The Problem With Prayer

[Blueskies]

Inciting: One must have faith and a belief in God before they would understand the importance of prayer. Jesus taught his disciples how to pray when he was asked. It's important to pray and not only during times of need but to praise God, thanking him for what you have been given.
Are you married? Do you have children, a home, good health? All these things are blessings given to you by God who loves you. I have seen what prayer can do. I've been on the receiving end of prayers. Now don't get me wrong, prayers aren't always answered. When my mother's health began to decline I prayed everyday for her to get well but it wasn't meant to be. This is where faith comes in for I had to accept that God had his plan for my mom.
God would love to hear from you, he's waiting patiently. You can talk to him just as you would a friend. I hope you will.

[IncitingRiots]

Well, technically all prayers are indeed answered. You either get what you want, or you don't. This is does not mean that I believe prayer actually works. And if God already has a set plan why would you dare to try and interrupt that plan by asking for something other than what has already been planned?

[Blueskies]

Inciting: We were commanded to pray continually. 1 Thessalonians 5:16 says, "Be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." As I was saying in my first reply, God wants us to come to him in prayer. He delights in hearing from us as he is our Father, just as our earthly Father loves to hear from us as well. Prayer isn't always about seeking things for ourselves. It's not about begging but to go humbly, having FAITH and giving thanks for the things most of us take for granted. Also, our prayers need to fit in with God's will, or his plans. Since we don't know what God's plans are for any of us, that is why we go to him in prayer. If our prayers are not answered the way we wanted them to be, then we must accept that God had other plans and remain faithful, trusting that He alone knows what is best, for he knows everything about us. He knows every hair on our heads. He can see the big picture which we can't. He can see into the future for he created it. We can't call him, omnipresent if he's not everywhere present, which means he's in the past, present and future all at the same time. To me he is awesome. His love for me is always there, it never fails. God bless and I hope you will one day turn to God and thank him.

[alanmolstad]

Like Jesus in the garden....Like Paul who asked for relief......like *** who wanted an answer.....Most of the time when we pray for 'something' we end up disappointed.

The truth is that most of the prayers we offer to God tend to be of a type where we attempt to convince God to take our side and come up with something that will really help us out of a tight situation we are stuck in.

But as with the garden prayer of our Lord.....in the end we have to face the reality that prayer does not change God's plans in even the smallest amount.

but in the act of offering a prayer, it is us who actually is changed.

[alanmolstad]

Originally Posted by alanmolstad

Like Jesus in the garden....Like Paul who asked for relief......like *** who wanted an answer.....Most of the time when we pray for 'something' we end up disappointed.

The truth is that most of the prayers we offer to God tend to be of a type where we attempt to convince God to take our side and come up with something that will really help us out of a tight situation we are stuck in.

But as with the garden prayer of our Lord.....in the end we have to face the reality that prayer does not change God's plans in even the smallest amount.

but in the act of offering a prayer, it is us who actually is changed.

I still can not improve on what I said above....