Does God answer our prayers, and if so under what circumstances?

[Trailblazer]

I do not know about all the other religions, but prayer is a very important practice in all the Abrahamic religions, including my religion, the Baha’i Faith, and prayer is certainly considered very important in Christianity.

Somewhere I recall that it is in the Writings of my religion that God answers all prayers that are urgent, and I would assume that God would be the one to determine if those prayers are urgent or not. I mean we might think they are urgent, but since God is the one answering the prayers, God would have to think the prayer is urgent if God is going to answer it.

Also, I believe that God is closer to us than we are to ourselves so God knows everything that is going on in our lives. As such, whether we say a prayer or not, God can help us with a situation if He chooses to do so.

I do not believe that everything that happens in our lives is predestined by God because if that was the case then that would preclude our having free will. Nevertheless, I believe some things are predestined (fated), but I also believe there are two kinds of fate, an impending fate and an irrevocable fate. The basis of my beliefs is the following passage:

“Know thou, O fruit of My Tree, that the decrees of the Sovereign Ordainer, as related to fate and predestination, are of two kinds. Both are to be obeyed and accepted. The one is irrevocable, the other is, as termed by men, impending. To the former all must unreservedly submit, inasmuch as it is fixed and settled. God, however, is able to alter or repeal it. As the harm that must result from such a change will be greater than if the decree had remained unaltered, all, therefore, should willingly acquiesce in what God hath willed and confidently abide by the same.

The decree that is impending, however, is such that prayer and entreaty can succeed in averting it.

God grant that thou who art the fruit of My Tree, and they that are associated with thee, may be shielded from its evil consequences.” Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 133

Note that it says it “can succeed” and not that it “will succeed.” What that amounts to is that we are completely at the mercy of God... That is congruent with what the passage above says, that we have to accept our fate, whether it is impending or irrevocable.

What made me think of posting this is that I am having major difficulties in my life right now, so I am living on the edge, minute to minute, hour to hour. I have done everything I can do about the situation by virtue of my own free will, but I know have to accept my fate, whatever that will be.

I do not say a lot of prayers but I try to have what Baha’is call a “prayerful attitude.” Even when I do say prayers it is only for general assistance, never for anything in particular, because I reason that an All-Knowing and All-Wise God knows what is best for me; so I just need to accept God’s Will for me, whatever that is, even if I do not like it.

Anyhow, it seems as if when I am at the complete end of my rope, I get assistance, but whether that came from God or it was just a coincidence nobody can ever know. It is all a matter of what I choose to believe, a matter of faith.

Question: Do you believe that God can alter an impending fate, stop bad things from happening that might have otherwise happened, or make good things happen that would not have otherwise happened, had we not prayed or cried out in desperation? Of course this could never be proven one way or another, so I am just asking for personal opinions or beliefs.

 

[Rational Agnostic]

Every supposedly answered prayer I've seen could have been answered by chance. Even most religious people intuitively know not to pray for things that aren't gonna happen. Given that God never rebuilds severed limbs or brings dead people back to life if people pray for it, there's a good chance God doesn't exist.

 

[Deeje]

Question: Do you believe that God can alter an impending fate, stop bad things from happening that might have otherwise happened, or make good things happen that would not have otherwise happened, had we not prayed or cried out in desperation? Of course this could never be proven one way or another, so I am just asking for personal opinions or beliefs.

Doesn’t it all boil down to what it means to pray? What do we think prayer is for? By definition, prayer involves devotion, trust, respect, and a sense of dependence on the one to whom the prayer is directed. The various Hebrew and Greek words relating to prayer convey such ideas as to.....ask, make request, petition, entreat, supplicate, plead, beseech, beg, implore favor, seek, inquire of, as well as to praise, thank, and bless.....so what do we expect God to do when we pray to him?

Does God step in to prevent bad things from happening? Obviously not, or we would be hearing about all kinds of intervention, but such is not the case. Why doesn’t God step in to prevent us or our loved ones from being the victims of ill health or accidents or devastatingly bad choices? If that is what we are praying for, and it doesn’t happen, what does that do to our faith?

