God has never answered prayers and will never answer prayers, why so? Ask yourself this, how does God decide to answer prayers?
Here we have a mother who prays day and night for her child that has cancer and eventually, the child dies, every day thousands upon thousands children die from horrible diseases. Here we have a young man who prays for finding a good job and he finds his dream job, giving thanks that his prayer was answered, I've read so many testimonies about this. Now, from time to time, we have testimonies of miraculous healings, but ask yourself, why there are so few and not more? This should ring a bell!
It is not God who answer prayers, from my own research, there are two main things when it comes to prayers - your faith and your life journey.
Remember what Jesus used to say to those who healed them? Your faith has saved you!
A question arises, where is God in this equation of prayers? God is the power that manifests the answer to your prayer but the answer does not come from God, it comes from your faith and your life journey. If you have faith and this is part of your life journey, then there's nothing to stop your prayers from being answered.
I am still not sure of the last thing, the life journey, because in my belief, we decide our life journey each moment.
One doesn’t have to look very far to come up with the answer to why prayers are not answered. Prayers are important to a religious person, but with out some evidence of their efficacy they amount little more than wishful thinking. If someone gains comfort from thinking positively there is a value in this.
What things do people ask for? Where are my car keys? World peace. Cure someone of cancer. None of these can either be achieved or proved to be attributed to divine intervention.
Hypothetical situation - Two families have sick children and both pray for the children to get better. One child recovers and one child dies. Did the prayer have any benefit or was this nothing more than random chance. If a deity had a hand in the child recovering how did the deity decide to let the other die?
Pray if you feel it helps. The reality is that you might as well throw coins in a fountain or carry around a rabbits foot.
We are getting more and more sick with every year... I read today the story of a child that now is 12 years old, for the past 7 years he has been fighting cancer, 7 years is a very long time, God is nowhere to be found because the God in whom many believe does not exist, it's just wishful thinking. It is my feeling that if humanity would stop from chasing imaginary beings and turn their attention to their own inner most selves, then this world would experience a dramatic change in good. The dirty media and the dirty politics would stop influencing humanity because humanity would understand that the answer is not outside, but within. God is not going to come down from the sky, He is going to come foward from within.
I've been searching like a madman for God, then one day, I had this powerful out of body experience, I was searching God, a voice said to me that God was not there, so something made me to fly towards the sky, when suddenly, I heard the voice of a man: Where your treasures are stored, there you will find Me;
This made me think about Matthew and about Jesus telling us to store treasures in Heaven, but think about it, where do we actually store these "treasures", not within ourselves? When you do a good thing that action has a positive impact within one's self, just a simple act of holding the door for an old lady can raise one's self to a more positive state.
Listening to your viewpoint reminds me of Job's experience.
(Job 30:19-28) 19 God has thrown me down into the mud; I am reduced to dust and ashes. 20 I cry to you for help, but you do not answer me; I stand up, but you just look at me. 21 You have cruelly turned against me; With the full might of your hand, you assault me. 22 You pick me up and carry me off with the wind; Then you toss me about in the storm. 23 For I know that you will bring me down to death, To the house where everyone living will meet. 24 But no one would strike at a broken man As he cries for help during his time of disaster. 25 Have I not wept for those who have fallen on hard times? Have I not grieved for the poor? 26 Although I hoped for good, bad came; I expected the light, but darkness came. 27 The churning inside me did not stop; Days of affliction confronted me. 28 I walk about gloomy; there is no sunlight. In the assembly, I rise and cry for help.
Finally his wife said to him: “Are you still holding firmly to your integrity? Curse God and die!” (Job 2:9)
Some persons have chosen this course.
When we look at the account though, we notice some things...
1) God was not afflicting Job. Satan was.
2) Satan was trying to turn Job against God.
3) God was allowing it, yes, but there was a reason.
4) Job was rewarded not for cursing God, but for sticking to him, despite not understanding or having all the facts.
We can choose to be like Job, or we can take the attitude of his wife.
At the end of the day, it is those like Job, who will be blessed. Job got seven times more what he lost.
He finally said... "My ears have heard about you, But now I do see you with my eyes. That is why I take back what I said, And I repent in dust and ashes.” (Job 42:5, 6)
Evidently, the invisible wicked can have a field day, with those who are drifting, drawing, or turning away. (1 Timothy 4:1, 2 ; 2 Thessalonians 2:11, 12)
Apparently, there are differences between persons "searching like a madman for God".
