Several quotes from the Gospels come to mind when I look at your blog. False prophets and such...
You get a keyword and a tag, my courtesy.
To all the rest: Sorry I made a scene in church.
Posted on 02/02/2005 3:28:32 PM PST by James S. Robb
Practically everyone has prayed. Some have tried it a few times, an experiment. Others, even apparently irreligious personalities, pray constantly. Something inside urges us to ask for help. We ask. It may be, "Please help me with this exam." Or, "Save my marriage!" Or, "Heal my Dad."
Two possible problems. We "hear" no answer. And Dad still dies.
Why would anyone pray to, as historian Paul Johnson terms him, "the God who is silent?" As a believing Christian and a skeptic, this is frustrating. It's hard to pray for divine intervention, only to see the natural order continue unmolested.
Nevertheless, I pray all the time. Can't blame everything on God. After all, Dad was old and sick. The student may not have studied for the exam. And the marriage may have been hopeless compromised already. Not all prayers are easy to answer. But mostly I pray because the Young Master constantly commanded it. [Read for yourself!].
Moreover, there have been times when I believe I have received pretty direct feedback. One time in 1991, when I felt totally abandoned, even suicidal, I visited Georgia on business. While there, I ran into a a man I knew only slightly. He approached me and looked at me in amazement, saying, "Jim, I had a dream about you."
"About me?" I replied, astounded. "Yes," he said. "I dreamed you and I were walking down a road side by side, and somehow I knew that the dream meant we were walking down the road of life together." Then he looked at me and admitted, "I don't know, but I believe that dream was from the Lord" Immediately I heard myself answer emphatically, "It was!" Later I learned my new friend had had the dream the night before, when he believed I was in another state.
From that experience grew a friendship that did more than anything had to encourage and strengthen me. You might say it saved my life.
God isn't silent all the time.
Here's one that I dare any skeptic to pray:
Lord, if You're there, which I doubt, and if You care, which I doubt, You can have whatever part of me You can get.
Wait, um, JimRob... you join up with that name and your first post is on the religion forum with the above quote?
*sniff*
The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them.
17
When they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted.
Apparently, this skepticism is not a new phenomenon.
Many questions like "is God listening" "does God answer prayers" and "why does god let bad things happen" can be answered in the same way.
Ive become a much happier person since I realized that God is not my butler or my "yes man". God is not there to answer my demands. God does not always give me the answers I would like.
I'm not exactly sure how the article(?) applies to the heading, so I'll just respond to the heading.
I can attest specifically that God, or one of His representatives hears our prayers, and may or may not answer them. He has aswered several of mine, in such a way and under circumstances that I know it was not the result of random coincidence.
But fewer than 1/10th of 1% of my prayers are about me, mostly they are about those whose who are truly suffering, and for His Church, so I can only hope the prayers help. I don't pray for other peoples paper cuts or for the life of those dying. Rather I pray for their souls. I have the assurance that my prayers are heard, so I also have the confidence that they are answered even if I don't know about it.
Yes, I know it's a coincidence, but it's not a spoof. My name really is Jim Robb, and I live in Alexandria, Virginia.
that is SO weird....'cuz my name really IS ZinGirl..and I live in a vineyard.
How long have you been lurking? Or rather, what was your last screen name?
You can not Truly be both. You "claim" to have true faith in Christ, yet you are skeptical of his motives? Where does the "belief" come in? Praying for divine intervention is well & good, as long as you understand that IT falls under the category of "his WILL be done, not OUR'S"
Anything more is a "I want it now !"Temper Tantrum.
But mostly I pray because the Young Master constantly commanded it.
Huh...? You sure you are a Christain? ..."Young Master constantly commanded it." ...??? Who refers to the Lord in that manner? You make it sound as if Jesus was a slave driver.
BTW, not only does God listen, he gives what you need, when you need it.
You may want to look over here for your kitten!?
Several quotes from the Gospels come to mind when I look at your blog. False prophets and such...
You get a keyword and a tag, my courtesy.
To all the rest: Sorry I made a scene in church.
Tarpaulin,
First, I looked it up and only got "other word for tarp". I didn't find the sailor reference until after I (ate some spinach and) went to your profile page.
Second, I was thinking the author/poster may be full of little red ants or kitty litter.
Thoughts!?
Dasher
"Dasher" posts quicker than Brain allows.
Got a TV? SOTU is on just now...
Sorry - still at work.
Rushing to the car to listen now.
D
Exactly. And also pray for the grace to bring what you want and what God wants together, so that the two of you want the same things.
Everything is either God's gift or something he permits for our good, whether we think so or not, whether we ask for it or not. The point of petitionary prayer is not to get something as though from a vending machine, but to teach us to entrust our needs, hopes, and desires to God. He already knows what we want, and he'll give us what we need.
OK. I shed a tear on the the tribute the the fallen soldier's Mom.
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