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I have been thinking about this for a while now and I would like to hear other thoughts about my inability to come up with the right answer, if there even is a right answer.
Okay, there are two people are at a wedding and one person prays to the infinite power, or source, or the thing many people call God hoping it won't rain and spoil the wedding. And there is another person attending the wedding for personal reasons, who prays that it will rain, thinking it will be blessing to the couple. This question is mostly based on a true experience.
What will God do? Make it rain, or not make it rain, or not do anything because millions and billions of people are praying for their own individual wants and request and maybe God is busy.
I find this subject interesting because it gets to the real deal about prayer. Are there winners and losers? Will God listen to? Anyone? Or no one?
I have been thinking about this for a while now and I would like to hear other thoughts about my inability to come up with the right answer, if there even is a right answer.
Okay, there are two people are at a wedding and one person prays to the infinite power, or source, or the thing many people call God hoping it won't rain and spoil the wedding. And there is another person attending the wedding for personal reasons, who prays that it will rain, thinking it will be blessing to the couple. This question is mostly based on a true experience.
What will God do? Make it rain, or not make it rain, or not do anything because millions and billions of people are praying for their own individual wants and request and maybe God is busy.
I find this subject interesting because it gets to the real deal about prayer. Are there winners and losers? Will God listen to? Anyone? Or no one?
God is NOT a "Genie in a lamp" or Santa Claus so NO! Prayers are not to ask for special intervention in this life that we are to "endure to the end" no matter what happens. Prayer is to bring God into your mind to comfort you during those times you feel most overwhelmed, NOT to find your lost car keys or prevent the NATURAL course of any event, accident, disaster, disease, or whatever might be beyond our human intervention. Our Dominion on earth means WE are God's "hands and feet" here on Earth. Prayers CAN influence the minds of those who are trying to intervene, such as surgeons, first responders, etc. so they are NOT useless as often believed. BTW, our minds are the ONLY place we CAN experience God so the stupid atheist accusation that it is "all in your mind" is pointless!
I have been thinking about this for a while now and I would like to hear other thoughts about my inability to come up with the right answer, if there even is a right answer.
Okay, there are two people are at a wedding and one person prays to the infinite power, or source, or the thing many people call God hoping it won't rain and spoil the wedding. And there is another person attending the wedding for personal reasons, who prays that it will rain, thinking it will be blessing to the couple. This question is mostly based on a true experience.
What will God do? Make it rain, or not make it rain, or not do anything because millions and billions of people are praying for their own individual wants and request and maybe God is busy.
I find this subject interesting because it gets to the real deal about prayer. Are there winners and losers? Will God listen to? Anyone? Or no one?
It's entirely up to God. If he wants it to rain, it will. Nowhere in Scripture do we see that he takes requests such as rain for a wedding.
I have been thinking about this for a while now and I would like to hear other thoughts about my inability to come up with the right answer, if there even is a right answer.
Okay, there are two people are at a wedding and one person prays to the infinite power, or source, or the thing many people call God hoping it won't rain and spoil the wedding. And there is another person attending the wedding for personal reasons, who prays that it will rain, thinking it will be blessing to the couple. This question is mostly based on a true experience.
What will God do? Make it rain, or not make it rain, or not do anything because millions and billions of people are praying for their own individual wants and request and maybe God is busy.
I find this subject interesting because it gets to the real deal about prayer. Are there winners and losers? Will God listen to? Anyone? Or no one?
More generically, a deity could not answer a prayer such as the example given in a way that would not conflict with the needs, best interests, or even requests of 2 or more people.
Another example might be, a farmer begging god for rain because his crops are failing during a drought, vs a child in the nearest town asking for another sunny day so he can go out and play. God does not send rainstorms that only are active within the farmer's property lines. Even my hypothetical Christian farmer would be afraid to pray THAT specifically.
To Mystic's point that god isn't a genie, well, that means he only answers sufficiently selfless, portentous and/or dire requests, I suppose? Or in the alternative he only answers "meditative", "thy will be done" sorts of prayers ... which really aren't asking for anything such that you could tell if it was answered or not; indeed, no answer is expected or wanted, unless ...
... unless the prayer is for god's will to be done about someone's kid with fatal cancer. Then you have to admit that sometimes it's god's will for kids to die of cancer.
I notice that, probably for this reason as much as any, "thy will be done" sorts of prayers tend to be VERY general. "They will be done, on earth as it is in heaven" sorts of prayers. How would you know if god's will is done on earth today unless you tautologically say that whatever ended up happening WAS god's will?
I saw a child strung up on a wall somewhere in Ramallah a couple of days ago with its feet torn off ... was THAT god's will? There are actually those who argue that it was, BTW.