Why does one set find him, Finding God.
...and the other set, finds a way that says to him...
I've been searching like a madman for God, then one day, I had this powerful out of body experience, I was searching God, a voice said to me that God was not there, so something made me to fly towards the sky, when suddenly, I heard the voice of a man: Where your treasures are stored, there you will find Me;
This made me think about Matthew and about Jesus telling us to store treasures in Heaven, but think about it, where do we actually store these "treasures", not within ourselves? When you do a good thing that action has a positive impact within one's self, just a simple act of holding the door for an old lady can raise one's self to a more positive state.
I do not believe that we will ever SEE God, not even in the spiritual world (heaven), but rather we an only see God and find God reflected in His Manifestations such as Jesus. Furthermore, I believe that Jesus was one of the mediators between God and man and I believe Jesus will continue to be a mediator in the spiritual world, for those who are receptive to His Voice. So I think that the voice you heard was the voice of Jesus.
I love those verses. I believe the treasures are within our hearts to the extent that we reflect the Attributes of God; so humans have the capacity to be Benevolent, Compassionate, Loving, Gracious, Merciful, Just, Forgiving, and Patient.
Matthew 6:19-21 Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Matthew 7:24-27 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
There is a very similar passage in the scriptures of my religion, demonstrating that the spiritual truths are the same in all the great religions, because these truths are eternal.
“For every one of you his paramount duty is to choose for himself that on which no other may infringe and none usurp from him. Such a thing—and to this the Almighty is My witness—is the love of God, could ye but perceive it.
Build ye for yourselves such houses as the rain and floods can never destroy, which shall protect you from the changes and chances of this life. This is the instruction of Him Whom the world hath wronged and forsaken.” Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 261
I do not believe that we will ever SEE God, not even in the spiritual world (heaven), but rather we an only see God and find God reflected in His Manifestations such as Jesus. Furthermore, I believe that Jesus was one of the mediators between God and man and I believe Jesus will continue to be a mediator in the spiritual world, for those who are receptive to His Voice. So I think that the voice you heard was the voice of Jesus.
I love those verses. I believe the treasures are within our hearts to the extent that we reflect the Attributes of God; so humans have the capacity to be Benevolent, Compassionate, Loving, Gracious, Merciful, Just, Forgiving, and Patient.
Matthew 6:19-21 Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Matthew 7:24-27 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
There is a very similar passage in the scriptures of my religion, demonstrating that the spiritual truths are the same in all the great religions, because these truths are eternal.
“For every one of you his paramount duty is to choose for himself that on which no other may infringe and none usurp from him. Such a thing—and to this the Almighty is My witness—is the love of God, could ye but perceive it.
Build ye for yourselves such houses as the rain and floods can never destroy, which shall protect you from the changes and chances of this life. This is the instruction of Him Whom the world hath wronged and forsaken.” Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 261
I know, it was Jesus, who else could be, who else could point me to Matthew, to basically His words. Many christians made fun of me and told me that I take drugs... I never took drugs in my entire life, they missed the whole point of this experience... so sad... I noticed that too!! The same teachings are found in many religions.. and here we have humanity fighting for whose religion is the right one... why can't people see that they mirror each other when they all say: come to us, we have the truth, outside us there is no truth....
Yes, Jesus said, when you see Me, you see the Father. I studied many NDE and I've seen how people have a different experience with God, some see an orb of light, some see simply a white light, some see an angel and so on... some even see the devil, it's part of their experience.
I know, it was Jesus, who else could be, who else could point me to Matthew, to basically His words. Many christians made fun of me and told me that I take drugs... I never took drugs in my entire life, they missed the whole point of this experience... so sad... I noticed that too!! The same teachings are found in many religions.. and here we have humanity fighting for whose religion is the right one... why can't people see that they mirror each other when they all say: come to us, we have the truth, outside us there is no truth....
Yes, Jesus said, when you see Me, you see the Father. I studied many NDE and I've seen how people have a different experience with God, some see an orb of light, some see simply a white light, some see an angel and so on... some even see the devil, it's part of their experience.
I know a little about NDEs and I have read a few books but it is different if one actually had the experience as you have had. Religious people who have certain beliefs that are contradicted by NDEs tend to reject these NDEs because they want to hold on to their beliefs. This is understandable. People I know of my religion believe in NDEs because they do not contradict anything we believe but rather they validate what we believe.
