Prayers
- Thread starter nhboy
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Starman3000m
New Member
nhboy said:
Excellent and Very Fair Question.
Actually, God responds to prayer for all things when one sincerely seeks His Divine Help and Guidance..
Here is a starting point:
And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. (Jeremiah 29:13)
The Truth is that the answers we get from God are not always the answers we hope to receive. Does that mean that we are to conclude that God did not hear our prayer or that we should think God doesn't care about us if a prayer goes unanswered? Not at all.
The main key to Prayer is Faith. Faith that God hears your petition and that you are willing to accept the response to your prayer even if it does not come instantly. I believe that a person's prayers are answered in God's Perfect Timing; Not a Moment too soon and Not a Moment Too Late.
Also, God, being Omniscient (all knowing) knows your innermost intentions and hearts desire even before you pray. Thus, after your prayer you can be assured that God already has an answer to that specific prayer. Again, the answer is dependent upon His Will for the situation.
After any prayer it is not a bad idea to finish it by saying, "Nevertheless, Lord, Not my will but Your Will be done.
Much could be said about the Power of Prayer and, yes, when it is very evident that God has answered prayer in a positive way much Praise is given to glorify His Divine Help. By contrast, in those moments when prayers don't turn out the way we wanted them to, it's a time to seek God's Peace and Comfort to help us understand that His Will has still been revealed in the matter and that above all the prayer was still answered when God's response was No, or, No, Not Now. For some, prayer was answered promptly and yet for others after many years of enduring trials and tribulations. That was God's Perfect Timing for the individual and the circumstance.
Upon approaching God with prayer, I believe the following few points to be True:
- But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. (John 4:23-24)
- Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.(Romans 8:26)
- The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)
- For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;(Romans 3:23)
- For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; (1 Timothy 2:5)
- There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. (Romans 8:1)
- Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:6)
- Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. (Revelation 3:20)
Last edited:
jenbengen
Watch it
nhboy said:
What constitutes a prayer being "unanswered"? Is it because the person praying doesn't believe they got what they prayed for? Challenges in life are often life lessons from God, in my opinion. Some of the times I prayed the hardest for God to make life better are the times I am glad that those prayers weren't answered how I asked for them to be.
Consider some of the things you have prayed for that, in hindsite, were silly to ask for. Aren't you glad God answered your prayers by NOT answering to them the way you wished at the time? I think he answers all prayers, it's just how you look at it all.
Geek
New Member
nhboy said:
Sometimes you are getting what you need when your prayers are not answered. You just don't know it yet.
Focus your prayer on energy and sending good, positive feelings where they need to go. God is where He needs to be, all the time. He does not need our prayers to remind Him of suffering in the world. People or situations that are negative or need help can only benifit from sweet, positive prayers.
A Christian friend of mine says that God always answers your prayers. It's just that sometimes He says "no".
I
Inkpen
Guest
All prayers are returned..and if it is not your prayer that is being answered it is because it is not your turn...someone else is getting their prayer answered.
Like Geek said, you are getting what you need..not what you want.
Like Geek said, you are getting what you need..not what you want.
JPC sr
James P. Cusick Sr.
Batman
The problem is that the popular notion of prayer is vain and selfish.
The people think prayer is to get stuff like give them this or give them that, give to my family, give to my friends, give me, etc.
But the reality of prayer is to go out and do something, like if you want to end hunger then do not pray for God to do it but go one self and start feeding the hungry. Like Mother Teresa did in deeds.
The prayer is then in the actions.
" ... thy will be done in earth as it is in Heaven... " link means do it and not pray about it.
If anyone wants it and wants God's help then start doing it thy self.
nhboy said:
The problem is that the popular notion of prayer is vain and selfish.The people think prayer is to get stuff like give them this or give them that, give to my family, give to my friends, give me, etc.
But the reality of prayer is to go out and do something, like if you want to end hunger then do not pray for God to do it but go one self and start feeding the hungry. Like Mother Teresa did in deeds.
The prayer is then in the actions.
" ... thy will be done in earth as it is in Heaven... " link means do it and not pray about it.
If anyone wants it and wants God's help then start doing it thy self.
Thanks for clearing that up for us. 
Like supporting your children.JPC sr said:...
If anyone wants it and wants God's help then start doing it thy self.
Prayers are always answered and I don't think you have to wait your turn.nhboy said:
One of the personalities God is ascribed with is Father. A good father does not always give their child what they ask for. The kid wants to eat gummy bears for dinner. The answer is, "No." Why? Because dad knows that eating gummy bears for dinner instead of a balanced meal is not good for the child.
