Whenever you ask Christians about things like disasters, the death of innocent people, temptation, etc, their response is, "God gave us free will."
In other words, they are saying that what we do to ourselves, and this planet, is entirely up to us.
But at the same time, Christians also say that you can "pray" to god for things... resistance from temptation, recovery from illness, safety of a loved one in a disaster, and that sometimes (but not always) god will intervene.
So which is it? And how does it work? Is it how hard you pray? How often? How many pray together? Is it Luck? Chance? Your faith? Piousness?
For that matter... wouldn't it then be in our best interest to start to pray for a reduction in global warming right now? How about the national debt? Iraq? Bush growing a brain? Why don't the scientists all bow down and pray at mission control when the Space Shuttle approaches?
Should I pray to Taco Bell so my next burrito isn't tainted?
2006-12-29 12:26:45 · 26 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
prayer steps
Prayer is the way we communicate with our Father in Heaven. Heavenly Father is always willing to listen to your deepest feelings and concerns. You wouldn’t talk to your best friend by following a rigid written text, nor would you do all the talking. It is the same with prayer. Don’t worry too much about the “mechanics” of your prayer. Just open up your heart and speak to Him.
A simple prayer should follow four basic steps:
1.Address God as “Father in Heaven” or “Heavenly Father.”
2.Thank Him for the things for which you are grateful (“We thank thee for . . .”).
3.Ask Him for what you need (“We ask thee . . .”).
4.Jesus is the mediator (1 John 2:1) between us and Heavenly Father, so close your prayer by saying, “In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.”
These steps to prayer serve adults and may be easily taught to children.
You can pray for your needs maybe if you need resistance for temptation relief with faith may come. If you dont need it then your just saying worthless speech.
global warming is our problem its like you and your family making a bomb and it is ticking away, then you go and pray for it to go away. lol global warming is a silly issue that we need to fix. the rest of that list is silly.
this is how god can answer our prayers
Yes, God does answer our sincere prayers. Sometimes answers come through:
His Spirit, which gives us feelings or thoughts and ideas.
Other people.
The scriptures.
Occasionally, the answer may not come immediately or may not be the answer we hoped for. Our vision is limited. God’s is not. As a loving Father, He will answer our prayers at a time and in a way that He knows will help us the most.
2006-12-29 12:30:11 · answer #1 · answered by jared l 4 · 3⤊ 0⤋
see now ure not making sense cause prayer is simply asking God to come in and save u, free will is God cant make u live for Him but He can open ure heart to u, and God isnt bound by free will He can do anything He can intervine and take over, but see thats not free will Hes just simply doing what we ask.
OH and "wouldn't it then be in our best interest to start to pray for a reduction in global warming right now? How about the national debt? Iraq? Bush growing a brain? Why don't the scientists all bow down and pray at mission control when the Space Shuttle approaches?"
with that statement u said He doesnt always answer our prayers if its not in our best interest he would answer a prayer asking for "Dear Lord can u help me find a good porn site" thats CRAZY talk think before u say things
2006-12-29 20:36:02 · answer #2 · answered by lUcY~LiZzIe 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Being an uncommon Christian, I give very little thought to 'free will'. I serve my Father only. I agree it is in our best interest to pray for an end to the devastation being done to God's creation and the suffering of humanity. I pray that president bush start using the brain God gave him or at least stop him from claiming to be doing God's will. There are scientists who pray and I would definitely say an extra prayer before I ate food from Taco Bell.
2006-12-29 20:41:42 · answer #3 · answered by rezany 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Wow, you have been fed a line and a half. Free Will is about whether or not we accept the FACT that Christ died for our sins so that we can be released from the penalty of sin...which is death and separation from God forever. God loves us and has no desire to see all the bad that goes on. We can walk in constant communion with Him and give Him our lives because we are grateful that He loved us so much He didn't give us what we really deserve. The fingers you typed your question with were created by Him and He is fully aware of your thoughts. I pray you get saved and learn what true fellowship with God is. I don't know where I would be without Him and His grace and mercy. I live in the jungles of the Amazon and I can tell you first hand that even when my "free will" caused me to choose against His will, He came along, picked me up and helped me back where I was supposed to be. He is our shepherd. If you know what "casting" is as far as sheep are concerned it would teach you a little about what kind of God created you, loves you and wants to save you. IJohn 1:9.