If we understand the reason why God doesn’t intervene in obvious ways, it helps us to see how we can maintain our faith and yet uphold God’s intentions in allowing the human race to ‘reap what they have sown’. The trials of this life have a very important purpose.

It goes back to the beginning. Humans virtually told God by their actions that they wanted independence from him, and were convinced that they could ignore his commands and still prosper.

If God intervened to prevent us from experiencing the consequences of ignoring his directions, then that would be undermining the whole point of this object lesson. If humans could succeed without him, and bring about a successful way of life by ignoring his commands, creating false gods to worship, and ensuring peace and security for all, then it would prove that they didn’t need him.
Is that the case? Have humans been successful in ruling themselves without God?....or by relying on false gods and flawed human leaders?

All we see are divisions and those many divisions are a reason for conflict, which history confirms, is all the human race has ever known. Bloody conflicts have continued to the present with no hope in sight to fix any of it. Humans do not have the wherewithal’s to affect lasting change for the better. Peace and security has eluded them at every turn. As long as humans continue to misuse their free will, nothing will ever change.

So where does prayer fit in to all of that? Jesus prayed to maintain his faith and integrity to his God and Father in a very difficult mission...and his prayer was answered....when we pray for the same reasons, God will most certainly answer those prayers too. The ‘cramped and narrow road’ involved challenges.

There is a reason why Job’s story is in the Bible.....he was representing all of us. God’s adversary was using him as a test case...and God permitted such an horrendous test because he knew that this man’s faith was strong enough to endure such massive hits to his faith......the question is...will we? With prayer...the answer is YES!! Endurance is a quality that can only be acquired by experience. Every time we endure a trial successfully, we build our faith and endurance for the next one...which will inevitably come because of who is running the show. (1 John 5:19)

Jesus said that “the one who has endured to the end will be saved” (Matthew 23:13)......but an easy life builds no endurance. God is helping us to build spiritual armor so that when “the end” comes, we will still be standing, ensuring our place in his kingdom. (Revelation 21:2-4)

All things can then return to God’s original purpose in putting us here. Based on how we live this life, God creates precedents for all time to come. He didn’t just tell us to obey him, but showed us first hand what happens when we don’t. We will never want to go back......and God will never need to allow us to ever go there again.

That is how I see it....

 

[Trailblazer]

New Every supposedly answered prayer I've seen could have been answered by chance. Even most religious people intuitively know not to pray for things that aren't gonna happen.

I fully agree.

Given that God never rebuilds severed limbs or brings dead people back to life if people pray for it, there's a good chance God doesn't exist.

I disagree. There is no reason to believe that if God existed God would rebuild severed limbs or bring dead people back to life and as such that is not a valid reason for saying God does not exist. There are other legitimate reasons to question the existence of God, but those are not among them, Imo.

 

[Kenny]

I do not know about all the other religions, but prayer is a very important practice in all the Abrahamic religions, including my religion, the Baha’i Faith, and prayer is certainly considered very important in Christianity.

Somewhere I recall that it is in the Writings of my religion that God answers all prayers that are urgent, and I would assume that God would be the one to determine if those prayers are urgent or not. I mean we might think they are urgent, but since God is the one answering the prayers, God would have to think the prayer is urgent if God is going to answer it.

Also, I believe that God is closer to us than we are to ourselves so God knows everything that is going on in our lives. As such, whether we say a prayer or not, God can help us with a situation if He chooses to do so.

I do not believe that everything that happens in our lives is predestined by God because if that was the case then that would preclude our having free will. Nevertheless, I believe some things are predestined (fated), but I also believe there are two kinds of fate, an impending fate and an irrevocable fate. The basis of my beliefs is the following passage:

“Know thou, O fruit of My Tree, that the decrees of the Sovereign Ordainer, as related to fate and predestination, are of two kinds. Both are to be obeyed and accepted. The one is irrevocable, the other is, as termed by men, impending. To the former all must unreservedly submit, inasmuch as it is fixed and settled. God, however, is able to alter or repeal it. As the harm that must result from such a change will be greater than if the decree had remained unaltered, all, therefore, should willingly acquiesce in what God hath willed and confidently abide by the same.