More generically, a deity could not answer a prayer such as the example given in a way that would not conflict with the needs, best interests, or even requests of 2 or more people.
Another example might be, a farmer begging god for rain because his crops are failing during a drought, vs a child in the nearest town asking for another sunny day so he can go out and play. God does not send rainstorms that only are active within the farmer's property lines. Even my hypothetical Christian farmer would be afraid to pray THAT specifically.
To Mystic's point that god isn't a genie, well, that means he only answers sufficiently selfless, portentous and/or dire requests, I suppose? Or in the alternative he only answers "meditative", "thy will be done" sorts of prayers ... which really aren't asking for anything such that you could tell if it was answered or not; indeed, no answer is expected or wanted, unless ...
... unless the prayer is for god's will to be done about someone's kid with fatal cancer. Then you have to admit that sometimes it's god's will for kids to die of cancer.
I notice that, probably for this reason as much as any, "thy will be done" sorts of prayers tend to be VERY general. "They will be done, on earth as it is in heaven" sorts of prayers. How would you know if god's will is done on earth today unless you tautologically say that whatever ended up happening WAS god's will?
I saw a child strung up on a wall somewhere in Ramallah a couple of days ago with its feet torn off ... was THAT god's will? There are actually those who argue that it was, BTW.
I do not expect God to intervene here on earth except through us. Sadly, there are far more savages still among us than God's "hands and feet." The endurance of the savage and barbaric Hell dogma for over two millennia and counting suggests that our ascent from savagery has been and remains SLOW. It seems to proceed with glacial majesty! It is quite depressing to have to acknowledge that humans have not evolved much beyond their animal state, IMO. What kind of human "animal" can tear off a child's feet and hang it on display??? It cannot be remotely human, IMO.
With prayers of yin and wang to Jesus will get no answer as yin and wang are not of God, but come from Taoist who have no God........ Then if you curse and prayer for curses to Jesus than will get no answer where if you call a prayer to bless through the will of God could be answered with a faithful heart to God
With prayers of yin and wang to Jesus will get no answer as yin and wang are not of God, but come from Taoist who have no God........ Then if you curse and prayer for curses to Jesus than will get no answer where if you call a prayer to bless through the will of God could be answered with a faithful heart to God
So God only answers prayers for those that are Christians or believe in God?
What do we really know about the religious beliefs of the person saying the prayer?
What about an indigenous rain dance ?
Would God pay attention to that I wonder!
The church where I go has around twenty people who are of indigenous native descent and most confess Jesus Christ, they don't have rain dances .......... Most thunderstorm and hail storm are manipulated with giant angels who the Lord God rejected for selfishness these giant unseen angels can manipulate climate change and are of a similar spiritual race of spirits like the UFO and underwater UFOs believe it they disappear in thin air......... God has a gift of His Spirit here for His prayers through Jesus Christ which will expel demon spirits, rejected angels and the powers of darkness........... God spirit can expel UFO and climate spirits with ease, as this is a blessing of God, as these spirits are wicked and would destroy everything it gets access with, so God expel them is a good thing ....... So if people pray curses and prayer of hexes then these wicked spirit could answer that kind of prayer ....... Prayer like expelling dark spirits is a gift is called the authority of the believer, which God's spirit will do to bless His people and Be Glorified Sovereign
I have been thinking about this for a while now and I would like to hear other thoughts about my inability to come up with the right answer, if there even is a right answer.
Okay, there are two people are at a wedding and one person prays to the infinite power, or source, or the thing many people call God hoping it won't rain and spoil the wedding. And there is another person attending the wedding for personal reasons, who prays that it will rain, thinking it will be blessing to the couple. This question is mostly based on a true experience.
What will God do? Make it rain, or not make it rain, or not do anything because millions and billions of people are praying for their own individual wants and request and maybe God is busy.
I find this subject interesting because it gets to the real deal about prayer. Are there winners and losers? Will God listen to? Anyone? Or no one?
How could we ever understand the mind of a god?
Instead of praying, why not just take an umbrella?
I have been thinking about this for a while now and I would like to hear other thoughts about my inability to come up with the right answer, if there even is a right answer.
Okay, there are two people are at a wedding and one person prays to the infinite power, or source, or the thing many people call God hoping it won't rain and spoil the wedding. And there is another person attending the wedding for personal reasons, who prays that it will rain, thinking it will be blessing to the couple. This question is mostly based on a true experience.
What will God do? Make it rain, or not make it rain, or not do anything because millions and billions of people are praying for their own individual wants and request and maybe God is busy.
I find this subject interesting because it gets to the real deal about prayer. Are there winners and losers? Will God listen to? Anyone? Or no one?
I personally have come to the conclusion that prayers won't change the outcome of ANYTHING.
Your example is just as silly as the people who pray for victory in a football game.
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