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#Post#: 4827--------------------------------------------------
Does God Listen To My Prayers?
By: George Date: May 6, 2013, 10:28 am
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I used to pray a lot, all throughout the day if things were not
going my way I prayed, If things were going great, I gave
thanks, When I went to bed I would pray myself to sleep, when I
woke up I would thank God for another day, It was like a natural
thing to do. I was raised being taught to pray, and I have done
so my whole life that I can remember.
Recently as I have been on a personal search for truth, Much
doubt has arrived into my thoughts. I was taught that in order
for prayer to be effective one must truly believe. Believe in
God and believe he hears your prayers and believe he will answer
them accordingly. Only He knows what is best.
I still find myself saying thank you God when things seem to be
working out for me as well as pleading to God when things aren't
exactly going my way, or when I hear of someone who has been
sick, or something tragic happens to someone I still pray for
that person or those people; but now I question my own prayers
as far as am I just talking to myself? The bible says God knows
our thoughts, our hearts. So I question if He knows that I have
doubts, does this mean He will ignore my prayer? Is my praying
to God worthless? Would I have just as good of a chance for an
answer if I was talking to a wall?
It is as if I still hold on to that hope that God will hear me
in times of need. I have always thought it hypocritical when
people pray for needs but don't give thanks. I still give thanks
daily, when things seem good. My question to all of you is in
your opinion am I praying in vain? Does God listen to the
prayers of even the doubters?
I am not looking to debate this subject, I would appreciate
hearing from all of you and what your take is on the issue.
Honest answers, sincere replies.
To be honest I at times feel like a hypocrite, like a moron, I
think to myself well If there is a God who answers prayer, he
sure wouldn't even waist time listening to someone like me, And
sometimes the truth (if this be the truth) hurts.
#Post#: 4830--------------------------------------------------
Re: Does God Listen To My Prayers?
By: Kerry Date: May 6, 2013, 4:51 pm
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Again I begin by saying we should never attribute any
imperfection to God. We should believe that God is Perfectly
Loving, Perfectly Wise and Perfectly Just. We should believe
then that God provides for us without exception what is best.
It is easier to thank God for things we perceive as good when we
receive them and to ask Him for help when we are in trouble.
Are we thinking clearly though by doing that?
We're back to why does God allow what we think of as evil? I
say He allows it to teach us we're wrong to want things a
certain way.
Suppose there are a hundred unemployed people applying for a
job. All hundred pray to God to get the job. Whom should God
help? How does that work? Or suppose I'm the the only person
praying but I'm also the least qualified. Should God give me
the job because I asked? I'll do a worse job than the others,
creating problems for my employers that they would not and other
employees may have to work harder to fix my mistakes. I'm
really asking God to inflict problems on others to help me out
of my problems. I'm also asking God to play with the mind of the
person deciding who will get the job. I'm asking God to remove
his free will.
I believe when bad things happen to us, God wants us to learn
something. There are some things we seem unable to understand
unless they happen to us. If we had more compassion and could
sympathize with the suffering of others and be willing to work
to help them, perhaps we wouldn't need to be brought low
ourselves in order to understand. When bad things happen,
perhaps the best prayer is to ask for wisdom to understand why
it's happening. What does God want us to learn?
I think it is as Paul says, "In all things give thanks."
I also wonder about what some people call God. What is their
definition? I daresay that the god some people imagine really
doesn't exist. If they think so, they're fooling themselves.
Better to hear nothing than to be deceived either by self or by
dark forces.
There are some obstacles that makes people feel as if Heaven is
deaf. They created them themselves. They have to take them
down themselves. If someone builds a wall out of five brickes,
he has to remove five bricks. If it's a thousand, he has to
remove all thousand. Why is that way? I ask you this. If
someone came to you and said needed to borrow money to buy food
for his children and you lent him money, would you lend him more
money if he never paid you back? When he got money, he wasted
it and forgot about you? People are apt to treat God like a
foolish father who will indulge their every whim. Human fathers
do that out of fear the child won't love them. I've seen
middle-aged men still living wit their parents -- never grew up.
All because their parents were more interested in deluding
themselves into thinking their children loved them -- so they
spoiled them rotten. Just cry a little, say how sorry you are,
how you learned your lesson -- and out comes the wallet to give
the money to the child who never grew up.
God is not like that. He wants people to be around because they
love Him for what He is. He's not going to do favors for
people to buy them. He does what is right after considering
what is best for all His children.
If we put up walls against God, He's not going to break them
down just because we cry, "We're sorry, we learned out lesson,
please help." Once is enough. Fake repentance is a grievous
sin. It is in fact trying to lie to God. God in His Mercy will
try His best to avoid hearing such lies. Study the people in
the Bible who had a relationship with God and who then lied. It
is a terrible sin to know God and then try to lie. Better to
have God be afar off then until we rid ourselves of this.
