What are Preyares for ?..

[NoahideHiker]

THIS IS WONDERFUL..THANK YOU NOAHIDEHIKER,

Conversing with the creator must be an awe inspiring event. One must feel so humble during this interaction.

Many Peeps have said here about their dialogues with God.... and so these question are for everybody..............And the responses comes how ?...in what fashion ?..what medium does God answer you ?,....Is it a case of listening in the correct way ?....how do I know when I've had an answer ?

I really appreciate you helping me here and I thank you for your kindness...THANK YOU

I think verbalizing to G-d is also a way for us to help ourselves. Ever get so worked up about something and then when you tell someone else about it it sounds so much smaller and sometimes silly compared to how worked up we were? Simply verbally expressing our feelings can put them in a whole new light and perspective.

 

[Withdrawnmist]

Hi loveable sheepy pooh-
I believe that God is my mother and father and everything to me. I thank God everyday for helping me to get through the hard times in life.

Hi HEMA..THANK EWE for helping me here...I am so glad that God has also helped ewe too

I ask God to protect my loved ones and all those around the world who are suffering. There were some times when I have asked God for something but I didn't get it. I believe that God knows what is best for us and sometimes not everything we want will bring the best results. God can see the bigger picture - we can't.

This is wonderful, I am happy for you to enjoy such faith. It's comforting to know that God is in the driving seat and keeping ewe on the road of this wonderful journey ewe are on

However, God sometimes gives us difficulties to test our faith - to see if we will stop believing in him or not. I have been tested like this - and one night I couldn't take it anymore - I broke down and begged God for help. The next day, two people came to me with a solution.

Why does God test ewe ?..is not your faith and prayer enough ?..doesn't God know how much you are devoted ?..after all..he/she/it is God !...Please understand , and me will continue to say, that I am learning here..NOT ridiculing at all...I am humbled by your words and gracious by your generous responses (applies to all of you)

I believe that we should thank God everyday for the good things. There are many people suffering far worse than us. We shouldn't only pray when we have difficulties. God is the best friend we will ever have because he is always there for us, even when we think he isn't.

Hema..I am just so pleased that YOU are still here to answer this thread....May I ask then, if we thank God for the nice things ?..who do we blame for the bad things ?..is is Satan ?..I know this must be a simplistic question but I am VERY VERY naive in all of this.

Hema...HUGS EWE SO TIGHTLY for being so wonderful and giving me help

 

[Withdrawnmist]

Even my throng of thonged Satanic Hampsters got a good chuckle out of that intro. : hamster :

LOL..GLAD to make you smile ..YAYYYYYYYYYYYY !!!

Beats me. I do not pray -- ever -- and openly discourage the act. Why is it that people feel a need to tell their all-knowing all-wise god what to do? Is it a popularity contest?

"Ok... Joe got 14 prayers from friends and family, I guess I should look in on him. I wonder if they ever think I am trying to teach Joe a good lesson? Oh hell, let's go play a quickie round of Star Golf. Come on JC, get you clubs and wake Buddha up too. Hopefully he won't get bent outta shape again 'cause we're hittin' the crap out of a little ball."

Tee Hee !!...me not knows if ewe are srious or not !!...but I am just asking..not doing....can I be your caddy though...?..as a sheep..I know all about walking for hours on grass !!..

*Crosses fingers... wishes REALLLLLL hard* *Looks into the monitor will REALLLLLLL large eyes....* "It could happen, doncha know."
*Begins throwing sheep doo-doo around at the unbelievers*


Ack! Infidel! Unclean lover of woopie!

No silly, if yer prayer ain't answered you iz ain't prayin' c'rect. Goddit?

Hey !!.that's my poo poo you're chucking about....oh..hang on !..it's ok..I have more !!..........OK OK !!..so , is there a manual on ' How To Pray ? '

Huh? Get with it, eh. We'all text-message Gawd now. Sheesh. Sheeps! (I gez u dunno his numbr, eh?)

Well..me sent him an email but me supposes he gets more spam than anyone else...besides ...who'se gonna answer an email from a sheep !! ?..LOL...and a delinquent one at that !!

Oh yeah, nice cop out. Hmmm. Silly sheepster.
*Picks up a pair of nearby shears*
"Methimps that this sheepy needs a hedge-trimmin for Jezuz!"
*Takes one step...*
"Ewwwwwwwww. Sheep pie!"
"ok, who let the sheep out?"

LOL...EWE make me laff..me no cop out...me not know anythinmg to cop out from !!..LOL....

HUGS THE YmirGF..but not too close else me get a face of my own poo poo !!