The decree that is impending, however, is such that prayer and entreaty can succeed in averting it.

God grant that thou who art the fruit of My Tree, and they that are associated with thee, may be shielded from its evil consequences.” Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 133

Note that it says it “can succeed” and not that it “will succeed.” What that amounts to is that we are completely at the mercy of God... That is congruent with what the passage above says, that we have to accept our fate, whether it is impending or irrevocable.

What made me think of posting this is that I am having major difficulties in my life right now, so I am living on the edge, minute to minute, hour to hour. I have done everything I can do about the situation by virtue of my own free will, but I know have to accept my fate, whatever that will be.

I do not say a lot of prayers but I try to have what Baha’is call a “prayerful attitude.” Even when I do say prayers it is only for general assistance, never for anything in particular, because I reason that an All-Knowing and All-Wise God knows what is best for me; so I just need to accept God’s Will for me, whatever that is, even if I do not like it.

Anyhow, it seems as if when I am at the complete end of my rope, I get assistance, but whether that came from God or it was just a coincidence nobody can ever know. It is all a matter of what I choose to believe, a matter of faith.

Question: Do you believe that God can alter an impending fate, stop bad things from happening that might have otherwise happened, or make good things happen that would not have otherwise happened, had we not prayed or cried out in desperation? Of course this could never be proven one way or another, so I am just asking for personal opinions or beliefs.

In our Christian faith, which may be different than others, God is involved in our lives and does answer prayer.

I'm not sure "urgent" first is His order since time is of no consequence.

There are different forms of prayer: Prayer of thanksgiving, declaratory prayer, prayer of commitment, prayer of consecration, prayer of petition andd others

Each one is a little different.

Declaratory prayer is simply knowing that God has already promised and on lays hold on it until in manifests. Like when you find a will that gives you certain rights and privileges... you don't ask for it, you demand it be fulfilled by the letter.

Knowing we have an enemy, we know that there are times things look difficult, that is when we lay hold on the promise and "having done all to stand, stand" Eph 6

Does it need amplification? Without knowing specifics, can't give our Christian viewpoint.

 

[sojourner]

Prayer is, at its foundation, a relationship with God. Prayer is where we go heart-to-heart with God. Prayer is communication — not just with words, and not just with actions, although it can make use of those vehicles — with God in a way that allows us to resonate with each other. When we pray, we recognize a heartbeat that is all our heartbeats. We recognize a rhythm that underlies all our rhythms.

So, prayer isn’t merely a “magic Christmas list” of wishes and desires that God will either grant or not grant, depending upon how hard we “rub the lamp.” Prayer is coming to realize how our wants, needs, wishes are either reasonable to a life lived in God, or not. In prayer, we ask God for change, but we also work to bring about our own change, as we come to see reality through God’s eyes.

Thus, since prayer is a relationship of this nature and a communication of this nature, when we pray, we are in a “holy conversation” with God. A conversation requires two parties in a give-and-take situation. It’s not simply a matter of “we ask; God answers” (or not). Like a conversation with any loved one or good friend, we take turns speaking our heart, we may laugh, we may cry, there may some silent spaces. We may choose to simply sit and “hold hands.” In communication like this, God speaks to us as much as we speak to God. We may not hear God; we may not be listening. We may ask a favor, and God’s answer may be “no,” or “not yet.” But I believe God always communicates with us whenever we are willing to put ourselves in an attitude of listening.

So, I don’t think the question is the right question: “Does God answer prayer?” I think a better question is, “How do we speak and listen with God?

 

[Trailblazer]

Thanks to everyone who responded so far. It is nice to get different perspectives.

