In Uruguay, a man named Luis was far from happy. Drug addiction, spiritism, idol worship, alcohol abuse—these were some of the things that made his life chaotic. Finally, Luis, completely frustrated, became an atheist. A friend gave him the book Life—How Did It Get Here? By Evolution or by Creation? This resulted in brief contact with Jehovah’s Witnesses, but Luis soon returned to alcohol and drugs. When, in a moment of great anguish, he found himself sitting in a pit full of garbage, he prayed, offering his prayer to “the father of Jesus Christ,” since he was not sure about God’s name.
He asked God to show him if there was any reason for his being in the world. “The very next day,” reports Luis, “an acquaintance gave me a book that he had no more use for. Its title? Revelation—Its Grand Climax At Hand!” The book helped him to answer his question. Luis prayed again for help in finding the religion that would show him how to serve God. What a surprise! The doorbell rang, and standing outside were two of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Luis immediately started to study the Bible with them. He made rapid progress and now feels blessed to be a baptized Witness. He lives a clean life and helps others also to find a purpose for their lives. For him, the words of Psalm 65:2 have come true: “O Hearer of prayer, even to you people of all flesh will come.” 98' Watchtower 1/1 page 5.
Jehovah has blessed Kingdom preachers with many joyful experiences. Steve and Gaye, for example, went out in door-to-door activity one cold, wintry day. At their first door, they started a Bible study with a depressed elderly man. Within two weeks he attended a meeting at the Kingdom Hall, where they happened to mention how kind he had been to invite them in on their first visit. “I did not invite you in because I was nice,” he replied. “I invited you in because I knew you were coming. I had been praying for help for three days.” He is now attending the meetings regularly and is progressing toward baptism. 1990 Yearbook page 19.
A young woman hired the services of a local newspaper to advertise the sale of an amulet. The advertisement referred to it as a ‘medieval amulet that is very powerful.’ One of Jehovah’s Witnesses noticed the ad. She decided to call the telephone number given and talk to the woman about the source of the amulet’s alleged power. A discussion on the Bible’s view of demonic activity followed. The young woman with the amulet revealed that just one day earlier, she had prayed to God for help with her problems with demons. The Witness made arrangements for another discussion over the telephone. 95' Watchtower 1/1 page 31.
A young woman in India was in serious need of comfort. Married at 21, she had two children. But soon after the birth of the second child, her husband died. Suddenly, at the age of 24, she was a widow with a 2-month-old daughter and a 22-month-old son. No wonder she needed comfort! Where could she turn? One night, in deep distress, she prayed, saying, “Heavenly Father, please comfort me through your Word.”
The next morning, she had a visitor. He was one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. That day, his house-to-house ministry had been difficult because few had opened the door to him. Tired and rather discouraged, he was about to go home, but somehow he felt impelled to visit just one more house. That was where he met the young widow. She invited him in and accepted a publication that explained the Bible. The woman drew great comfort from reading that publication and from her discussions with the Witness. She learned of God’s promise to raise the dead and of God’s Kingdom, which will soon make the earth a paradise. Most important, she came to know and love the one true God, Jehovah, who had answered her prayer.
Watchtower 2000 3/1 page 5,6.
An example showing the power of prayer is that of a couple who live in the South African city of Johannesburg. On a Saturday night in 1996, Dennis and Carol’s marriage reached the breaking point. As a last resort, they decided to pray for help, which they repeatedly did until late into the night. The next morning, at 11 o’clock, two of Jehovah’s Witnesses knocked at their door. Dennis answered the door and told them to wait until he called his wife. Dennis then warned Carol that if she invited the Witnesses in, it might be hard to get rid of them. Carol reminded Dennis that they had been praying for help and said that this might be God’s answer to their prayers. So the Witnesses were invited in, and a Bible study was started in the book Knowledge That Leads to Everlasting Life. Dennis and Carol were thrilled with what they learned. That same afternoon, they attended their first meeting at the local Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses. By applying the knowledge they had learned from the Bible, Dennis and Carol found solutions to their marital problems. They are now happy, baptized praisers of Jehovah and regularly share their Bible-based beliefs with their neighbors.