God, the Father, hears the prayers and answers in one of three ways: "OK", "Not right now.", and "No." If you pray to win the lottery, how many other people are praying the same prayer? Should all of them win? If they did, how much would the payout be? The answer is based on what you are praying for and how it will effect you.
Pray for wisdom to know God's will about something. Rely on getting an answer. It is Biblical to ask.
Pray for someone to not die. Maybe, depends on person and circumstances. I prayed for a friends father. My friend called and asked me to pray that God just let his father go. I said I would do that with a condition, if his father found Jesus as Savior and Lord. He lingered for a while, was witnessed to by his other son and that son's wife, accepted Jesus as Savior, and died shortly afterwards. I'd say my prayer was answered.
Pray for riches. Answer is probably no. Riches of this world are a distraction from the true reason for life, finding God and His way. Rich people tend to think they can do anything in their own power and do not generally rely on God. The Bible says to seek the kingdom of God first and then all other things will be added to you.
Pray for a job. Maybe the answer is wait. God may have a better job in mind for you that you won't get if you take the first one. Happened to me.
Be careful what you pray for. You just might get it. I have prayed for God to help me grow in His ways before and what you come to realize is most people grow in their reliance on God when times are tough, not when times are good. Now, when I pray for growth in His ways I add "but please do it gently." I'll be happy with baby steps, because rapid growth means big trials.
And every prayer should include, "but do Your will in my life and not my will." Jesus taught us to pray in that way.
Even Jesus, the embodiment of God as man, prayed for what He wanted but yielded His own desire to that of the Father.
This was just before His trial, torture, and crucifixion.
So prayers are always answered. The answer just might not be what we were hoping for.
JPC sr
James P. Cusick Sr.
Batman
The apostle Paul was difficult to understand but that text does not change the fact that one must make their prayer in action and not just words.
The apostle Paul taught unlearned people to learn first and rightly so, and Paul said his meat was to learn the word of God,
but Jesus took things higher and farther because Christ said his meat was to do it, Link HERE John 4:34 ,
so if one wants to keep the milk and not meat then keep praying the vain and selfish prayers as God will answer those prayers even though they be wrongly done, but to get closer to the word and to perfection then we must follow Christ and not Paul by doing it and not just talking it.
PsyOps said:
The apostle Paul was difficult to understand but that text does not change the fact that one must make their prayer in action and not just words.The apostle Paul taught unlearned people to learn first and rightly so, and Paul said his meat was to learn the word of God,
but Jesus took things higher and farther because Christ said his meat was to do it, Link HERE John 4:34 ,
so if one wants to keep the milk and not meat then keep praying the vain and selfish prayers as God will answer those prayers even though they be wrongly done, but to get closer to the word and to perfection then we must follow Christ and not Paul by doing it and not just talking it.
PsyOps
Pixelated
JPC sr said:
The apostle Paul taught unlearned people to learn first and rightly so, and Paul said his meat was to learn the word of God,
but Jesus took things higher and farther because Christ said his meat was to do it, Link HERE John 4:34 ,
so if one wants to keep the milk and not meat then keep praying the vain and selfish prayers as God will answer those prayers even though they be wrongly done, but to get closer to the word and to perfection then we must follow Christ and not Paul by doing it and not just talking it.
You're splitting hairs here. The context of this discussion is about prayer and what is expected from that prayer.
You wrote "... means do it and not pray about it." Now you are saying "... must make their prayer in action and not just words." Well, do we pray or not? I don't think anyone disagrees we must have action reflective of our faith, but I was responding to your other claim that we were not to pray but to just act.
I know what you're trying to say but you are doing it rather poorly and it seems just for the sake of debate.
PsyOps
Pixelated
JPC sr said:
First of all God NEVER wrongly answers a prayer. His answer IS his answer. Secondly, I think it's rather arrogant to assume you know the hearts of those that pray that they are doing it for selfish reasons. I prayed hard for my aunt to recover from her cancer. Is that vain and selfish? There wasn't anything I could DO for her but pray. I pray for peace in this crazy world, am I doing that out of selfishness and vanity? Sometimes I ask God to get me home safely when traffic is a little crazy. Am I selfish and vain because I want to remain around for my kids and wife?
You see, you don't have the first clue what's in my heart, or anyone else's, and is vain and selfish to assume you do.