Hey !!..that's my winter coat.....gimmee gimmee !!...

*raids YmirGF's fridge and leaves a little depost in the milk carton*...*s******s an chortles*...hey !!..don't knock it !! .......'it's organic and free range !!..YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYY !!!

 

[Katzpur]

So, God does actually hear every single one of your prayers and evaluates the response accordingly. It would be nice to see the flowchart if you know what I mean ?...LOL..... but I suspect it would be incomprehensible to us ...lest we be God.

I personally believe that He does. How He does so is beyond me, as you say it is with you. But I believe He knows me personally and cares about every single, teeny, tiny thing that is a concern to me.

You're comment that you sometimes find it hard to accept when perhaps your prayers are not answered is related to my thought process behind the question of this thread.

Could it be that his ' supposed ' lack of answer is in fact ...The answer !....and that there may be an inevitable ' bigger picture ' conclusion that only God knows......?

Absolutely! I think you nailed it.

Is it your goal then to fully accept without question or doubt the actions or in-actions of God ?

Yup, and so far I'm a long ways from meeting that goal.

Hugs and shmishes the Animal lover and bleats a bleat of warm affection.

:hug: Right back atcha!

 

[Gentoo]

What is prayer for ?...specifically when one is praying for a particular cause........ like a recovery from illness............ a relief from frustration........... an alleviation of stress due to work.............. personal and family matters.

Prayer is for anything you want it to be. If it's for your own quiet reflection, talking to God, to actually conversing with God. I don't believe that when one prays that they actually have to say anything meaningful. Just a "Hi, I'm still here... trying to live as best I can" can suffice.

 

[Katzpur]

I don't believe that when one prays that they actually have to say anything meaningful. Just a "Hi, I'm still here... trying to live as best I can" can suffice.

I believe that, to God, that would be meaningful.

 

[Gentoo]

I believe that, to God, that would be meaningful.

Of course, but when I wrote that I meant meaningful in a way to the person praying. To me it seems more like small talk than saying something "important", if that makes sense.

 

[Withdrawnmist]

Prayer is for anything you want it to be. If it's for your own quiet reflection, talking to God, to actually conversing with God. I don't believe that when one prays that they actually have to say anything meaningful. Just a "Hi, I'm still here... trying to live as best I can" can suffice.

THANK YOU GENTOO ! YOu are most kind to answer this so.

I am comforted by this. So it seems God is available for any kind of chit chat...however mundane ewe might think it might be. As you and Katzpur agreed....I can see that it is up to God to decide what is mundane or not and perhaps it's the act of praying that is paramount...and the words secondary but still vital...perhaps God reflects on the feeling of the moment when you say your prayer/ have your conversation etc.

MANY THANKS and HUGS

 

[Gentoo]

THANK YOU GENTOO ! YOu are most kind to answer this so.

I am comforted by this. So it seems God is available for any kind of chit chat...however mundane ewe might think it might be. As you and Katzpur agreed....I can see that it is up to God to decide what is mundane or not and perhaps it's the act of praying that is paramount...and the words secondary but still vital...perhaps God reflects on the feeling of the moment when you say your prayer/ have your conversation etc.

MANY THANKS and HUGS

To a parent listening to his/her children, nothing is mundane. And I know a lot of people, myself included, feel that the dieties are like parents and we are their children.

You're welcome

 

[Katzpur]

Of course, but when I wrote that I meant meaningful in a way to the person praying. To me it seems more like small talk than saying something "important", if that makes sense.

I knew what you meant, but I just wanted to stress what you said a couple of posts later:

To a parent listening to his/her children, nothing is mundane.

 

[Gentoo]

I knew what you meant, but I just wanted to stress what you said a couple of posts later:

To a parent listening to his/her children, nothing is mundane.

Ahh, I understand

 

[Hema]

My answer is sort of long - maybe you should grab popcorn --- opcorn:

Why does God test ewe ?..is not your faith and prayer enough ?..doesn't God know how much you are devoted ?..after all..he/she/it is God !...Please understand , and me will continue to say, that I am learning here..NOT ridiculing at all...I am humbled by your words and gracious by your generous responses (applies to all of you)

I know that you are not ridiculing (Are you capable of that?). This is my perception - only when we are faced with difficulty do we realize who our true friends are. Our true friends will remain with us through good times and bad. God is like our teacher - he sometimes wants to test us to see if our faith in him is strong - to see whether we will stop believing in him or not when we are faced with difficulty. Many of us can have love and devotion for God but not everyone has faith in him. To me, faith is when we believe that God will answer our prayers. However, as I said before, sometimes we don't get the result we want because God knows what will be the best result in the long term. My dad always says that for every bad there is a good.

