Praying to God..........

I guess this is something that has occurred to me a few times, but for some reason, never 'gelled into a proper thought until yesterday morning.

When I pray, I generally try to thank God for all the good bits that we all take for granted sometimes (am I being judgemental ?) - like food, water, sun, clothes.basically anything that we need to live.

I then sometimes ask God for help (Please keep my son James safe on his trip to Spain, then back to UK then another flight to Uni), but when I ask for that, there's a 'contradiction' that I become aware of.

We, I believe, all lead our lives for various purposes (learning, whatever, reincarnation or not), and as I have often said on this forum, I do not see God as being 'interactive' with - for example the hurricanes, the tsunami. I just see those as acts of nature; just 'happenstance' events; if you happen to be there at the wrong time, well, I guess it's a case of 'bad luck'.

So what happens when I ask God to keep my Son safe ? Does the prayer actually have any meaning ? ......Is God going to intervene, and stop a plane from crashing, just because my James is on it, and I have asked God to keep him safe ? What do you all think ?

No I don't think it is a contradiction, for I'm sure you add 'If it is your will". Look at the Gospel of John and Christ's prayer in the garden. He asked for the cup to be taken from him, but added it should be God's will, not his. I think of it as praying for God's will to be done, not 'The Evil one'.

Well I ask for for the safety of my children in prayer... When I flew to the States, I had such peace and no fear what so ever. I know something was with me on that trip.I will be lifting you both up in prayer.

I do not believe there is a God, so I believe that praying accomplishes nothing except making people who pray feel better (which is arguably a worthwhile benefit). But, hypothetically, if an omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent God did exist, His will would be done with or without human prayers.

retrorich said:

I do not believe there is a God, so I believe that praying accomplishes nothing except making people who pray feel better (which is arguably a worthwhile benefit). But, hypothetically, if an omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent God did exist, His will would be done with or without human prayers.

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Undestandable view, from your perspective Rich. I did think twice about putting this in a theists only forum, because I can hear Jay's response (I think) . If he does post what I think he will, I'll come clean about it!:biglaugh:

Luke 11:8-9. ...."he will get up and give him whatever he needs because of his persistence. 9. And I tell you, ask and you will recieve, seek and you shall find; knock and the door will be opened to you." Luke 22:44 .... and he prayed so fervently that his sweat became like drops of blood falling on the ground." Pray often, pray hard. Repeat your requests.

jeffrey said:

Luke 11:8-9. ...."he will get up and give him whatever he needs because of his persistence. 9. And I tell you, ask and you will recieve, seek and you shall find; knock and the door will be opened to you." Luke 22:44 .... and he prayed so fervently that his sweat became like drops of blood falling on the ground." Pray often, pray hard. Repeat your requests.

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So, in other words, become a nag ?:biglaugh:

michel said:

So, in other words, become a nag ?:biglaugh:

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Lol, imagine a billion nagging people all asking you for stuff 24/7, i bet God's a complete nut by now :biglaugh:

Seriously though, maybe God doesn't interfere with the outside world, maybe he just interferes in your own mind.
For example, when you pray for your son to be safe flying;
God might not stop the plane from crashing if it was going to anyway, but maybe He'd give James a feeling that he shouldn't get on the plane in the first place?

michel said:

So, in other words, become a nag ?:biglaugh:

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Yes! And we never will know how many planes that should have crashed, didn't! I think it's important to pray for God's will to be done.

Halcyon said:

Lol, imagine a billion nagging people all asking you for stuff 24/7, i bet God's a complete nut by now :biglaugh:

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Reminds me of the movie 'Bruce All Mighty!'

michel said:

I guess this is something that has occurred to me a few times, but for some reason, never 'gelled into a proper thought until yesterday morning.

When I pray, I generally try to thank God for all the good bits that we all take for granted sometimes (am I being judgemental ?) - like food, water, sun, clothes.basically anything that we need to live.

I then sometimes ask God for help (Please keep my son James safe on his trip to Spain, then back to UK then another flight to Uni), but when I ask for that, there's a 'contradiction' that I become aware of.