 

[1213]

...Question: Do you believe that God can alter an impending fate, stop bad things from happening that might have otherwise happened, or make good things happen that would not have otherwise happened, had we not prayed or cried out in desperation? Of course this could never be proven one way or another, so I am just asking for personal opinions or beliefs.

Interesting thing is that Jesus taught us to pray like this:

“Let your will be done, as in heaven, so on earth.”
Matt. 6:10

And I believe God can allow people to live by their own will and reap what they have sown. And I believe God will let His will happen to those who accept it by praying so. And in my experience God answers to prayers and does what He has promised. For example:

But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach; and it will be given to him.
James 1:5

But, I think it is not wise to expect everything to go as prayed, because it is said for example:

You lust, and don't have. You kill, covet, and can't obtain. You fight and make war. You don't have, because you don't ask. You ask, and don't receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it for your pleasures.
James 4:2-3

God doesn’t do evil/wrong things, even if people would pray them.

 

[Trailblazer]

God doesn’t do evil/wrong things, even if people would pray them.

That's right. Some atheists say that God is omnipotent so God can do anything, but that does not mean that God does everything God can do.

What many atheists do not understand is that an omnipotent God only does what He chooses to do, not what we want Him it do, unless what we want is congruent with what God chooses/wants to do.

“God witnesseth that there is no God but Him, the Gracious, the Best-Beloved. All grace and bounty are His. To whomsoever He will He giveth whatsoever is His wish. He, verily, is the All-Powerful, the Almighty, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting.” Gleanings, p. 73

“Say: He ordaineth as He pleaseth, by virtue of His sovereignty, and doeth whatsoever He willeth at His own behest.He shall not be asked of the things it pleaseth Him to ordain. He, in truth, is the Unrestrained, the All-Powerful, the All-Wise.” Gleanings, p, 284

“Say: O people! Let not this life and its deceits deceive you, for the world and all that is therein is held firmly in the grasp of His Will. He bestoweth His favor on whom He willeth, and from whom He willeth He taketh it away. He doth whatsoever He chooseth.” Gleanings, p. 209

What God chooses/wants to do aligns with who God is, not what some atheists imagine God would be like if God existed. God is not evil and God cannot make mistakes so God does not do evil things or make mistakes.

 

[Trailblazer]

Interesting thing is that Jesus taught us to pray like this:

“Let your will be done, as in heaven, so on earth.”
Matt. 6:10

An that is congruent with my favorite Christian song.
It is not always an easy pill to swallow, but....

 

[ChristineM]

Some atheists say that God is omnipotent so God can do anything,

You are misrepresenting atheism again so can i please reword your comment as would be stated by an atheist

"Some atheists say that god believers say God is omnipotent so God can do anything

 

[Trailblazer]

You are misrepresenting atheism again so can i please reword your comment as would be stated by an atheist

"Some atheists say that god believers say God is omnipotent so God can do anything.

I was not trying to represent atheism, I was simply referring to what I have heard from "some atheists" I know.

More correctly stated, "Some atheists I know believe that if an omnipotent God exists an omnipotent God could do anything,"

But what you said is also correct. "Some atheists say that god believers say God is omnipotent so God can do anything.

I never say God is omnipotent so God can do anything.
It is "some atheists" who say that if an omnipotent God existed it could do anything.

 

[ChristineM]

I was not trying to represent atheism, I was simply referring to what I have heard from "some atheists" I know.

More correctly stated, "Some atheists I know believe that if an omnipotent God exists an omnipotent God could do anything,"

But what you said is also correct. "Some atheists say that god believers say God is omnipotent so God can do anything.

I never say God is omnipotent so God can do anything.
It is "some atheists" who say that if an omnipotent God existed it could do anything.

We have been here before. An atheist does not belief in any gods.

 

[Trailblazer]

We have been here before. An atheist does not belief in any gods.

No, he does not believe in any gods....
He says if an omnipotent God existed it could do anything, so it is all hypothetical.

