This notion was brought up in another thread...

I was curious what others have to conclude...


What I think about the notion that people actually believe that 'God' has answered their prayers.


1.) It unmistakenly implies that 'God' can and has acted upon a human's life in some way. Divine intervention.

This implication brings up one very serious question...

2.) What then, would constitute the justification for it's necessity?

I smell a fight coming in this thread

Nah...

One cannot fight with themself...

The need for divine intervention, maybe.

What constitutes it's need Yasha?

What would make this 'God' decide to answer anyone, if not everyone?

IMHO this does not exist. One would have to believe there is an all powerful being for something like this to take place to begin with. So no, chance and coincidence yes.

I guess something that modern science cannot explain would justify peoples belief in divine intervention..for example when people get cancer and miraculously get better. But I dont believe in it

scion,

Yes it is quite understandable to justify one's belief in the notion as you have described...


However...


Why would some cancer patients be healed by divine intervention measures, and others not?


What constitutes good enough reason for the action to be taken by this 'God'?

The serious and deliberate contemplation of this question should lead one to question the validity of their own reasoning... should they hold the belief...

Why some... and not others?

Why won't a "God" heal amputees?

God answers who he wants to, I reckon. I don't understand his reasoning. I can't. I'm just a guy. I do believe he exists. I do believe he answers prayer. Why he doesn't answer EVERY prayer, I don't know.

I do know we can pray to him.

I do know we can pray in Jesus' name.

I do know that prayers work sometime, at least I believe they do.

But as for giving intellectual justification for it all, I'll fall short every time. I probably wouldn't be able to do it, except to say that I believe based on my own epxeriences and my own walk through life. Heck, that's about all I know of and I'm not even really sure about that, half the time. You know how those philosophers twist our perceptions. It always boggled my mind.

I'll pray about it, though.

Hi Creative,
I just stopped in to read, but posted a quickie anyway. Sorry, if my strike is preemptive, I was just amused by the lack of responce. I hope you enjoy your weekend.

Creative, you ask for logic where logic does not exist!

Of course, no one is going to answer, using the theory that they prayed had enought or believed strong enough, because that would just be egotistical. That would place one persons faith above others, who's similar prayers were not answered likewise.

Even if some tried that responce it would be countered with: If God knows all, then God also knew, prior to creation, when intervention would take place, or is that when it would be needed?

Of course this is pre-empting free will, isn't it? As our destiny must be predetermeined (known by God)in order for prophecy to be possible, for a plan to unfold, as the Bible indicates.

As for me, I do have a theory, one I've noted in other posts. Some people seek acceptance and confirmation of their beliefs by other humans. They need this as much as they feel the need for answers. So it makes sense that the unexplained be attributed to thier God. It creates knowledge, an answer to the unexplained, and it lends acceptance by others, who likewise believe, and finally, it creates confirmation, when others conform to the belief as they are also in need of having their questiones answered. Soon they will seek their own miricles, so they too will find acceptance and have a personal explanation with which confirmation from others will be needed.

Circular, isn't it; this need to find acceptance and confirmation from other humans. Considering the fact that those believing in the miricle have already received what is needed from the only being that counts.

So much for the individual nature of belief.

I don't think I can answer that question. Why Does God answer No to some prayers. I pray often, sometimes my prayers are answered in what I would consider a positive way (what I expected and thought was right).

Other times I have prayed and have recieved a no answer and have not been able to understand at that time.

Sometimes when I get a no answer I find that God has other events happen first before a positive answer is recieved to my prayer.

Why are there so many people starving? Why do people die of cancer? Why can't we have world Peace? I have prayed for all of these problems to be solved and still get a no answer. Why? I don't know. I do believe that God has a devine plan for all of us. The only reason I can come up with for God to answer no to these prayers at this time is because it is not yet part of his devine plan.

Hopefully more of Gods plan will be revealed and we will all know in the future why God at this time has said no to our prayers.

The above statement is just my Belief/opinion.
thanks for reading.

Here is an article that might help.
GBY Creative Soul, good question you posed there.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


“Why Didn’t God Answer My Prayer For A Miracle?”

by Graham Pockett

“God didn’t save us for a life without pain,
He saved us from a life without meaning!”
The following is based off my answer to a person who had been praying for 10 years for a miracle. If you have doubts or questions I pray it will help you a little.


A miracle is simply positively answered prayer. In fact, God answers ALL prayer, but sometimes the answer is "no", sometimes it is "not yet", and other times the answer is "yes".

