Does God Answer Prayers?

[Storm]

It is really amazing to me the mental gymnastics Christians will do to maintain a belief, including trying to co-opt new age concepts like "peace of mind."

How in the world is peace of mind a "New Age concept?"

 

[bmxdad2001]

Does God answer prayers? Wow. Yes he absolutely does. Just be careful what you pray for!!! I could write a book about the answers I have received. Blessings to you all.

 

[idea]

I see prayer as communing with the will of God. Once we begin to put it on spread sheds, its basic purpose begins to be overlooked.

Yes, not about what we want, about discovering what God wants... which if we could see the big picture, would be what we want too.

Does God answer prayers? Wow. Yes he absolutely does. Just be careful what you pray for!!! I could write a book about the answers I have received. Blessings to you all.

Fellow group #1er - welcome to RF!

"People break down into two groups. When they experience something lucky, group number one sees it as more than luck, more than coincidence. They see it as a sign, evidence, that there is someone up there, watching out for them. Group number two sees it as just pure luck. Just a happy turn of chance. I'm sure the people in group number two are looking at those fourteen lights in a very suspicious way. For them, the situation is a fifty-fifty. Could be bad, could be good. But deep down, they feel that whatever happens, they're on their own. And that fills them with fear. Yeah, there are those people. But there's a whole lot of people in group number one. When they see those fourteen lights, they're looking at a miracle. And deep down, they feel that whatever's going to happen, there will be someone there to help them. And that fills them with hope. See what you have to ask yourself is what kind of person are you? Are you the kind that sees signs, that sees miracles? Or do you believe that people just get lucky? Or, look at the question this way: Is it possible that there are no coincidences? " = name the movie!

 

[logician]

Almost by definition prayers cannot be anwerable by a supposed god, because most would be working at cross purposes, i.e. people on both sides of a war praying for victory, or one person praying for rain, which means somebody else doesn't get any.

 

[idea]

Almost by definition prayers cannot be anwerable by a supposed god, because most would be working at cross purposes, i.e. people on both sides of a war praying for victory, or one person praying for rain, which means somebody else doesn't get any.

The prayers of the righteous are answered... There is plenty to go around for those who seek the right things. Rather than praying to win a war, pray for peace, pray to be refined, pray to love your enemies... those are the kinds of prayers that are answered.

 

[logician]

The prayers of the righteous are answered... There is plenty to go around for those who seek the right things. Rather than praying to win a war, pray for peace, pray to be refined, pray to love your enemies... those are the kinds of prayers that are answered.

That assume the existence of a benevolent god, which can be disproven in many cases.

 

[Storm]

You always say that this or that God can be disproven, but you never back it up. Why is that?

 

[Charity]

That assume the existence of a benevolent god, which can be disproven in many cases.

Are you absolutely beyond any doubt able to prove He doesn't.....
You keep saying it can be disproven, so please show us.....

 

[fantome profane]

You always say that this or that God can be disproven, but you never back it up. Why is that?

Yes but look at what he said this time. He said a “benevolent god”. He is still wrong, but he might be getting closer.

 

[Beaudreaux]

Does God answer prayers? Wow. Yes he absolutely does. Just be careful what you pray for!!! I could write a book about the answers I have received. Blessings to you all.

OK, you can't tell us you have a book full of data and not share a couple of examples.

 

[Comicaze247]

I don't know if this was posted yet but . . .

"Long time ago, God made a divine plane. Gave it a lot of thought, decided it was a good plan, put into practice. And for billions and billions of years the divine plan has been doing just fine. Now YOU come along and pray for something. Well suppose the thing you want isn't IN God's divine plan? What do you want him to do? Change his plan? Just for you? Doesn't it seem a little arrogant? It's a divine plan! What's the use of being God if every rundown shmuck with a 2-dollar prayer book can come along and **** up your plan? And here's something else, another problem you might have. Suppose your prayers aren't answered. What do you say? "Well it's God's will. Thy will be done." Fine. But if it's God's will and he's gonna do what he wants to anyway, why the **** bother praying in the first place?"
-George Carlin (RIP)

 

[Beaudreaux]

I finally got the message from many of you folk who believe God answers all prayers. I started implementing God's holy wisdom in my own life a couple of days ago and it's been working great!!.

