Week 4: Prayer

Feb 11, 2008 08:17 PM
Bottomline, God wants a relationship with each of us. You, me, children in crisis, atheists, people who hate Him - He wants us all to turn to Him. He never gives up on us. It's we who give up on Him. We turn our backs on Him. We go it alone. We try life without Him. Some are caught up in the pain of another person's life (like, for instance, people who are victims of some sort of abuse), and then they need to make choices on how they're going to live their life despite the circumstances of what's happened to them. But God is always there for them. He hears their prayers. He waits for them to reach out to Him and He does help, quite often in a way that isn't expected. I believe God is always throwing out opportunities for everyone to find Him. That's EVERYONE, not just the "good" people. God always hears our prayers and He always answers our prayers. But sometimes the answer is "no". (that's one of my favorite sayings, btw... it helps ground me in the reality of God's sovereignty).

Feb 11, 2008 11:16 PM
I would probably respond to them with "what do you think?"
I would try to find the root of the questions before I began to answer. I have a "different" lens in which I veiw some things. I would never want to lie to anyone, but at the same time if there really saying " I don't feel like God hears me. What is wrong?" then I may have some different things to talk about.
I know that doesn't really answer the question...I'm afraid to say what I think...

Feb 12, 2008 06:02 AM
There is often an underlying question I think...
On the surface though...
Does God hear? - Yes, He is not unaware of any cry
Does He care? - Yes, supremely, magnificently, beyond words express
Does He help? - Yes, even His greatest enemies receive good things from His hand

The underlying question I sometimes hear, but which never actually gets spoken, is...
How do I obligate God to hear me, to care for me, to help me?

Feb 12, 2008 07:02 AM
Yes, Shea! Good words.
I didn't mean to try to slip by. I'm still prossessing the question.
I have never been asked it.

Feb 12, 2008 08:44 AM
I hear this question, in some form or another, quite often. When "The Power of Prayer" thing was all over Time and Newsweek magazines, it was being asked everywhere.
Movies and music often pose it with a skeptic tone.

I had a new (well, newer...) christian ask me a similar question this just last week - "what good does it do to pray for someone who doesn't want Gods help?"

Feb 12, 2008 04:49 PM
great question...what did you say?

Feb 13, 2008 03:31 AM
I talked about how we were all enemies of God and that while we were still firing off shots at Him, He went to a cross and took our God-hatred and all the rest of the junk on His own back and paid the price for it.

We are all helpless and if God did not help us even when we didn't want His help then none of us would be around to even ask these questions.

Some people tend to believe that "God helps those who help themselves". It's a nice sounding thought, and I like to yank at my bootstraps as much as the next person, but if this were really true God would likely find Himself with no one to help at all...

Feb 16, 2008 01:34 PM
Hi Shea - I think you answered your friends question, "What good does it do to pray for someone who doesn't want Gods help?"in your previous post, "Does He help? - Yes, even His greatest enemies receive good things from His hand." God hears the intercessions of His people, loves everyone the same, and desires that none live eternity separated from Him. Remembering that, sometimes the hard times and mistakes we make are the very catapults to Christ that we need. If we pray for those people to see God's face when heavy choices are upon them, God has an opportunity to answer the prayers of our heart, which in turn becomes a beautiful testimony to His saving grace.

Thanks for the thoughts... Have a good one!