2006-12-29 20:36:15 · answer #4 · answered by Sheri E 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I will start at the bottom, it certainly will not hurt to ask God to bless your food. But if you feel in your insides to not go to a certain restaurant or fast food. follow that lead. God is always busy trying to help us. If you have read the Bible,l maybe you noticed even Jesus said He could do no miracles IN his home town because of unbelief. Well we live in a time that has very little belief in the Christian God. Free will means we are not Robots.we can choose. And you are asking questions that have no easy answer. People have spent their lives pondering them. But one thing is certain. Real holiness, is more conducive to miracles than a mislived life. But being our God is not just a set of rules or superstitious ideas, but a living being, the answers have to be He does it how He knows is best for His purposes. And that is probably the rub. We want our own way mostly. It pays to pray anyway. You may be asking for one thing, but God will be giving you grace. You may even come to recognize it.
2006-12-29 20:38:40 · answer #5 · answered by swamp elf 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Not if you have the mind of Christ when you pray. He taught us how to pray and to submit to the Father's will for our lives as well.
Free will means God does not force us to accept redemption through His Son Jesus Christ. His Spirit draws us but we can reject Him. In the big scheme of things, satan has deceived many into doing his will which is to steal, kill and destroy. Make no mistakes, he has to get permission to tempt God's servants in any way just like he did with Job when he let down the hedge of spiritual protection to try him. Job said "Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him." Jesus was tempted in the desert. He always answered with the Word of God and didn't sin.
We choose to live right and God gives us the grace to do so. We are told not to bring our gifts to the alter if we even think our brother has something in their hearts towards us. If that's the case, we must first make it right before God will accept our prayers. (cell phones come in handy here for apologies!) Our righteousness comes from having our sins under the blood of Jesus Christ who is our High Priest. We can then pray "Our Father, THEN: The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Matthew chapter 6 gives specific instructions how to proceed. Believe me, when I need urgent help from the Lord, I just talk to him like it's 911 and He's my best friend and you know what? He hears me every time! I can call Jesus anytime! So can you!
Sickness: can be to test our faith, a sickness from sin, a sickness to glorify God when He heals it, a sickness unto death because it's our time to go home or to bring us to repentance, a sickness can be an attack of satan also, and it can be the natural law of reaping and sowing and the fact that this earth is cursed and we are not meant to live forever.
Prayer doesn't replace action. Faith without works is dead. You don't tempt God with prayer or try to control the spirit of God. That's scorcery. I know many testimonies of miraculous healings, yes in our day. Less than two weeks ago a lady was healed of high blood pressure.
2006-12-29 21:31:44 · answer #6 · answered by Lovin' Mary's Lamb 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You started off well.
You ended up silly.
First: Do not confuse Christianity with Christendom.
So many people calling themselves christian don't know what they are talking about.
Their explanations are full of holes because they do not really know the scriptures.
They are a facade.
The disasters in the world exist due to 1 John 5:19
"The whole world is lying in the power of the wicked one."
Blame Satan ....its his world.
God will answer some prayers, but there are conditions.
2006-12-29 20:41:15 · answer #7 · answered by Uncle Thesis 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
First off free will is what we chose to do... like a parent wants their kids to behave and follow the rules.. but of course the kids will ultimately do what they want.. and a parent cant force them... kids will do things behind their parents back.
Prayer... is our choice again. and asking the Lord for help or answer to our request.
We use the term the act of God.. and that is more in environment not in people.
As far as illnesses.. and accidents... we bring those on our selves.. We dont understand why a baby would be born blind or etc.. and say he or she is so innocent... yet if the mother had unsafe sex and got clemedia.. which can cause blindness in babies.. that is on the parent.. we bring that on that mess. And then blame God!
We never want to be accountable!
2006-12-29 20:34:24 · answer #8 · answered by Esther J 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The free will we have in regard to prayer is that we have the request to pray and we can decide to answer that request or not answer it.
Some prayers are answered the way we want and some are not. But all are answered according to what is best for us, and that is God's will, that we get what is best.
He didn't say "best" would be easy, but just that He would give us the strength we need and that he'll be waiting for us after we die.
The power of prayer is very great. So our prayer should be "Thanks, Give courage and faith, spread love and comfort, forgive us and your will be done in all things".
2006-12-29 20:38:10 · answer #9 · answered by a_phantoms_rose 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes, it is a good habit to ask God to bless your food - and to bless the poor workers at Taco Bell who make your food.
And it is right to pray for those in authority - including our President. and it is right to pray that men will make wise decisions regarding the environment.
But your generalities about what Christians say and believe, about what prayer is and isn't are all wrong.
god bless
2006-12-29 20:34:22 · answer #10 · answered by happy pilgrim 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