None of the NDEs I have read about contradict anything I have read about afterlife experiences so I think these go hand in hand. I have read a lot about afterlife experiences that came through spirit communicators as I find these very fascinating. You might enjoy this little book which is online free to read. Below are a couple of excerpts from the book
“The spiritual world is everywhere. The life of spirit is eternal, perfect, supreme. We humans hide from the light. We grovel among the illusions created by our thoughts. We surround ourselves with misconceptions. We refuse to rise into the Christ Sphere. The Christ Sphere is everywhere, and yet, by some strange paradox, we were able to shut it out from view. All these thoughts were new to me. I begin to see what is meant. If I did not do so, I could not pass the ideas on. You say these thoughts are quite familiar to you. I am surprised at this. What a little world I have been living in!
This Messenger evidently came from the Christ Sphere. Religion never meant much to me. Now I begin to see that one cannot live without it. A great deal was said about reflection; how we can clear out our own poor thoughts illusions and. allow the Christ power to reflect through us. Evidently this power is wonderful. The Messenger seemed to love to speak of it; yet he was in awe of it. It clears away illusions as the sun clears away fog. He said I am still living in a fog, a fog of my own creation and design. Well! well! Once I thought I knew a lot. Then I was sure I knew a little. Now I know I know nothing.”Private Dowding, pp. 28-29
“I want to say a few words about love--very few, because I know so little. Also because love is spoken about too much already, whereas it should be lived. If you would dwell in peace, learn to love deeply. Never cease from loving. Jesus said a good deal about love, if I remember rightly. Look up what He said and live it.
Love God by pouring yourself away. Love your fellows by giving them all you possess of light and truth.
Love LOVE for her own blessed sake. Such love will bring you nearer heaven.
I have spoken about illusion several times. I return to it once more. I begin to see that phenomenal existence, whether on earth or here, is so impermanent as to be unreal. This is a hard saying. I do not yet understand it.
Live above those conditions which, after much meditation, appear to you to be illusory. That is the best advice I can give.” Private Dowding, pp. 37-38
Since you cannot admit to the glaringly obvious fact that Christianity is based entirely upon a HEAVY does of fear mongering, you avoid that issue and try replying with something else.
So you are playing the game of being completely ignorant of the well established Christian/bible fear mongering to make people join their religion, while throwing out the usual Christian arrogant insult.
Sigh... Completely unable to even TRY debating the issue... Moving on...
So you are playing the game of being completely ignorant of the well established Christian/bible fear mongering to make people join their religion, while throwing out the usual Christian arrogant insult.
Sigh... Completely unable to even TRY debating the issue... Moving on...
You have given your thoughts... I'm ok with you believing that. I certainly can't convince you that God loves you.
Besides, if scriptures say "God hasn't given you a spirit of fear" and "perfected love cast out fear and there is no fear in love" and "it is the goodness of God that brings man to repentance", where is fear?
Well I know that what we get to experience is more or less a reflection of our own beliefs, some see a great white light, some see an orb of light, some see an angel, some see Jesus, the Christ, some see a Buddha figure, there are also those who see the devil or a demonic place.
And it's usually one's spiritual guide or angel that appears as a religious figure to make their appearance more acceptable to those souls who still feel more comfortable "seeing" a well known physical (religious) form. Although even many spiritually advanced souls/entities still like to "see" a virtual physical form instead of "feeling" or "experiencing" other souls/entities.
I know that thoughts are like commands, they manifest instantly, say you want to visit a planet, you are instantly sent to a planet, I already visited a planet and had alien life on it, I think the whole OBE is guided by our higher self.
You are "lucky" to know and experience so much. I do had an experience like that, I was this huge purple nebua and I had a angle of view of 360 degrees, I could see in all directions at the same time.
What have you been told about your human experience? I was told that I decided everything I experience on this Earth prior to my coming on this realm of existence. I was also told that I am one with all things and all people, that there is no separation, that we are already at Home, that we never left our Home, this is where Heaven was is and will always be, it is just that we forgot this.
I was shown what my "life" circumstances would be during my childhood NDE/OBE. When God was returning me to "life", there were a wide range of physical "containers" presented before me, of all different sizes and importance (The "importance" classification was the life circumstances that went along with it.). And as I" ", my soul, was being moved towards them I was suppose to choose which one I wanted. I found myself desiring to be given a large "important" one, but quickly changed my mind because I felt that I really didn't deserve an "important" one. So I let God give me the one I deserved, no matter how "small" and "unimportant" it would be. God then told me that I would be given an "important" one, but not by human standards, (Rich, powerful, or famous.), but a highly spiritual advanced "life" for myself and myself only, not like any kind of spiritual leader. Which soon after being returned to "life" I decided that is how I wanted to live my life. Not out of any sense of duty to God, or that I had to, but because it felt "right" for my nature. And I'm THRILLED at how my spiritual life turned out. What an adventure!