I have no idea why God answers different prayers in different ways except that He, being all all-wise and all-knowing, is aware of what is the best for us – and sometimes that is to answer a prayer in the negative.

Think of a small child who wants an ice cream just before his dinner. If his parents are wise they will say "no" because they know that granting this request at that time is inappropriate. God is also a wise parent and many times our prayer requests are not in our best interest, irrespective of what we may think.

Imagine a man who has trouble handling money – every time he earns some money he spends it unwisely. He goes before God and asks for a windfall – to win a lottery, or to receive a large inheritance "to solve his financial problems". God would most likely say "no" to that prayer request because giving that person what he wants would not be in his best interests until he can learn to handle the money he has now.

I know a lovely lady who was in a motor vehicle accident and is now a wheelchair-bound paraplegic. This happened in 1982 and she has been praying for a restoration of her movement ever since. Many prophets have told her that she will be healed, but she is still waiting in her wheelchair. Her unfailing faith has been a beacon to many people with lesser problems.

Her faith has directly and indirectly led many people to the Lord, including my family and I. Because I was saved I have posted information about Christianity on the Internet and these articles have impacted on thousands of people (my Christian articles are read about 3,000 times every week) so the effect is like a stone thrown into a still pond – the ripples go out further and further.

Would you be content being wheelchair-bound if that meant saving souls for Christ? Would those saved souls be more important to you than your own mobility?

Romans 5:3-4 says:

“...we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” [NIV]

I would add that our faith grows by being exercised, and faith is not exercised when we receive everything we want (or think we need). What faith is required when God becomes a Santa Claus – giving presents to all? It takes no faith to simply receive presents (“miracles”) but it takes great faith to believe when you don’t get everything you want, when you trust God completely knowing He is doing the very best for you in all areas of your life. That is what strengthen’s faith.

Ultimately, we are here on this Earth to exercise, and therefore strengthen, our faith.

Let me leave you with a little poem that was written by the mother of a severely disabled child. I pray it helps.


And God Said No
I asked God to take away my pride. And God said "No".
He said it was not for Him to take away, but for me to give up.
I asked God to make my handicapped child whole. And God said "No".
He said her spirit was whole, her body was only temporary.

I asked God to grant me patience. And God said "No".
He said patience is a by-product of tribulations. It isn't granted, it is earned.

I asked God to give me happiness. And God said "No".
He said He gives me blessings, happiness is up to me.

I asked God to spare me pain. And God said "No".
He said suffering draws me apart from worldly cares and brings me closer to Him.

I asked God to make my spirit grow. And God said "No".
He said I must grow on my own. But He will prune me to make me fruitful.

I asked for all things that I might enjoy life. And God said "No".
He said He will give me life, that I may enjoy all things.

I ask God to help me love others, as much as he loves me.
And God said "Ah, finally you have the idea!"

Copyright © Claudia Minden Weisz (the mother of a Rett Syndrome child)

Here's another article that may throw light upon the subject at hand.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Does God Answer Our Prayers?

What does it take for God to answer our prayer?



How to Pray: Prayers That Get Answered
Have you ever known someone who really trusts God? When I was an atheist, I had a good friend who prayed often. She would tell me every week about something she was trusting God to take care of. And every week I would see God do something unusual to answer her prayer. Do you know how difficult it is for an atheist to observe this week after week? After a while, "coincidence" begins to sound like a very weak argument.

So why would God answer my friend's prayers? The biggest reason is that she had a relationship with God. She wanted to follow God. And she actually listened to what he said. In her mind, God had the right to direct her in life, and she welcomed him doing just that! When she prayed for things, it was a natural part of her relationship with God. She felt very comfortable coming to God with her needs, her concerns, and whatever issues were current in her life. Furthermore, she was convinced, from what she read in the Bible, that God wanted her to rely on him like that.

She pretty much exhibited what this statement from the Bible says, "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us."1 "For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer..."2

So, Why Doesn't God Answer Everyone's Prayers?
It may be because they don't have a relationship with God. They may know that God exists, and they might even worship God from time to time. But those who never seem to have their prayers answered probably don't have a relationship with him. Further, they have never received from God complete forgiveness for their sin. What does that have to do with it you ask? Here is an explanation. "Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God. Your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear."3

It's pretty natural to feel that separation from God. When people begin to ask God for something, what usually takes place? They begin with, "God, I really need your help with this problem..." And then there's a pause, followed by a restart... "I realize that I'm not a perfect person, that I actually have no right to ask you for this..." There's an awareness of personal sin and failure. And the person knows that it's not just them; that God is aware of it too. There's a feeling of, "Who am I kidding?" What they may not know is how they can receive God's forgiveness for all their sin. They might not know that they can come into a relationship with God so that God will hear them. This is the foundation for God answering your prayer.

