so why are some prayers answered and some not... how does that work, does god sit in his ivory tower hearing these voices, saying no to some and yes to others?
if so, how can this be so, we cant be judged yet, we havent died, we havent come to our day of judgement, so how can god judge one prayer above another, one person above another?
Originally posted by eatmybishop so why are some prayers answered and some not... how does that work, does god sit in his ivory tower hearing these voices, saying no to some and yes to others?
if so, how can this be so, we cant be judged yet, we havent died, we havent come to our day of judgement, so how can god judge one prayer above another, one person above another?
Do you really not know the answers to these questions?
Originally posted by josephw Do you really not know the answers to these questions?
I have to go now. I'll be back in an hour or two.
What? Is everyone waiting for me? No one has posted here since over two hours ago. Makes my ego inflate to think you all are just waiting for me to answer those questions. 😏
Does God say yes to some, and no to others?
The answer is yes. But what you won't like to hear is this; God doesn't hear the prayers of anyone that is not a believer in Christ.
To your assertion that we can't be judged yet; look at John 3:18b 'but he that believeth not is condemned already',...
And how can God judge one prayer or person above another? The answer is simply, but not simplistic. God is righteous and all his judgements are true.
Originally posted by josephw What? Is everyone waiting for me? No one has posted here since over two hours ago. Makes my ego inflate to think you all are just waiting for me to answer those questions. 😏
Does God say yes to some, and no to others?
The answer is yes. But what you won't like to hear is this; God doesn't hear the prayers of anyone that is not a believer in Christ.
...[text shortened]... The answer is simply, but not simplistic. God is righteous and all his judgements are true.
Why do you say that God does not hear the prayers of anyone that is not a believer in Christ? I truly find that offensive. You are saying that every synogogue is a waste of space.
Originally posted by josephw What? Is everyone waiting for me? No one has posted here since over two hours ago. Makes my ego inflate to think you all are just waiting for me to answer those questions. 😏
Originally posted by eatmybishop so why are some prayers answered and some not... how does that work, does god sit in his ivory tower hearing these voices, saying no to some and yes to others?
if so, how can this be so, we cant be judged yet, we havent died, we havent come to our day of judgement, so how can god judge one prayer above another, one person above another?
You need to be clearer what you mean. "No" is an answer to prayer. Just because it's not the answer you want to hear, doesn't make it any less of an answer.
Originally posted by josephw What? Is everyone waiting for me? No one has posted here since over two hours ago. Makes my ego inflate to think you all are just waiting for me to answer those questions. 😏
Does God say yes to some, and no to others?
The answer is yes. But what you won't like to hear is this; God doesn't hear the prayers of anyone that is not a believer in Christ.
...[text shortened]... The answer is simply, but not simplistic. God is righteous and all his judgements are true.
So God doesn't hear the prayers of those that sincerely want to believe, and are seeking the truth, and are prepared to start a journey of faith, but don't believe yet in Jesus?
Originally posted by bbarr So God doesn't hear the prayers of those that sincerely want to believe, and are seeking the truth, and are prepared to start a journey of faith, but don't believe yet in Jesus?
Apparently not. I'm not really sure where he gets this as it is not biblically based.
Originally posted by kirksey957 Why do you say that God does not hear the prayers of anyone that is not a believer in Christ? I truly find that offensive. You are saying that every synogogue is a waste of space.
And was there a cut-off date around the time of Jesus at which point he turned down the volume on Jewish prayers?
Originally posted by eatmybishop so why are some prayers answered and some not... how does that work, does god sit in his ivory tower hearing these voices, saying no to some and yes to others?
if so, how can this be so, we cant be judged yet, we havent died, we havent come to our day of judgement, so how can god judge one prayer above another, one person above another?
Studies have been done into the effectiveness of prayer. Sadly they have rarely been done rigorously and whenever they have been done rigorously, they have returned results indistinguishable from random chance or placebo. So the evidence suggests that no, prayers are never 'answered'; they just seem to be to hopeful, pattern-matching animals such as us.
This is one of the things that would convince me of the existance of a god - if the prayers of that god's followers were rigorously shown to be significantly more effective than the prayers of other religions or of random chance.
Originally posted by Penguin This is one of the things that would convince me of the existance of a god - if the prayers of that god's followers were rigorously shown to be significantly more effective than the prayers of other religions or of random chance.
--- Penguin
If God has a rule that he must be undetectable by scientific analysis then could he possibly be unable or unwilling to answer some prayers to avoid detection?
Some Christians that I have talked to about prayer usually end up saying that "God knows best" whether you pray or not but that prayer is important for other reasons than getting answers. Not all prayers are requests anyway.
I have met some Christians who insist that fasting significantly increases the chances of having their prayers answered.
Originally posted by orfeo You need to be clearer what you mean. "No" is an answer to prayer. Just because it's not the answer you want to hear, doesn't make it any less of an answer.
I think a lot of uh non-believers aren't quite sure what prayer is all about. How do you pray, if it's not too personal a question?
Originally posted by twhitehead If God has a rule that he must be undetectable by scientific analysis then could he possibly be unable or unwilling to answer some prayers to avoid detection?
Some Christians that I have talked to about prayer usually end up saying that "God knows best" whether you pray or not but that prayer is important for other reasons than getting answers. Not all ...[text shortened]... who insist that fasting significantly increases the chances of having their prayers answered.
If God has a rule that he must be undetectable by scientific analysis then could he possibly be unable or unwilling to answer some prayers to avoid detection?
That's a very convenient rule for theists. It means that God cannot do anything detectable and is thus entirely irrelevant in this universe. Interesting how, in the old testament he was quite willing to reveal himself though. He didn't mind being detected then, why should he mind now?
Some Christians that I have talked to about prayer usually end up saying that "God knows best" whether you pray or not but that prayer is important for other reasons than getting answers. Not all prayers are requests anyway.
Indeed, believers undoubtedly gain solace and comfort through prayer but that can quite easily be through the placebo effect with no need of a deity to actually listen to, let alone act on, those prayers.
The original question was why only some prayers are answered and I maintain that it is not because God hears them and decides which to answer but because there is no god to hear them.
Originally posted by josephw What? Is everyone waiting for me? No one has posted here since over two hours ago. Makes my ego inflate to think you all are just waiting for me to answer those questions. 😏
Does God say yes to some, and no to others?
The answer is yes. But what you won't like to hear is this; God doesn't hear the prayers of anyone that is not a believer in Christ.
...[text shortened]... The answer is simply, but not simplistic. God is righteous and all his judgements are true.
so you're implying every believer in god will get their prayer answered... but they dont... how about a muslim, or a jew, or a buddhist... are they simply disregarded..?
prayer
09 May '07 20:50
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