Nothing Fails Like Prayer! (Buddhist, Isaiah, hell, Revelation)

[MysticPhD]

Originally Posted by CorporateCowboy

Of course it does. If someone THINKS they are praying to a god to stop world hunger, it doesn’t work. If one THINKS to expand one’s consciousness/desire to connect to humanity (and knows one must do something to help stop hunger), it does work. Knowing the difference - and knowing there is no deity to pray to - does have an impact on what people are actually doing (and on outcome as well). What we THINK is everything.

What you THINK is who you are becoming.

[supernovae]

Originally Posted by Shirina

And why would god care if you confessed Jesus Christ? No where in the Bible does it say that Jesus is a part of god; nowhere does it say that Jesus is god's avatar on earth; nowhere does it say that Jesus and god have any real connection at all. That's all Christian dogma that was added later.

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Hello everyone! I am new this forum, so thank you for having me. I just wanted to say that it is best to get your information strictly from the source itself, however, simply typing in your question on google will yield quick results. This took no more than 2 mins to find.

OLD TESTAMENT:
Isaiah 40:3 speaks about preparing the way for the LORD (Yahweh). When we compare this verse with Mark 1:3 we see that Jesus is the LORD who had the way prepared for him by John the Baptist.

In Joel 2:32a it says that whoever calls upon the Name of the LORD (Yahweh) will be saved. This verse is quoted by Peter in Acts 2:21, and by Paul in Romans 10:13. Both apostles are referring to Jesus as the LORD.

In Isaiah 44:6, the LORD (Yahweh) refers to himself as “the First and the Last”. In Revelation 1:8 and 17, Jesus similarly refers to himself as “the Alpha and the Omega” and “the First and the Last”.

In Zechariah 12:10 the LORD (Yahweh) is speaking and says that, “they will look on Me whom they have pierced.”[4] This is Jesus speaking (Psa. 22:16; John 19:34). This verse from Zechariah appears again in Revelation 1:7b and is about Jesus Christ.


NEW TESTAMENT:
7. Colossians 1:15
[Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created…

3. John 1:1
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

1. Matthew 1:23
Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name, Immanuel (which means, God with us).

2. Mark 2:5-7
When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

6. Philippians 2:5-7
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.

[TroutDude]

Another still-dewy born-again.

[phetaroi]

Originally Posted by MysticPhD

What you THINK you are doing has no impact on what you are actually doing. I sought Nirvana as an atheist Buddhist with no intention whatsoever of encountering anything but the nihilism of my ego and an end to karma and Samsara. I couldn't have been more wrong.

And how long was your Buddhist quest?

[MysticPhD]

Originally Posted by phetaroi

And how long was your Buddhist quest?

A tad more than 18 years of my first 30+ years of life.

[phetaroi]

Originally Posted by supernovae

-------------------------
Hello everyone! I am new this forum, so thank you for having me. I just wanted to say that it is best to get your information strictly from the source itself, however, simply typing in your question on google will yield quick results. This took no more than 2 mins to find.

OLD TESTAMENT:
Isaiah 40:3 speaks about preparing the way for the LORD (Yahweh). When we compare this verse with Mark 1:3 we see that Jesus is the LORD who had the way prepared for him by John the Baptist.

In Joel 2:32a it says that whoever calls upon the Name of the LORD (Yahweh) will be saved. This verse is quoted by Peter in Acts 2:21, and by Paul in Romans 10:13. Both apostles are referring to Jesus as the LORD.

In Isaiah 44:6, the LORD (Yahweh) refers to himself as “the First and the Last”. In Revelation 1:8 and 17, Jesus similarly refers to himself as “the Alpha and the Omega” and “the First and the Last”.

In Zechariah 12:10 the LORD (Yahweh) is speaking and says that, “they will look on Me whom they have pierced.”[4] This is Jesus speaking (Psa. 22:16; John 19:34). This verse from Zechariah appears again in Revelation 1:7b and is about Jesus Christ.


NEW TESTAMENT:
7. Colossians 1:15
[Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created…

3. John 1:1
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

1. Matthew 1:23
Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name, Immanuel (which means, God with us).

2. Mark 2:5-7
When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

6. Philippians 2:5-7
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.

Since you are new, you're going to find that few of us -- at least among the atheists -- are not going to accept anything just because it's in the bible. We generally don't read bible verses in our discussions because it's like trying to prove the bible just using the bible. A fool's errand. And really, about all you're doing is proselytizing, not adding to the discussion.