We also sometimes act like manipulative children,"If you love
me, you'll do this and that." We have our ideas about what is
right and wrong and often insist God see things our way. At
times, God answers our unwise prayers if we persist just so we
get what we want and then are miserable. Perhaps that is what
is needed to correct us. Israel said they wanted to die in the
wilderness; and it was the last straw. God let them die in the
wilderness, but good came of that. Great good came of it. If
you think about it, you may be able to see it.
If someone has perfect faith in God, he should see that all the
problems in this world are the result of people getting what
they wanted. Yes, even earthquakes and diseases. We are so
unspiritual we can't see how we create such things.
I return to the subject of circumcision. Suppose there is a
Perfect God who did in fact tell Abraham to circumcise his
offspring; and suppose there are reasons we don't understand.
Your attitude, George, was one of telling God He had to meet
your ideas of right and wrong. Without knowing for sure, you
already took a position -- as if you were God. This too is an
obstacle. I believe once you said there was no difference
between male and female. I'd say that too is a prejudice. I'd
say there is a difference. I'd wager too you don't believe
people create sicknesses and diseases. You think germs do it
since that is what can be observed by science. Indeed germs do
it, but then you have to ask why God permits germs?
That is connected to the Resurrection by the way. How could
anyone who's nature is so dangerous that it helps create
destructive germs be resurrected into a stable body himself? He
is spewing negative energy into the life around him -- how could
not be affected himself? So the malicious nature of man
collects in germs and then attacks us. Then we wonder what
happend. I don't expect people to believe me -- but I do ask
them to have an open mind. Not to think they know things which
would make God responsible for germs and death. Any idea which
condemns God or implies an imperfection should be abandoned.
It is true that some communication with Heaven is possible
before all errors are given up; but at times, the pile is too
high we need to remove some before the connection can be made.
It is also true that God is deaf to some people. The only way
back into the kingdom is to grab the skirts of someone who's
already in the kingdom. If he asks Heaven to admit you, it's
permitted. He pays a price for that, by the way. Nothing is
free in the universe. While he grants that favor to you free of
charge, it's still not free in another way. It's like agreeing
to be responsible for any debts you may rack up. If you mess up
and don't fix it, he pays for it.
That is the deal Jesus made. If we mess up after he takes
responsibility for us, he has to pay. If we mess up too much,
he may cut us off. There is no way back after that -- not
through him -- until you pay back every penny.
What happens if we are forgiven once and then betray God? God
may reinstate those debts. God will not hear us until those
debts are paid in full.
Matthew 18:34 And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the
tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.
Some of us are in that spot where we need to pay back what we
owe.
Sometimes there are idols. While I don't believe getting
circumcised would help you or any other Gentile, it looks to me
as if your foreskin may be an idol. God gave you the whole
member but you say, "No, I wouldn't give back even a part of it
to you." Make too big an idol of it, and you may get cancer and
lose it all. There's nothing wrong with many things; but at
times, God requires us to give them up because we're making them
into idols. Once we know how to enjoy them without making into
idols, it's safe for us to have them again.
Mark 10:29 And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you,
There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters,
or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my
sake, and the gospel's,
30 But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses,
and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands,
with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.
There are times when people know they should give up certain
things and they don't. Why would God hear them or answer them
after telling them through their consciences what they need to
give up? This is something each person has to make decisions
for himself about. But there's no bargaining with God about it
-- no promises made that "If you give up booze, you'll start
having visions and hearing the Voice of God." The thing has to
be given up freely without expecting something back from God the
way we do things for humans wanting something back. You have to
trust that God knows best. A great stumbling block is the
belief that God is responsible for making us spiritually blind.
Yet if God is Perfect, the error must lie with us. Thus we ask
to have those errors shown to us.
#Post#: 4831--------------------------------------------------
Re: Does God Listen To My Prayers?
By: Kerry Date: May 6, 2013, 7:01 pm
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There are also things in this world that are unclean. If we are
not equipped to deal with them, they can overwhelm the body and
soul. Thus eating unclean meat is not a sin but it can be an
obstacle for some people to making contact with Heaven. Yes,
having sex with a woman during her period can also stir up
problems in the man's soul. That is not sin either of them
committed; but it's the way of the world. Until we learn how
to take in impurities and deal with them, such things can
overwhelm us.
Once we learn how to deal with them, we are like oysters that
unclean animal that makes pearls. Yes, that is another clue to
the Resurrection. The flames of Resurrection are rather like
the rainbow colors of the pearl.
#Post#: 4840--------------------------------------------------
Re: Does God Listen To My Prayers?
By: thelowlyfisherman Date: May 8, 2013, 3:06 pm
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Do we listen to Fathers prayers?
My dad and I used to sit at the table and talk, sometimes for
hours. Other times we'd go out to the garage and tinker with
cars, minibikes, go-carts or some project, and we'd talk and cut
up. He used to take me with him when he would do an aluminum
siding "side job" and taught me a lot about it. And we would
talk and cut up, and sometimes argue.....
I don't remember a single "formal" conversation with him? Isn't
that funny?
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