Watchtower 2000 3/1 page 5,6
In Honduras a missionary sister who was struggling to learn Spanish entered an office building and placed magazines with the receptionist. Then the office phone rang, and the missionary sister thought that the receptionist invited her to sit down, so she did. She had misunderstood. The receptionist had asked her to leave. Meanwhile, a woman in an office nearby had been praying for help to break off an immoral relationship with a married man and to learn the acceptable way to worship God. When she heard the voice of our sister in the reception area, she believed that her prayer was being answered. However, when she heard the receptionist ask the sister to leave, she feared that the missionary would be gone before she could speak with her. However, the missionary later said: “Because of misunderstanding the receptionist, I was still there when the woman rushed in to talk with me. Both of us are convinced that this was Jehovah’s direction.” Years earlier, the woman had read publications of Jehovah’s Witnesses, and now she decided to give full attention to spiritual matters. She has since broken off her relationship with the married man and is studying the Bible and attending meetings regularly. 2004 Yearbook page 53.
Here is a very, very small amount of examples that prayer does work. Some here scoff at the thought of a God and one that would actually answer prayers. There are millions of examples of the truth of this fact.
Originally posted by galveston75I believe prayer is not something that works. You don't flip a switch and it starts working, etc. The Lord's prayer is an example of how we should pray, but there is no formula. You don't rub on a piece of cloth like a magic lamp and a genie grants you a wish. You must be sincere and with pure unselfish motives when you pray. Don't expect instant returns for your prayer requests. You must keep on keeping on.
In Uruguay, a man named Luis was far from happy. Drug addiction, spiritism, idol worship, alcohol abuse—these were some of the things that made his life chaotic. Finally, Luis, completely frustrated, became an atheist. A friend gave him the book Life—How Did It Get Here? By Evolution or by Creation? This resulted in brief contact with Jehovah’s Witnesse ...[text shortened]... that would actually answer prayers. There are millions of examples of the truth of this fact.
HalleluYah !!! Praise the Lord! Holy! Holy! Holy!
Originally posted by RJHindsYou don't believe it works? How strange coming from a Christian. So all the prayers in the Bible made by Jesus and his followers and all the ones before Jesus such as Moses, Noah etc, that prayed and got answers from God did not work? Are you calling the Bible a book of lies when it talls us to pray to God for help and guidence?
I believe prayer is not something that works. You don't flip a switch and it starts working, etc. The Lord's prayer is an example of how we should pray, but there is no formula. You don't rub on a piece of cloth like a magic lamp and a genie grants you a wish. You must be sincere and with pure unselfish motives when you pray. Don't expect instant return ...[text shortened]... requests. You must keep on keeping on.
HalleluYah !!! Praise the Lord! Holy! Holy! Holy!
You never cease to amaze me with "your opinions".
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Originally posted by galveston75sorry, but they are not examples of prayer working. they are selective examples of unlikely occurrences happening (i could list a few very unusual coincidences that have happened in my life) . we all know that there are millions of prayers happening everyday, just by the laws of probability some will appear to come true. the only way to measure these things correctly is to compare directly the amount of times these things happen to christians compared to non-christians.
In Uruguay, a man named Luis was far from happy. Drug addiction, spiritism, idol worship, alcohol abuse—these were some of the things that made his life chaotic. Finally, Luis, completely frustrated, became an atheist. A friend gave him the book Life—How Did It Get Here? By Evolution or by Creation? This resulted in brief contact with Jehovah’s Witnesse ...[text shortened]... that would actually answer prayers. There are millions of examples of the truth of this fact.
if you take a look at the studies referred on wikipedia it seems the only major benefit for praying is to raise morale, particularly of the person praying. which is a good thing as morale is an important factor in some illnesses. however there are is no positive tests showing praying for a 3rd party can help. fact.
prayer as a morale booster i can understand. but prayer as a method for god to choose who he wants to help in a seemingly arbitrary way is sickeningly immoral and not befitting of high moral standards christianity alludes to.
Originally posted by stellspalfieOh no my friend. I have access to thousands and thousands of simular examples. This is a speck of what I can post.
sorry, but they are not examples of prayer working. they are selective examples of unlikely occurrences happening (i could list a few very unusual coincidences that have happened in my life) . we all know that there are millions of prayers happening everyday, just by the laws of probability some will appear to come true. the only way to measure these th ...[text shortened]... ry way is sickeningly immoral and not befitting of high moral standards christianity alludes to.