[phetaroi]

Originally Posted by MysticPhD

A tad more than 18 years.

I'll be honest, since you never really have mentioned (except perhaps in passing), I'm skeptical. And, perhaps you just weren't wisely going down the path.

[MysticPhD]

Originally Posted by phetaroi

I'll be honest, since you never really have mentioned (except perhaps in passing), I'm skeptical. And, perhaps you just weren't wisely going down the path.

I will own that I fairly quickly on rejected all the mumbo jumbo associated with Buddhist practice. I focused on a disciplined attempt to achieve deeper and deeper altered states as an empirical test of the underlying claims about the state of our Reality using biofeedback techniques. I was very focused, diligent, and determined to get to the Truth. I was also very successful in my biofeedback control. I couldn't have been more shocked at the results so my subsequent efforts were crucial to my resultant certainty. I cannot and have no intention of trying to transfer my acquired certainty to anyone. Just sharing for what its worth.

[supernovae]

Originally Posted by thrillobyte

I have my own experience with the powerlessness of prayer. I was deathly sick. I had my church come in and pray for me. Nothing happened. In desperation I went to a doctor who put me on medication and I was healed. God didn't cure me, medicine did.

[REPLY] You have to have faith and faith comes from the heart. Here are scriptures explaining the importance.
Romans 3:3
For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?
Matthew 9:22
Jesus turned and saw her. "Take courage, daughter," He said, "your faith has healed you." And the woman was cured from that very hour.
Numbers 23:19
God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?

I pray you have the ears to hear and the heart to receive. How do you know for CERTAIN that HE has not delivered as promised (regardless of the shape or form)?

Originally Posted by thrillobyte

There is no better way to measure the total bankruptcy of Christianity than to examine the track record of prayer when Christians pray for a desired outcome, follow all the rules and conditions that Jesus lays down, and then have to stand by and watch helplessly as nothing happens. Their loved one dies, they lose their job, they lose their residency and go homeless, they're rendered penniless. They prayed through all of it and prayer got them nowhere. And the best their church can offer them is, "Must be the will of God" or "You must have unconfessed sin in your life" or "God's ways are mysterious" when all they had to say is the unvarnished truth, "Nothing fails like prayer, I'm sorry."

[REPLY]
I am sorry that you went through this and you are not alone in questioning, as many of us have when times were extremely tough and it felt like God was not there. I am assuming you read the Bible and are familiar with the stories? You remember in the beginning (Genesis) what Satan did to Adam and Eve to block their relationship with God. I'm praying you also remember the story about how Satan made it his mission to attempt to destroy Job's faith by revealing what was truly in the man's heart all along.

Moral of the story is.....
Satan did all he could to make Job lose his faith, but Job continued to trust in God alone. His perseverance was finally rewarded: after Satan gave up, God blessed Job’s life (Job. 42:12). For us, too, the message is that trust in God is ultimately rewarded, now on earth or later in heaven. Despite the suffering that we see and experience every day in this world, both our life and our suffering are not pointless, thanks to God’s love.

Originally Posted by thrillobyte

Most Christians don't know that there is an ironclad promise made by the Bible that specifically singles out illness--God will heal sickness specifically--that is apart from the ones Jesus made in the four gospels that, generally speaking, God will grant any request if it is made in Jesus' name. Here it is:


Did you get that?

*If you're sick, even dying--cancer, Hodgkins, diabetes, heart disease, you name it--call for the church elders.
*Let the church elders pray over you
*Anoint the person with oil in the name of Jesus
*Jesus will heal the sick person

Simple as that.

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EXCEPT that the Lord speaks specifically about His Will. He is not a vending machine; that you can just come in with coins to purchase all that you want and if it's not granted, then say the machine must be broken.

Ephesians 5:17 - Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord [is].

James 4:15-16 King James Version (KJV)
15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that

Luke 22:42 - Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.

Matthew 6:10 - Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as [it is] in heaven.

Humble yourself, my friend. I think this can answer other things you have posted. Take care of yourself and come back to the one who Loves you.

[normstad]

Originally Posted by OzzyRules

I also have to put my faith into that source which brings life and light to my spirit.

What method did you use to determine that source??