You have given your thoughts... I'm ok with you believing that. I certainly can't convince you that God loves you.
Besides, if scriptures say "God hasn't given you a spirit of fear" and "perfected love cast out fear and there is no fear in love" and "it is the goodness of God that brings man to repentance", where is fear?
So now instead of discussing the issue you just throw out some arrogant condescending Christian insults.
Does that make you feel "special" and above everyone else?
I've known God even since I was a toddler, and he's given me a rich spiritual life that you will never have, so in the future keep your condescending remarks to yourself.
So now instead of discussing the issue you just throw out some arrogant condescending Christian insults.
Does that make you feel "special" and above everyone else?
I've known God even since I was a toddler, and he's given me a rich spiritual life that you will never have, so in the future keep your condescending remarks to yourself.
I’m sorry but can you hear yourself? Take everything you just said and apply it to yourself. You’ve known God since you were a toddler? And no one else knows him but you...how “special” does that make you. Good grief!
You have given your thoughts... I'm ok with you believing that. I certainly can't convince you that God loves you.
Besides, if scriptures say "God hasn't given you a spirit of fear" and "perfected love cast out fear and there is no fear in love" and "it is the goodness of God that brings man to repentance", where is fear?
So now instead of discussing the issue you just throw out some arrogant condescending Christian insults.
Does that make you feel "special" and above everyone else?
I've known God even since I was a toddler, and he's given me a rich spiritual life that you will never have, so in the future keep your condescending remarks to yourself.
I’m sorry but can you hear yourself? Take everything you just said and apply it to yourself. You’ve known God since you were a toddler? And no one else knows him but you...how “special” does that make you. Good grief!
I’m sorry but can you hear yourself? Take everything you just said and apply it to yourself. You’ve known God since you were a toddler? And no one else knows him but you...how “special” does that make you. Good grief!
There is an ignore button for people like that....spewing hate and accusations, then accusing others of doing that to him.....I won’t need to read another distorted thing he says.
There is an ignore button for people like that....spewing hate and accusations, then accusing others of doing that to him.....I won’t need to read another distorted thing he says.
Thanks. I know about that button, but then that leaves him to run amok attacking me without me seeing it and attacking Christians left and right. Not on my watch. I am collecting all those posts in a Word document and when the time comes, all I have to do is click on the Report button and it ain't gonna be pretty.
Working for the government for 44 years comes with certain benefits, and one of those is that I know all about procedures and rules and the chain of command.
With all those posts I will be collecting I just have to hope I won't run out is disk space.
I come from a long line of attorneys so evidence is my middle name.
The longer I wait the more evidence I can collect and I do not think there is a statute of limitations for reporting.
That's true, good people aren't going to pay attention to what he says and he only embarrasses himself by criticizing other people for no reason. I do not consider harsh personal criticism acceptable for any reason, but it is all the worse when it is unwarranted, when the recipient did not even do anything to elicit the criticism.
Moreover, for me it is a matter of justice and there is a rule that says that Personal comments about Members and Staff is against the rules. Saying nice things to or about people is okay but when it is insults and attacks on one's character that is another matter. And sometimes that leads to ganging up and causes trouble on the forum.
So now instead of discussing the issue you just throw out some arrogant condescending Christian insults.
Does that make you feel "special" and above everyone else?
I've known God even since I was a toddler, and he's given me a rich spiritual life that you will never have, so in the future keep your condescending remarks to yourself.
That's true, good people aren't going to pay attention to what he says and he only embarrasses himself by criticizing other people for no reason. I do not consider harsh personal criticism acceptable for any reason, but it is all the worse when it is unwarranted, when the recipient did not even do anything to elicit the criticism.
Moreover, for me it is a matter of justice and there is a rule that says that Personal comments about Members and Staff is against the rules. Saying nice things to or about people is okay but when it is insults and attacks on one's character that is another matter. And sometimes that leads to ganging up and causes trouble on the forum.
I certainly never said that. Ordinary people who claim to have god communication are delusional because only Messengers of God receive communication from God.