How to Pray: The Foundation
You must first begin a relationship with God. Imagine some guy named Mike decides to ask the president of Princeton University (whom Mike doesn't even know) to co-sign a car loan for him. Mike would have zero chance of that happening. (We're assuming that the president of Princeton is not an idiot.) However, if that same president's daughter asked her dad to co-sign a car loan for her, it would be no problem. Relationship matters.

With God, when the person is actually a child of God, when the person belongs to God, he knows them and hears their prayers. Jesus said, "I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep and my sheep know me...my sheep listen to my voice. I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand."4

When it comes to God then, do you really know him and does he know you? Do you have a relationship with him that warrants God answering your prayers? Or is God pretty distant, pretty much just a concept in your life? If God is distant, or you're not sure that you know God, here is how you can begin a relationship with him right now: Getting Connected.

Will God Definitely Answer Your Prayer?
For those who do know him and rely on him, Jesus seems to be wildly generous in his offer: "If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you."5 To "remain" in him and have his words remain in them means they conduct their lives aware of him, relying on him, listening to what he says. Then they're able to ask him whatever they want. Here is another qualifier: "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us -- whatever we ask -- we know that we have what we asked of him."6 God answers our prayers according to his will (and according to his wisdom, his love for us, his holiness, etc.).

Where we trip up is assuming we know God's will, because a certain thing makes sense to us! We assume that there is only one right "answer" to a specific prayer, assuming certainly THAT would be God's will. And this is where it gets tough. We live within the limits of time and limits of knowledge. We have only limited information about a situation and the implications of future action on that situation. God's understanding is unlimited. How an event plays out in the course of life or history is only something he knows. And he may have purposes far beyond what we could even imagine. So, God is not going to do something simply because we determine that it must be his will.

What Does It Take? What is God Inclined to Do?
Pages and pages could be filled about God's intentions toward us. The entire Bible is a description of the kind of relationship God wants us to experience with him and the kind of life he wants to give us. Here are just a few examples:

"...the Lord longs to be gracious to you. He rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for [trust] him!"7 Did you catch that? Like someone rising out of his chair to come to your help, "He rises to show you compassion." "As for God, his way is perfect...He is a shield for all who take refuge in him."8 "The Lord delights in those who fear [reverence] him, who put their hope in his unfailing love."9

However, God's greatest display of his love and commitment to you is this: Jesus said, "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends,"10 which is what Jesus did for us. And so, "If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since God did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won't God, who gave us Christ, also give us everything else?"11

What about "Unanswered" Prayer?
Certainly people get sick, even die; financial problems are real, and all sorts of very difficult situations can come up. What then?

God tells us to give our concerns to him. Even as the situation remains dismal, "Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you."12 The circumstances may look out of control, but they aren't. When the whole world seems to be falling apart, God can keep us together. This is when a person can be very grateful that they know God. "The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."13 God may provide solutions, resolutions to the problem WAY beyond what you imagined possible. Probably any Christian could list examples like this in their own lives. But if the circumstances do not improve, God can still give us his peace in the midst of it. Jesus said, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful."14

It is at this point (when circumstances are still tough) that God asks us to continue to trust him -- to "walk by faith, not by sight" the Bible says. But it's not blind faith. It is based on the very character of God. A car traveling on the Golden Gate Bridge is fully supported by the integrity of the bridge. It doesn't matter what the driver may be feeling, or thinking about, or discussing with someone in the passenger seat. What gets the car safely to the other side is the integrity of the bridge, which the driver was willing to trust.

In the same way, God asks us to trust his integrity, his character...his compassion, love, wisdom, righteousness on our behalf. He says, "I have loved you with an everlasting love, therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you."15 "Trust in him at all times, O people. Pour out your heart before him. God is a refuge for us."16

In Summary...How to Pray
God has offered to answer the prayers of his children (those who have received him into their lives and seek to follow him). He asks us to take any concerns to him in prayer and he will act upon it according to his will. As we deal with difficulties we are to cast our cares on him and receive from him a peace that defies the circumstances. The basis for our hope and faith is the character of God himself. The better we know him, the more apt we are to trust him.

For more on the character of God, please see "Who is God?" or other articles on this site. The reason for our prayers is God's character. The first prayer God answers is your prayer to begin a relationship with God.