On Sunday, I told my lovely wife that she cold ask me for help around the house anytime and I wold always answer her request. I have to say, there were a couple of rough spots where I had to explain some things to her. For instance, my wife asked me to take the garbage to the curb this morning for pick up. Later she saw that the garbage had indeed NOT been taken to the curb and had missed the pickup. She was all "I thought you said if I asked you to do something you'd do it." I explained to her that it was not my will to take down the garbage and that her request would only be answered if it was the will of Beaudreaux.

Then she says to me "I knew you wouldn't do it." And I say, while laying on the couch and between sips of beer, "See, you did not have enough faith. You have to really belieeeeeeeeve!" To which she says "Why would I really belieeeeeeve if you have such a poor track record of doing what you say you'll do?!?!" To which I pointed out that "you can't really look at the results of your requests in a spreadsheet to analyze them because that destroys the whole essence of the requesting." Or something like that.

Anyway, I want to thank the posters of this forum for helping me to be as unresponsive to requests made of me as God apparently is to requests made of him. I think I understand his motivation now. It's a LOT easier this way.

 

[Smoke]

So, asking for soemthing from God is inneffectual? Ask and SOMETIMES ye shall receive?

Ye have not because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss.

If a believer prays for A and B happens, he believes that's because B is God's will, and is ultimately better for him than A. The experience becomes an example of God's wisdom and mercy, in that God has given him not what he asked for in his ignorance, but what God in his omniscience knows to be better for him.

You didn't get the job? It wasn't God's will. God has something better for you -- maybe a higher calling. You're not getting better? God is using your illness to teach you and bring you closer to him. Your baby died? God called him home. He'll be waiting for you in heaven. Maybe if he lived he would have forsaken God and gone to hell. God knows what's best for you. If ye, then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

Of course, we all have to find a way to deal with our disappointments and sorrows, but -- assuming a belief in God -- it does raise the question whether God ever gives you anything because you ask for it. If God gives you what's best and not necessarily what you ask for, then does that mean that if you pray for something and get it, God would have given it to you even if you didn't pray for it?

 

[Smoke]

Non-believers will argue that if it's for our best good, He'd have given it to us anyway. That's where I disagree. It's the relationship that's important to Him, and when we put forth the effort to develop the relationship, He blesses us for it.

But then why pray for things? In the Lord's Prayer, the only things the petitioner asks for for himself are food, forgiveness, and deliverance from temptation. If it's the relationship that's important, why pray for that job or that healing or that parking space? Why not simply ask for God's will to be done (as the Lord's Prayer also says), and not for specific favors?

 

[Smoke]

If you go into a hospital and pray for an amputee to grow back a limb and it happens, what is there to explain?!?! That would be pretty convincing to me.

You know what? I bet it wouldn't be.

It probably wouldn't be. We'd look for a rational explanation, and if we didn't find one, we still wouldn't believe. But most non-believers do think it's rather telling that we are never, ever confronted with such a dilemma.

 

[ayani]

But then why pray for things? In the Lord's Prayer, the only things the petitioner asks for for himself are food, forgiveness, and deliverance from temptation. If it's the relationship that's important, why pray for that job or that healing or that parking space? Why not simply ask for God's will to be done (as the Lord's Prayer also says), and not for specific favors?

you can ask God for specific things- i do. and often He gives them freely. yet not getting or not getting the specific thing prayed for should not ultimately be more important than the relationship we share with Him.

a Christian shouldn't turn his back on God in light of a specific prayer not being answered, or not answered immediately. does one love God or love one's own preferences more? for a Christian, sometimes one must lay down one's comforts / plans for Him.

this doesn't mean it's fruitless / useless / bad to pray for specific things. He does provide, and He wants to hear from us in a way that shows we trust Him, and look to Him. countless times i've been in a mess and unable to fix it, then realized that asking my Father was an option, asked Him, and received it. many other times i've prayed for things i've thought that i clearly needed / deserved, and not gotten them. what a Christian needs to keep in mind is that while we ask, it's still His will that should take precedent, and that our love for Him should not be based on what He gives or withholds.

