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So what you're saying is, you prayed to god, and in answer to your prayer, god nearly killed someone for you, so that you could move into their job.
Are you listening to yourself?
Must have been a slow day for god.
.
.
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It's a coincidence. That is all.
I can take that it is a coincidence. Varying perspectives is what I appreciate. It helps me think I didn't cause this.
And I do realize how the post sounds and I was afraid someone would read it the way you did. I most definitely did not mean it that way.
We saved a man's life and I am feeling guilty...or something. I am so grateful that what happened to him happened in a place where people were able to do something. We were scared and panicked and I am not dealing with the event well.
It is very overwhelming to think that we had such an impact. Mightyqueen your perspective is especially appreciated because of the experiences you have shared here.
I am ashamed that some would feel that I am only thinking of the benefit to myself...that is definitely not what I want. There is a part of me that needs to understand the technical things as well as the spiritual/philosophical side of this event.
In the end, I think it's probably just best to take it as it came, as it was, and how it is progressing and to try to move forward.
As O'Darby correctly pointed out, you can take this event either way, so it was no sort of answer.
Thank you, I can live with that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Thoreau424
I'm not sure any of us here - or any external person - is really appropriate to determine prayers / answer to prayers. This is really between the person and the higher power (God, etc.) That's the best link for understanding; not batting it around between humans. I guess that comes from seeing decades of interference and bumbling; even when well-intentioned.
You have a great point. There is really no way to know what God (or any supreme entity) is doing or impacting at any point in time.
Quote:
Originally Posted by compwiz02
The challenge of causation.
Was it just a coincidence that you prayed and your boss had a medical incident and could possibly retire, giving you the path to take his place? Or was it just a random event that happened that your boss had a medical incident and you just so happened to pray the night before asking for which path to take? What happens if the incident occurred and you did not pray the night before?
I don't know what to tell you. Some people pray and they get what they pray for. Others, not so much.
Thank you. Sometimes the answers we get are not the answers we were seeking. It's like that saying "God answers all prayers and sometimes the answer is NO." That's sort of what this feels like. As a logical/science oriented person I can say this was mere coincidence. But the spiritual side of me just wonders.
Quote:
Originally Posted by thrillobyte
You're trying to read God into something that has nothing to do with God, just natural events.
Thank you. This line of reasoning is practical and I do appreciate it.
Sometimes people are surprised because things that happen in their lives just randomly happen unexpectedly and it happens after they pray.
Examples:
They've been applying for a new job for several months with multiple rejections. One night, they pray that the job they interviewed for just recently went well because it "felt so good". The following morning, they get an email saying they got the job.
A lady is trying to find a partner and has been single for several years and has gone on several dates with no success. She prays one night and after a week, meets a man who "feels so right" and ends up marrying the man.
Just two examples I can think of but these are scenarios that involve multiple failures, then out of the blue, success happens and it happens right after a prayer. Coincidence? Who knows.
Sometimes people are surprised because things that happen in their lives just randomly happen unexpectedly and it happens after they pray.
Examples:
They've been applying for a new job for several months with multiple rejections. One night, they pray that the job they interviewed for just recently went well because it "felt so good". The following morning, they get an email saying they got the job.
A lady is trying to find a partner and has been single for several years and has gone on several dates with no success. She prays one night and after a week, meets a man who "feels so right" and ends up marrying the man.
Just two examples I can think of but these are scenarios that involve multiple failures, then out of the blue, success happens and it happens right after a prayer. Coincidence? Who knows.
There have been 3 times in my life when things happened that at first seemed to be more than just coincidence. After much thought and deliberation, two of the incidents still seem inexplicable because they changed my life. The third seemed to have no 'meaning'.
But your job example was a good one. When I was young and trying to get started in teaching, I prayed I get a job...and did. But a few times before that, I didn't. And even when I did, gee -- I had a great college record, excellent references, and had prepared well for the interview process. God didn't do it. I did it.
To expand on some of these thoughts, I personally think it's risky to pray "for" anything, such as signs. When we pray "for" something, it is unavoidable that we start actively looking for answers. There is great risk of attaching "answered-prayer" meaning to what are in fact coincidences or occurences that anyone else would see as completely meaningless. Moreover, praying for signs is, to me, too much in the vein of putting God to the test.
I tend to pray in more general terms. An atheist, of course, may say that I do this to avoid the disappointment of not having my prayers answered at all. My convictions are strong enough that I know this isn't why I pray as I do - it truly is because I trust that God will provide answers consistent with His will without me asking for specifics, and I don't want to work myself into the very sort of confusion we see the OP experiencing.