Article by Marilyn Adamson

(1) 1 John 5:14
(2) 1 Peter 3:12
(3) Isaiah 59:1,2
(4) John 10:14,27-28
(5) John 15:7
(6) 1 John 5:14,15
(7) Isaiah 30:18
(8) Psalms 18:30
(9) Psalms 147:11
(10) John 15:13
(11) Romans 8:32
(12) 1 Peter 5:7
(13) Philippians 4:5-7
(14) John 14:27
(15) Jeremiah 31:3 (rsv)
(16) Psalms 62:


© EveryStudent.com

Thanks Red. This post is great. I was so frustrated wondering why people can't see the nose on their face. At least it makes a lot more sense this way. Some type of self preservation (even if it is one of the ego). We can all understand and feel that type of self deception. I may be able to approach this with a little more calm. (only a little)

Hi MorningSong,
Sometimes we see nice words and they seem to confirm something we want to believe. What I see in your first quote is not confirmation of what you want to believe, but a conflicting message.



First God answers prayers and sometime answers no.

This would indicate that God is manipulating our free will in such a way as to make the outcome match what he wants to happen. But this has two problems, first is the problem that free will must then be conditional, based upon what God wants, not what we want. Second that God does not know what's going happen, but needs to intercede to make the plan come out according to design.

Also, within the same quote you used was this:



This actually makes some sense for there is nothing here to indicate that God will infringe on our free will, no is God willing to change what the physical nature of our being had wrought. Only our feelings, our emotions are to be guided.

But the problem is that both these quotes are used for the same purpose of explanation, but they will not serve as they are contradictory. Either God prefoms miricles or not? If God does then where is the 'all knowing' and where does that leave 'free will'?

Hi Rabbit, nice to see ya. People choose what they want to see, just as they choos what to beleive. We can be at opposite ends of an argument, read the exact same article and both find confirimation of our individual opinions. We can do that by 'choosing' not to see what goes against our opinion.

No amount of 'human' logic can prevail against an unwilling ego.

Change is easy when there's nothing to loose, it's more difficult when the ego risks loosing face.

Hi Redykeulous...

God says we have not cause we ask not.
God does not infringe upon our free will.
He won't move til we ask.

Also, I think perhaps the second article I shared above, might help clarify the second question you asked .

GBY Redykeulous...hope this helps a bit in answering your questions.

One thing it is very presumptive to say as in one article above that a person may not be healed because they do not have a personal relationship with Elohim. This simply is not true. Yahweh will have mercy an whoever he wants. Rain falls on the unjust the same as it does the just. Yahweh does not intervien often.What really is a personal relationship with him? Saying I believe does it? Yahweh gives us free will. We must understand also Yahweh gave life and he can take it away.If we realise as the scriptures say over and over that death is like sleep. Then you will realize death can be relief of pain. Why are we here in the 1st place? What purpose does Yahweh have for us? To float around heaven with our harps? No we inherit the earth. We are told the chosen of Yahweh. Are a Royal priesthood. We are in training. Experiencing all that Yahweh wants to put us through for a purpose. No different than Yahshua. He experienced all the temptations and all life has in far greater pain than any of us can even imagine.Yahweh does heal on occasion. I have personally seen it.This non sence of falling backwards during these so called crusades have been prophesied. Not as healings from Yahweh. No it is called a covenant of death. Isa 28. nowhere will u find someone healed in the scriptures fall backwards. No they fall on thier face in praise.So you can rule out any minister who uses this tactic of touching someone and they fall backwards as deception from Satan. Period. People believe these guys and pay for thier circus tricks.paul says angels are all around us. Who has never felt someone was sitting besides them or in the room so much they had to look? I would say most have. Miracles are done all the time. We just do not recongnize them because Yahweh is not into circus acts. Example. One day i had my mind on my work and was reading an electrical drawing as I was walking. Completely oblivious to what was around me. As I was walking for no reason at all I stopped. A large truck came within 2 inches of my head. Yea I know darn, Luck or an angel stopping me? To me I have no doubt i was stopped.Once i turned around and for no reason stopped and a construction ball of about 100lbs skimmed my nose. Think about it. How many times did something happen to where you could of been severly hurt or died that for some unknown reason something stopped u or changed in the blink of an eye. It happens all the time we just do not give credit where credit is deserved. Who you should be upset with and stop are these circus acts that build peoples adrendile up so far they may walk for a short time. But show me any evidence that afterwards when they are gone the pain comes back leaving the person believing it was thier fault. They did not believe enough. Or thier walk was to short. Praise Yahweh he gave us life and listen to the birds every spring morning as they sing praises as the sun has come up and another day has arrived.. Blessings of Shalom...Miles