We, I believe, all lead our lives for various purposes (learning, whatever, reincarnation or not), and as I have often said on this forum, I do not see God as being 'interactive' with - for example the hurricanes, the tsunami. I just see those as acts of nature; just 'happenstance' events; if you happen to be there at the wrong time, well, I guess it's a case of 'bad luck'.

So what happens when I ask God to keep my Son safe ? Does the prayer actually have any meaning ? ......Is God going to intervene, and stop a plane from crashing, just because my James is on it, and I have asked God to keep him safe ? What do you all think ?

Click to expand...

God knows our hearts. But when we pray...we're connecting with him...from personal experience...I feel so close to him when I pray to him. I think prayer has much meaning. You're communicating with your Heavenly Father. The Bible instructs us to pray ceaselessly...and I know that my relationship is deepended with Christ when I do so.

In my opinion, God is never the root of turmoil...that's the other guy (Satan)... I think God has the power to intervene and I think he does so...when it's necessary for the fulfillment of HIS plan for our lives but no, I don't accept that God causes hurricanes and tornadoes and causes conflict and pain in our lives. I think sometimes he ALLOWS things to happen again...only for our benefit in the long run...to help us grow and to draw us closer to him.

But as far as praying and asking for things...prayer is important but FAITH is even more important. When we pray in FAITH...we're trusting that God will provide for us...that he WILL keep our families safe...that he WILL provide opportunities for us. Christ promises us that our basic necessities will be provided...

These are taken from Matthew...chapter six. I had to pull this off of www.bible.org. I forgot my Bible this morning.

http://www.bible.org/page.asp?page_id=984

6:31 So then, don’t worry saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ 6:32 For the unconverted pursue these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 6:33 But above all pursue his kingdom and righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 6:34 So then, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of its own. (NET Bible)

And we're promised that you will receive what you ask for...when you have faith...

Mark 11:24
11:24 For this reason I tell you, whatever you pray and ask for, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

http://www.bible.org/page.asp?page_id=81

I love the book of Matthew and refer to it often when I'm worried.

Before my husband leaves for work in the morning...instead of praying for his safety...I THANK God for keeping him safe and for loving and providing for us. And I keep Matthew, Chapter Six in mind when I do so...he promises that when we believe...you will receive.

michel said:

I guess this is something that has occurred to me a few times, but for some reason, never 'gelled into a proper thought until yesterday morning.

When I pray, I generally try to thank God for all the good bits that we all take for granted sometimes (am I being judgemental ?) - like food, water, sun, clothes.basically anything that we need to live.

I then sometimes ask God for help (Please keep my son James safe on his trip to Spain, then back to UK then another flight to Uni), but when I ask for that, there's a 'contradiction' that I become aware of.

We, I believe, all lead our lives for various purposes (learning, whatever, reincarnation or not), and as I have often said on this forum, I do not see God as being 'interactive' with - for example the hurricanes, the tsunami. I just see those as acts of nature; just 'happenstance' events; if you happen to be there at the wrong time, well, I guess it's a case of 'bad luck'.

So what happens when I ask God to keep my Son safe ? Does the prayer actually have any meaning ? ......Is God going to intervene, and stop a plane from crashing, just because my James is on it, and I have asked God to keep him safe ? What do you all think ?

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I don't believe that God will ever do anything that takes away the free will of one of his children, but he can influence and prompt them through his spirit. That means, he might not stop someone from trying to hurt your son, but he will prompt your son to make decisions that will keep him out of the circumstances.

That's just my take on the matter.

jonny said:

I don't believe that God will ever do anything that takes away the free will of one of his children, but he can influence and prompt them through his spirit. That means, he might not stop someone from trying to hurt your son, but he will prompt your son to make decisions that will keep him out of the circumstances.

That's just my take on the matter.

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I agree. This is how I view God's intervention in our lives.

Prayer is not for telling God what we want. It's God telling us what he's doing. The Holly Spirit communicates to God through Jesus in a language we can't hear nor understand. God knows what we want before we even ask, he sees our heart. Prayer opens a window to God so our soul can communicate with him. I myself pray the Lords prayer and then when done, just sit and be still and quite and listen for the voice.

"When you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him."
-Matthew 6:7,8

Answered prayers are the grounding of my faith. I write them down as a reminder of the true undeniable power of God. I can say for a fact God is real and does answer prayers.