My own mother had a very simular example to of having her prayers answered within days of asking God to know the truth and wanting free from her religion that was making no sense with it's teachings.
Originally posted by galveston75God works, not the prayer. 😏
Oh no my friend. I have access to thousands and thousands of simular examples. This is a speck of what I can post.
My own mother had a very simular example to of having her prayers answered within days of asking God to know the truth and wanting free from her religion that was making no sense with it's teachings.
HalleluYah !!! Praise the Lord! Holy! Holy! Holy!
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Originally posted by galveston75i would expect your church to have thousands and thousands of these stories but they are not example of prayer working. its a mixture of mathematical probability and people wanting to find things. does your church keep a record of all the prayers that dont come true?
Oh no my friend. I have access to thousands and thousands of simular examples. This is a speck of what I can post.
My own mother had a very simular example to of having her prayers answered within days of asking God to know the truth and wanting free from her religion that was making no sense with it's teachings.
like ive said i could tell you 3 or 4 stories of very improbable things that have happened to me. as could most people. improbable things happen all the time, only you dont notice the ones that are not interesting.
there is another side to this. if prayer worked, christians would have a higher % survival rater of cancer and other illnesses. christians should have a better quality of life, on average due to the amount of praying christians should have a better everything. but if you stick your head out the window and take a look around, its atheists who have the highest standard of living on the planet.
two sets of parents in a hospital both praying for their child to live, one does one doesnt. can you give me an example of the kind of reasoning god would use to decide to save on and let one die.
Originally posted by galveston75You can post all day and it would still be evidence of nothing more than the fact that you selectively choose examples of coincidences that fit your desired outcome.
Oh no my friend. I have access to thousands and thousands of simular examples. This is a speck of what I can post.
If you want to get to the bottom of whether or not prayer works, then you do a scientific study. To date, no scientific study has shown conclusive proof of the efficacy of prayer except as a placebo.
All you have demonstrated in this thread is your lack of understanding of the mathematics surrounding coincidence.
Do you have any statistics that suggest that people who pray regularly are better off than people who don't, or do people who pray regularly pray for the wrong things?
Originally posted by galveston75Prayers didn't work in the tragic case of Whitney Heichel though.
Oh no my friend. I have access to thousands and thousands of simular examples. This is a speck of what I can post.
My own mother had a very simular example to of having her prayers answered within days of asking God to know the truth and wanting free from her religion that was making no sense with it's teachings.
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Originally posted by Proper Knob(A young woman hired the services of a local newspaper to advertise the sale of an amulet. The advertisement referred to it as a ‘medieval amulet that is very powerful.’ One of Jehovah’s Witnesses noticed the ad. She decided to call the telephone number given and talk to the woman about the source of the amulet’s alleged power. A discussion on the Bible’s view of demonic activity followed. The young woman with the amulet revealed that just one day earlier, she had prayed to God for help with her problems with demons. The Witness made arrangements for another discussion over the telephone. 95' Watchtower 1/1 page 31.)
Prayers didn't work in the tragic case of Whitney Heichel though.
but he will help with the selling of potentially demonic jewelry!!!!! i wonder if god cared about the next person who bought it?
Originally posted by galveston75If these stories are the best of your thousands of proofs
In Uruguay, ..........
of the effectiveness of prayer then I'm not impressed.
They are just coincidences, probably embellished and
do not prove anything
You are much more credible having faith only than saying
you have proof when you clearly do not.
Originally posted by galveston75Pardon me, but how many people has the JW org. kicked out of their fold for them asking God similar questions about the JW org.?
Oh no my friend. I have access to thousands and thousands of simular examples. This is a speck of what I can post.
My own mother had a very simular example to of having her prayers answered within days of asking God to know the truth and wanting free from her religion that was making no sense with it's teachings.
I'm not deriding your thread, Gman, just this particular point.
Although I doubt you're going to convince any in here who aren't already convinced. They have their agendas too, and they're not budging, either.
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Originally posted by Suziannewhat kinda agendas do you think people have?
Pardon me, but how many people has the JW org. kicked out of their fold for them asking God similar questions about the JW org.?
I'm not deriding your thread, Gman, just this particular point.
Although I doubt you're going to convince any in here who aren't already convinced. They have their agendas too, and they're not budging, either.