 

[Autodidact]

you can ask God for specific things- i do. and often He gives them freely.

You can ask, but He gives them at the exact same rate as if you didn't ask. This is only "answering prayers" if you define "answering" as meaning "not answering." In the sense of "not answering," God does indeed answer prayers.

 

[Smoke]

Peace of mind is healing.

But in the gospels, Jesus gives physical healing to those who ask. The gospels never tell about a blind man or a leper who asks for physical healing and gets peace of mind instead.

 

[ayani]

You can ask, but He gives them at the exact same rate as if you didn't ask. This is only "answering prayers" if you define "answering" as meaning "not answering." In the sense of "not answering," God does indeed answer prayers.

i'd disagree. there are many things He gives without our asking. but there are others (i'm narrating this from personal experience here) that He gives once we ask.

often it's a case of His freely giving without our asking or acknowledging Him- we have food in the fridge, enough money for rent, and gas in the car. other times we're brought to a point where we're unable to fix it ourselves, we remember Him, as Him, and He gives. both cases happen, and both reflect His hand at work in our lives.

and yes, sometimes His non-answer is as clear (or clearer) an indication of His being at work in our lives than an answered prayer. it brings our attention back to Him as the provider, Father, and ultimate focus of our lives, in Christ. His withholding can bring us to a point where we take Him for granted less, reflect on what we *do* have to thank Him for, and prayerfully consider for what reason our request is being withheld. it brings us back to Him, for His own sake, and not simply as a wish-granter or automated gift dispenser.

it can be difficult, but useful, and ultimately a good thing.

 

[Smoke]

this doesn't mean it's fruitless / useless / bad to pray for specific things. He does provide, and He wants to hear from us in a way that shows we trust Him, and look to Him. countless times i've been in a mess and unable to fix it, then realized that asking my Father was an option, asked Him, and received it. many other times i've prayed for things i've thought that i clearly needed / deserved, and not gotten them. what a Christian needs to keep in mind is that while we ask, it's still His will that should take precedent, and that our love for Him should not be based on what He gives or withholds.

Of course not, but if you really trust him, then why not trust him about the details of your life? "I want this" isn't trust; it's the opposite of trust. It implies that God won't really take care of your needs (or maybe desires would be a better word) unless you point them out.

I'm not just saying this to pick at believers; it's what I thought when I was a believer, too. I've been to Evangelical and Pentecostal churches where prayers were very specific (and sometimes pretty gossipy):

Lord, please help Bob find a job.
Jesus, we ask that you deliver Lisa from her addiction to alcohol.
Father, deliver Allen from his same-sex attraction.
Jesus, please help Jeff and Karen sell their house.
​

It's a marked contrast to the daily prayers appointed for Orthodox Christians, which are more like this:

Save, O Lord, and have mercy on my parents, brothers and sisters, and my kindred according to the flesh, and all our neighbors, and grant them your earthly and spiritual good things.

Save, O Lord, and have mercy on the aged and the young, the poor and the orphans and widows, and those in sickness and sorrow, misfortune and tribulation, those in difficult circumstances and in captivity, in prisons and dungeons, and especially those of your servants who are persecuted for your sake and the Orthodox Faith by godless peoples, apostates, and heretics. Remember them, visit, strengthen, comfort, and by your power quickly grant them relief, freedom, and deliverance.

Save, O Lord, and have mercy on them that hate and wrong me, and make temptation for me, and let them not perish because of me, a sinner.
​

It seems to me that in the latter case you're leaving the details to God. You're offering up prayers for others, and maybe helping to awaken compassion in yourself by so doing, but you're not trying to dictate to God what he should do, or expecting any specific outcome. In the former case, you're presenting God with a "to do" list, hoping that your requests will find favor with him. I think that demonstrates something more like petulance than trust.