great.
Not only that, but if God wanted something to happen, he would have done it in the first place. Why in the world would he need, or even want, our intervention?
Plus, how do we know we're not praying against something that's part of God's plan? We may not like something that's been put before us, but what if God wants it that way?
All of this, of course, assmues that:
-- There is a being out there that can read minds and grant wishes like a genie.
-- This being really cares about the petty concerns of people on one insignificant little planet, out of billions and billions of planets in an incomprehensibly vast universe.
-- This being would grant our often petty little wishes but still allow much greater suffering and injustice to go on in the world. For example, you pray for a raise. You get it, and you assume God intervened. Meanwhile, a devastated mother across town is praying profusely that her baby daughter, born three months premature, doesn't die in the incubator, but the baby dies anyway. Did God give your raise precedence over the life of the baby?
I don't mean to come off as snarky here. I just want to offer some food for thought as to why prayers might not be answered. It just might be that prayer is little more than a self-serving act of desperation that a genie will grant us a wish. It very well may be, in fact, that a supreme being doesn't intervene in our affairs ... or that there's no supreme being at all.
I am really starting to doubt that prayers are answered at all. Does God only answer the prayers of a select few?
What a let down!
I had asked this a lot in my tweanties ( they were not fun) when I hit 30 I was thrilled, I figured out that God knows what I need better then I do, I keep this in mind all day every day.
Sorry, but you got it all wrong! If a loved one is sick, I will pray to God to make the person feel better but the ultimate decision is always His. I do not feel in any way that God is obligated to answer my prayers. The true meaning of prayer in my opinion is to show humility, show that you have faith in God and also to acknowledge that God is the one in charge. God does not need prayers to make things happen, he can make anything happen at any given time. As far as getting treatment,You can certainly bring that person to the best doctor in the world and the best hospital in the world, if God decides it is that person's time to go, believe me, no doctor or hospital can do anything about it. In my understanding, God expects us to take action, of course, but once you have taken action, thats it, there is somebody else in charge and that is not you or the doctor. Praise be to God!
So let me get this straight, god is going to do what he wants regardless of who is praying, how many are praying etc. The prayers you say are to make yourself feel better, the sick person feel better, its taking action but doesn't influence god in any way.
I'm sorry you don't see what a pointless action this is and how its almost a form self hypnosis.
God can answer your prayers through other people, through events, through coincidences, or in time it will be answered. Maybe God did answer your prayers, but you don't know it.
Nicolepsy, it sounds like you're going through a tough time. I hope you don't think that god isn't answering your prayers because you're "bad", have sinned, or don't believe enough. People can tell you what they believe all they want, but no one "really" knows what's out there, and that's scary.
I suspect you're youngish (just a guess). Teens or early 20s. That's a really rough time for most people, both believers and non. Both "sinners" and "good people". Hang in there... it does get better.
There was a study done in the past year that had to do with praying. I don't remember it exactly, but there were 3 groups of sick people:
Group 1 had no one pray for them.
Group 2 had a ton of people praying for them and knew about it.
Group 3 had a ton of people praying for them and didn't know about it.
I think it was Group 2 who did the worst. Group 1 & 2 did about the same.
I don't really have an opinion on this, but I thought it was interesting.
I have an idea. believe in yourself! Do your best, try your hardest and above all treat others the way you want them to treat you. If there is a God, that is all I think it would have wanted from us. The current viewpoint of religion is beyond ridiculous. If God answers your prayers, it was ready to help you. If it doesn't, well, it felt you could handle your problems. What a racket!!! Talk about not having to worry about losing. !!
I will stand by this.
There are 2 types of people who have God in their lives. Those that were taught at a young age through fear by their elders that God is the only way to go. The other is the guy who treated people badly and realizes it and needs to feel better about himself now.
Just live your life the best you can! Make mistakes and learn from them. This power gave us that ability ...use it! Stop worrying about praying and preaching and worshipping and live your life the way the power intended.
Prayers are not answered because no one is listening. A prayer, no matter how eloquent or well intentioned, is just someone who is speaking from their heart but sadly there's not a God on the receiving end of the conversation. I have to admit that I've seen a certain amount of comfort or even closure if it involves the problems or even the death of a loved one and I would be reluctant to criticize the sincerity of this gesture. I just feel that human beings are not communicating with a God or supernatural power because it simply doesn't exist.
Prayers are not answered because no one is listening. A prayer, no matter how eloquent or well intentioned, is just someone who is speaking from their heart but sadly there's not a God on the receiving end of the conversation. I have to admit that I've seen a certain amount of comfort or even closure if it involves the problems or even the death of a loved one and I would be reluctant to criticize the sincerity of this gesture. I just feel that human beings are not communicating with a God or supernatural power because it simply doesn't exist.
Just because 'you just feel' something, doesn't make it true, right MontanaGuy...well...at least I think that's what you guys usually tell us believers.....
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