 

[chinu]

Question: Do you believe that God can alter an impending fate, stop bad things from happening that might have otherwise happened, or make good things happen that would not have otherwise happened, had we not prayed or cried out in desperation? Of course this could never be proven one way or another, so I am just asking for personal opinions or beliefs.

Child got sick
Mother took him to the doctor
Doctor want to give injection
Child cried to the mother to NOT to get injection

Can mother help child NOT to get injection ? Can mother alter an impending fate ? Can mother stop this Bad/Painful Injection to happen ?

Of course, mother is capable to quit out of doctors clinic, and can save her child from the painful injection to NOT to happen.
But, she will NOT
Because, she don't want to get her child more sick day by day.

 

[Trailblazer]

Child got sick
Mother took him to the doctor
Doctor want to give injection
Child cried to the mother to NOT to get injection

Can mother help child NOT to get injection ? Can mother alter an impending fate ? Can mother stop this Bad/Painful Injection to happen ?

Of course, mother is capable to quit out of doctors clinic, and can save her child from the painful injection to NOT to happen.
But, she will NOT
Because, she don't want to get her child more sick day by day.

In other words, you believe we have free will to choose to alter a fate that was impending.

 

[chinu]

In other words, you believe we have free will to choose to alter a fate that was impending.

Yes God is capable to alter a fate.

But,

Altering a fate = Stopping a cure.

Hence,

"He" will never do this.

 

[Mark La Buda]

God’s requirements-regarding prayer-are that we must live our lives in harmony with our prayers. Our course our actions must please Him; otherwise, we cannot expect Him to consider our petitions and supplications with favor. Compare-for example: Proverbs 1: 28-32; 15:29; 28:9; Isaiah 1:15-17; Micah 3:4.

 

[Chris Terai]

I think there's more to this than many realize. When we are suffering, it is our lack of alignment that is causing it. We suffer physical disease because there is spiritual dis-ease within us. We suffer illness due to I'll-ness, a focus in which self is dominant and others are not considered. When we push against reality, we are not aligned with All That Is, and so we suffer. It's not the event that causes our suffering, it's our non-acceptance.

In my younger years, I tried praying to get one up on the world, but it doesn't work that way. I also tried praying to bend reality to my will, but praying doesn't work that way either. When we pray, it's more a matter of giving thanks and expressing gratitude than asking for the world to change for little us.

I have had many prayers answered, and I've had conversations with God when it's happened. I physically met my current wife after praying for her to enter my life, but God showed her to me 16 years prior, when I was tormented in a break-up and was suicidal... I was shown what lay before me and it gave me strength. I've prayed for guidance and always received it. I've prayed to serve God, now that I know God, and have had my prayers answered. So yes, God does answer prayers. If you pray with expectations, you'll get no answer. When you pray with all your heart and soul, openly asking for help to be your greatest self, an answer will always come. Just speak love and be true. Healing will come.

If this image is not allowed, please remove it. The work is my own. I have created many quotes to share the wisdom God has given me, that which he reshaped my life with. I hope that they circle the globe and bring healing everywhere they are seen.

Chris Terai
aka The Inner Buddha

 

[Trailblazer]

I think there's more to this than many realize. When we are suffering, it is our lack of alignment that is causing it. We suffer physical disease because there is spiritual dis-ease within us. We suffer illness due to I'll-ness, a focus in which self is dominant and others are not considered. When we push against reality, we are not aligned with All That Is, and so we suffer. It's not the event that causes our suffering, it's our non-acceptance.

Whereas it is true that as you said "It's not the event that causes our suffering, it's our non-acceptance" it is not quite that simple, because even if people know that they should accept God's will, that is not a magic formula that will prevent all suffering. In reality, God created a world in which He knew humans would suffer. Sometimes it is because of bad choices they make because we all have free will, but sometimes their suffering is not their fault at all. It is the result of circumstances beyond their control. How do you reconcile all the suffering in the world with an All-Loving God? I cannot, because it is illogical.