How does "Free will' and "God's Plan" work with Prayer?
Does God ever intercept at all, ever?
Or is it "free will" when something bad happens but God's plan and prayers answered when something good happens?
2006-09-09 04:55:12 · 26 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
i am glad you asked that !!!! I am so sick of hearing free will crap!!! i want to think that God intercepts...but the evidence of babies being beaten to death,abortions,ect, is way too overwhelming for me.. just the thought of it depresses me to no end.... anyway,i think when good happens. praise God, when bad happens...then I just don't know. But you have given me food for thought....BTW, free will can kiss my butt.... I wish God intercepted all the time... no Titanic sinking, no 9/11, no babies being beaten.. now i will be depressed all day!
2006-09-09 05:01:28 · answer #1 · answered by Dragonflygirl 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Timely question.
I like a lot of the answers above...and they actually encourage me about humanity (although opinionated's response is why religious nuts, of any affiliation, scare me). My prayers usually have to do more with me than God ie: asking for peace in my heart rather than a specific outcome.
You might like to hear a song by Garth Brooks called The Change (I don't even like country). He wrote it in response to the OK City bombings (I think) but everytime I hear it I cry thinking about 9-11.
One hand
Reaches out
And pulls a lost soul from harm
While a thousand more go unspoken for
They say what good have you done
By saving just this one
It's like whispering a prayer
In the fury of a storm
And I hear them saying you'll never change things
And no matter what you do it's still the same thing
But it's not the world that I am changing
I do this so this world will know
That it will not change me
This heart
Still believes
The love and mercy still exist
While all the hatred rage and so many say
That love is all but pointless in madness such as this
It's like trying to stop a fire
With the moisture from a kiss
And I hear them saying you'll never change things
And no matter what you do it's still the same thing
But it's not the world that I am changing
I do this so this world will know
That it will not change me
As long as one heart still holds on
Then hope is never really gone
I hear them saying you'll never change things
And no matter what you do it's still the same thing
But it's not the world that I am changing
I do this so this world we know
Never changes me
What I do is so
This world will know
That it will not change me
Edit
________________
Okay, while I was posting this apparently a bunch of republican bible-thumping conservatives had their say...I think God gives us free will, even the freedom to not believe in Him. And that should be okay. The more people throw their God in other's face (whether it be God, Allah...) the more conflicts there will be (and the more we will anquish about why the world is the way it is).
Everybody be nice to eachother.....please.
2006-09-09 05:12:58 · answer #2 · answered by Beanie 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
How do you really know that God isn't stopping bad things from happening-- what about all the bad things that could happen, but don't? God is a loving God who does answer prayers-- I personally know people who have been healed through prayer and faith-- He works miracles every day. God wants a relationship with each and every one of us-- He has a ton of promises all through the Bible-- it just comes down to whether or not you want to believe and have faith in them.
2006-09-09 05:01:16 · answer #3 · answered by ginyameister 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
If you think very carefully about your very intelligent question, you will discover the problems inherent in this belief in a "physical" Super Being we call God. There is indeed a paradox there, especially when God seems to instigate the bad things. God was very punitive (ten plagues of Egypt) and plagues and floods all over the place..etc. I just fear this God so much I do not want to disturb Him at all.
Sometimes I wonder about the drastic measures God took to resolve issues and God looks like someone unable to solve the Cross word puzzle so he throws the table out of the window with everything on it as well.
No, I have no answer to your question but just to be safe, I don't pray.
2006-09-09 05:05:29 · answer #4 · answered by Pyramider 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Free will is our choice to to anything. God has a plan for us. We need to seek Him for it. Prayer does activate things. It is said God is just waiting for us to ask Him (prayer). He knows what will happen and prayer fits in that way.
2006-09-09 05:00:34 · answer #5 · answered by RB 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
There are times when He intervenes... but, if He stopped all bad things from happening, then He would have to do away with a lot of things>>>
There would be no more things, such as cigarettes, alcohol, fattening foods (burgers, fries, pizza).
No more caffeine>>> (sodas, tea, chocolate)... which causes hardening of muscle tissue in the breast area & prevents lumps from being detected early enough (lost half a breast because of it... it's a really bad experience).
We can pray for the strength to resist the temptation of things with caffeine... & the bad thing (the hardening of muscle tissue) is prevented from happening.
But... do we really want Him to go ahead & do away with all the bad?
Look at it this way>>>
You're a little child & your dad gives you a choice... choose a candy bar (bad) or spinach (good)... what do you choose?
He could stop the bad by only giving you the good... do you want to eat spinach all the time?
Right now, we have the choice of the candy bar... & the prayer of being saved from eating too many.
He gives us the freedom to choose, but wants us to choose the good... when we make bad choices, we have prayer to lean on to help us get out of those situations.
In conclusion... if we're only going to have all good, He'd have to go ahead & do away with all the bad.
That would include all sins too... are we ready for that?
2006-09-09 06:03:17 · answer #6 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Free Will is a gift given to us by God. It is the ability for us to decide for ourselves the course we will take. Along with free will God provided us with a conscience to guide us. In regards to prayer Free Will allows us the opportunity to choose whether or not we will exercise the privilege of Prayer. God does not PLAN he PURPOSES. His Purpose was for this Earth to be filled with goodness and peace. Satan Planned otherwise. God's PURPOSE will be fulfilled. If we open our eyes it is the actions of man that causes all the badness and this is not in harmony with God's original purpose.
2006-09-09 05:20:55 · answer #7 · answered by ? 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It always cracks me up when people say "My prayers weren't answered." I mean, "No" is an answer, right?
I'm not religious so maybe it isn't for me to say, but I think prayer should be used to accept what is going to happen and not merely pray for needs. If God's a smart guy, wouldn't he/she/it already know what you're thinking before you say or pray it anyway?
2006-09-09 04:59:38 · answer #8 · answered by Tommy 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Prayer is more of a way to show your belief and faith in god, you should only ever pray that god will give you the strength to overcome adversities and help you cope, as he won't interfere in what is to happen.
2006-09-09 05:11:23 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
God allows things to happen for a reason and those reasons aren't revealed to us unless He wants that reason to be known to us. Prayer works only if He wants it to work and if we have faith in Him. God answers all prayers in His way and time and in both bad and good situations.
2006-09-09 05:03:19 · answer #10 · answered by dgt1978@verizon.net 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