Hema..I am just so pleased that YOU are still here to answer this thread....May I ask then, if we thank God for the nice things ?..who do we blame for the bad things ?..is is Satan ?..I know this must be a simplistic question but I am VERY VERY naive in all of this.

I don't think that you are naive at all. All of us here learn a lot from you as well. We learn to have more fun and laughter when you are around! You also seem very humble. I don't blame Satan for anything. In fact I don't really believe in Satan, however, I do believe that there is evil and that there are evil spirits...but for a devil that is the equal opposite of God - no. Perhaps there is a chief evil spirit but I don't think it will have equal and opposite power as God. In my Hindu faith, suffering is derived when we perform bad actions in this life and most often - our previous lives. This results in bad karma which we must "work off." It doesn't mean that we are predestined to suffer because the future is not cast in stone. By doing good now, we offset negative past karma and generate good karma for the future. When all our karma is resolved and we are spiritual enough, we break free of the cycle of birth and death and merge with God - where there is peace, love and joy - not like in the physical world where there is the duality of pleasure and pain. We believe in karma and reincarnation because God is forgiving and it is his way of giving numerous "second chances" to correct what we did wrong. In this way, he does not send us to an eternity of suffering for our bad deeds. We don't believe in a permanant hell but there are hellish regions where the soul can go to suffer temporarily. Basically we believe that from God we have all come and to him we will all return.

 

[Withdrawnmist]

My answer is sort of long - maybe you should grab popcorn --- opcorn:



I know that you are not ridiculing (Are you capable of that?). This is my perception - only when we are faced with difficulty do we realize who our true friends are. Our true friends will remain with us through good times and bad. God is like our teacher - he sometimes wants to test us to see if our faith in him is strong - to see whether we will stop believing in him or not when we are faced with difficulty. Many of us can have love and devotion for God but not everyone has faith in him. To me, faith is when we believe that God will answer our prayers. However, as I said before, sometimes we don't get the result we want because God knows what will be the best result in the long term. My dad always says that for every bad there is a good.



I don't think that you are naive at all. All of us here learn a lot from you as well. We learn to have more fun and laughter when you are around! You also seem very humble. I don't blame Satan for anything. In fact I don't really believe in Satan, however, I do believe that there is evil and that there are evil spirits...but for a devil that is the equal opposite of God - no. Perhaps there is a chief evil spirit but I don't think it will have equal and opposite power as God. In my Hindu faith, suffering is derived when we perform bad actions in this life and most often - our previous lives. This results in bad karma which we must "work off." It doesn't mean that we are predestined to suffer because the future is not cast in stone. By doing good now, we offset negative past karma and generate good karma for the future. When all our karma is resolved and we are spiritual enough, we break free of the cycle of birth and death and merge with God - where there is peace, love and joy - not like in the physical world where there is the duality of pleasure and pain. We believe in karma and reincarnation because God is forgiving and it is his way of giving numerous "second chances" to correct what we did wrong. In this way, he does not send us to an eternity of suffering for our bad deeds. We don't believe in a permanant hell but there are hellish regions where the soul can go to suffer temporarily. Basically we believe that from God we have all come and to him we will all return.

I just want to THANK YOU HEMA for this wonderful font of knowledge ewe have shared with me.

I understand the God being teacher now...and that of course means tests.....it's a wonderful similie and helps me see the clarity of your words.

Also, your explanation of the nastiness in this world helps me greatly too.

This thread, and because of all the answers has fuelled in this sheepy a lot more questions......but methinks they are best for other threads as the premise of this one was purely the nature of prayer.

With all your help I am beginning to understand the reason behind it.

THANK YOU...soooooooooooo very much .

Huggles & shmuggles , hugs & shmishes


YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY !!!!!

 

[BruceDLimber]

Hi!

>What are Preyares for?

In the teaching of the Baha'i Faith, we humans are metaphorically like mirrors which should (as best we can) reflect the Spirit and the light of God!

And prayer polishes the mirror.

Best,

Bruce

 

[Withdrawnmist]

Hi!

>What are Preyares for?

In the teaching of the Baha'i Faith, we humans are metaphorically like mirrors which should (as best we can) reflect the Spirit and the light of God!

And prayer polishes the mirror.

Best,

Bruce

HI BRUCE...and THANK YOU BRUCE !!

I love the meatphor...it's wonderful !!,,,,what an absolutely beautiful way of defining prayer !

THANK EWE BRUCE

YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYY !!!!