At the truly critical junctures I've mentioned, where a complex series of events fell into place in what seemed a genuinely miraculous way, I don't recall praying at all beyond "Help, I'm in a helluva mess here." Those occurrences gave me a strong level of confidence that I was being watched over and protected without praying for signs or specific things to happen.
It makes no sense to me. It isn't like the OP was able to make a decision based on this incident. The boss was at the age where something like this might happen, and he could have had a pre-existing issue that helped him make the decision to retire next year.
OP needs to find a different method other than relying on a sign from God. I don't see God as a micromanager in our lives. Of course, if God makes the decision, well, if it is the wrong decision............
On second thought, maybe there was a message: Would the job vacated when this man leaves so very stressful that OP should wonder if this really is the job to hope to be promoted to, as in would this be OP's future?
One can always read a message into an event, if they try hard enough.
Last edited by AnywhereElse; 11-02-2023 at 05:23 PM..
I learned a long time ago not to pray for someone I love to be healed, because too many times it seems those prayers triggered God to remember the person was sick and then kill them. I thought maybe if I didn't pray for people to be healed anymore, they might get a chance.
I did continue to pray for guidance. Sometimes I felt those prayers were answered. Other times I suspect that praying let me stop trying to figure things out long enough that it all got sorted out in my subconscious.
I try not to pray at all these days, besides the occasional remembrance to be thankful for something, but old habits die hard, and too many times I find myself asking for help before I remember that none will ever be forthcoming and that I should not do that.
Not quite sure where to post this, but I think a prayer was answered. Yesterday I asked God to give me a sign of which path I am supposed to take. I’m not sure if I got the answer but if what happened was the answer, dang it was LOUD AND CLEAR.
Around 1pm yesterday afternoon we heard a “boom” of sorts. My coworker, V, and I thought someone had dropped some files or a box fell over. Then our front desk person, J, started yelling. I don’t even remember what she was saying but when I came out of my office, my boss was laying on the floor in front of his office. He was out cold.
He was breathing, but it was weird – like he was snoring and gurgling. V and I decided to roll him on his side to help his breathing. And then the breathing stopped. We rolled him onto his back and unbuttoned his shirt as other people were coming with an AED unit. Another coworker, T, began chest compressions and I eventually gave three breaths to him. After a couple of seconds, he started breathing again and “woke up”.
Arms and legs flailing as he struggled but you could tell he wasn’t quite coherent yet. I was reminding myself that this is not an unusual reaction. I bear hugged him from behind and V held his legs until he calmed down. About this time the EMTs arrived. We got out of the way. The EMTs asked him his name, where he was, his birthday – he was lucid. Then they took him to the hospital.
While we initially thought that perhaps this was a blood sugar incident, it appears it was not. He is still in the hospital for tests and there seems to be an issue with his heart. He is in his early 60’s and is expected to retire next year.
Now, how does this have anything to do with the path question I put to God?
When I was hired for this job about 18 months ago, I was hired as this man’s successor. I have made at least one near fatal error in my role, but otherwise, I believe I have done my job well. I’m not sure what the management’s decision will be when my boss decides to retire. He could decide to retire now. He could decide to stay on for the coming year.
And what does that mean for me?
Sounds selfish, doesn’t it? But what if the question I posed to God somehow was a factor in all this? What if my boss had collapsed somewhere alone? What if he had passed out while driving?
I’m so glad that he is alive and that whatever caused this episode will likely be able to be addressed through medical care.
Today the office is weird, of course. I think we are all hoping for a very boring day. I know we are still waiting for updates on my boss’s condition and hoping that he can go home today.
I would appreciate your thoughts. I'm struggling a little with this.
You are certainly not the only person who looks around when things happen and tries to figure out what God had in mind. It's quite common actually, for many people who believe in God, but I think that's something of a "double-edged sword," because like you, feelings of guilt or responsibility for when bad things happen can all too often be the result.
Even us atheists have a way of doing the same thing. I don't know how many "crossroads" in life I have had to consider and act upon. Sometimes not sure which way to go, and I'll conclude the universe will decide for me. Or sometimes I have plans and "the universe" decides those plans won't do, and next thing I know I'm headed down a different path.
For me, however, all of this sort of thing is not being orchestrated by any thinking, caring or supernatural force. I don't believe there was a God involved in anything you experienced at work either. Events will unfold as they will, and you've simply got to work through them as best you see fit. If thinking a god is involved helps you somehow, then okay, but careful of that "double-edged sword." Glad I don't have that issue anyway...
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