A woman is in great distress because of the illness of her child. She prays to God to heal her. Another woman is in great distress because she did not receive from her husband that new Mercedes. She prays to God to change his mind. Both are in actual emotional pain. Let's assume a God who is aware of human suffering. Does God ignore some human suffering? Let's extend this to prayer. Are some sincere prayers not even heard by God? ie, "dear God, I'm hungry, please help!"...."dear God, please help me win the ball game!"
2006-12-18 13:36:13 · 8 answers · asked by quidproquo888 3 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Philosophy
You're putting your finger on it! It's all made up. The only difference between god and santa claus is that your parents told you the latter wasn't real when you turned 7.
2006-12-18 13:44:50 · answer #1 · answered by jd 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Emotional pain feels the same but it's not equal pain in God's eyes. God is aware of human's pain and suffering but he doesn't believe in rewarding people with material or earthly things unless he doesn't approve that this person should be in this predicament. Sincere prayers are always heard but winning a ball game isn't important because it's earthly bound.
2006-12-18 13:45:37 · answer #2 · answered by Dimples 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
All prayer is heard by God, contrary to the "thinking" of Ronin. I have, after decades of living, learned that God doesn't always answer prayers the way we want Him to. Oftentimes people say that when we get less than or none of what someone prays for. And I guess that goes for me as well, since I've "not gotten" a lot of what I prayed for over the years. But where I am in my life today, I am damnn sure that God not only answers prayers, but often answers prayers that haven't even been made. My life is a perfect example of that. Oh, there's plenty I still do not have, like a Porsche, or '67 Vette, or my own private jet, or a few extra millions of dollars to spend, or the reversal of time so I can go back and correct things that didn't go my way, but, the woman I'm married to now, which is definitely not my first wife, is an answer from God that I wasn't even smart enough to ask for, and other things in my life have truly fallen my way, and I never asked for it, or, if I did, it was one of those "in-my-wildest-dreams" type of prayer, and it's like God saying to me, "You see, I haven't forgotten you. Oh I didn't give you EVERYTHING you asked for, for various reasons, but you've paid the price for your sins, some of them anyway, and I want to bless you for your endurance and your belief. Not that you've been my greatest follower, but you've done okay by Me." But, I know A LOT of prayers, mine and others, that have not been answered, at least not the way the praying one has asked for them to be answered, and I, for one, have come to understand that I'm NOT "the alpha and omega", and I don't have all the answers. And some suffering, maybe a lot of suffering, is allowed to continue, for reasons neither you or I or Ronin can understand, but, please believe me, God hears your prayers, everyones' prayers. He just chooses to anwer them differently. And He intends to "reward" or bless all of us according to His wishes as well. God Bless you.
2006-12-18 13:57:31 · answer #3 · answered by ? 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There's something wrong with the idea of petitionary prayer. It is horribly egotistical and selfish. "God, please violate the laws of nature, make an exception for me." But God's nature is the same for all, (Matt. 5:45) the sun shines and the rain falls on good and bad alike. Jesus begged to be let off the hook in the Garden of Gesthemane, just like any selfish human. But being Christ, he finished it saying "Thy Will be done." If prayer has any useful purpose it is to realign us with God's Will, to open us to acceptance of the way of life. If you see God as Father of all that is, then he is also Father of loneliness and pain (as Dylan sings it) as well. How equal that pain is in God's "eyes" only God knows. If your baby is crying because he dropped his pacifier and your 5-year-old daughter is crying because her older brother took her doll, how equal (or not) is that pain in your (father) eyes? It's just kids being kids, right? How much more so for God?
2006-12-18 14:48:40 · answer #4 · answered by Philo 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
God hears all prayers. He says...yes, no, or wait.
I don't believe that God micromanages
Prayer is a conversation.....You need to have a conversation to have a relationship. A prayer to God i sn't just for petition, but to be in relationship with.
2006-12-18 16:06:43 · answer #5 · answered by clcalifornia 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You write, "Let's assume a God who is aware of human suffering."
Why should we make such a rash assumption, especially as it cannot be proven or verified?
Until you can verify the existence of God, it does little good to talk about the attributes of God.
2006-12-18 13:45:37 · answer #6 · answered by Alan Turing 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Prayer is completely useless.
You might as well ask the tooth fairy to change her mind.
2006-12-18 13:38:03 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Yes.
Cause its your pain, not his.
The same way you can feel for someone in agony, but not feel his/her agony.
2006-12-18 21:28:01 · answer #8 · answered by Saffren 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