Does god ever actually say "no" to prayer?

Question

if god has a plan for everyone's life then does he ever actually answer prayer? it would seem to me that god would already have planned for you to survive surgery, or to get that parking spot, or whatever, which means that it really isn't miraculous... it would have happened whether or not you asked. finally, if it is as easy for god to part the seas as it is for him to allow a dying man to die, wouldn't they both be equally as miraculous?

don't mistake my point here, guys. i'm not saying god exists... but for those who believe, i am calling out this god on why saving a childs life is a miracle when letting a dying child die isn't.

MR. ED
if the baby falls, was god surprised? did he know that the events leading up to that happening would occur? then he allowed events to lead me to be nearby thereby allowing me to save the baby. both the fall and the saving of the baby would be, then, god's doing. right? so how is it an answer to prayer if god was going to do it anyway? god's will circumvents the need for prayer. "all that occurs is god's perfect will. all prayer that is unanswered is part of that will. all prayer that is answered is part of that will." prayer, then, is pointless. AND, the "yes" answers are equally as miraculous as the "no" answers.

WHYNOT
precisely my point. should a member of the parade route ask the one who designed the route if he could please turn right on 5th? of course he could ask that, but if that was already part of the route, then the answer would be yes. but not because the guy asked. if it wsn't part of the route, the answer would be no. not because the guy didn't have enough faith, but because the route was predetermined. therefore... prayer is pointless.

THEMOM
first, is our free will stonger than god? does god answer to our free will? does he sit and wait to find out what we will choose? or does he know already. does he also put us on this earth for a purpose? if so, then he must know exactly how you'll fit into the "puzzle" of life. that means that you may feel you have free will to do as you please, you are only doing exactly what god already knew you would do. no parent has that kind of knowledge over their kids. their kids' free will IS greater than the parent. but if god is the greatest he cannot exist inside linear time, for that would mean that time was greater than god, and he cannot be surprised when we do things. finally, that means then that what happens now would have happened whether you asked for it, or not.

SOFA
you have gone so far out of the realm of free will by saying that god even tells us what to pray for? that's odd considering that you are praying to him. he is telling you what to ask of himself. also, if prayer is just for the building of faith, shouldn't we never pray for healing and such? shouldn't it always be a prayer consisting of "i believe because i believe" type stuff? this also negates jesus when he said (more than once) that you would receive WHATEVER you ask for in prayer (Matthew 7:7, Matthew 17:20, Matthew 21:21, Mark 11:24, John 14:12-14, Matthew 18:19 and James 5:15-16.). But if jesus was lying when he said these things, he can't be god.

anyway, my point still is shouldn't we be as thankful for a devestation like Katrina as we are for grandma getting out of surgery alive and well?

Answer 1

Hundreds of millions prayed for your god to stop Hitler before he caused 30+ million to die during WWII and he did NOTHING. A simple little blood clot would have done the trick, say in 1934, but NOOOOOO. If this god of yours could turn a good woman into a pillar of salt for looking over her shoulder, why couldn't he answer the prayers to end evil. Either your god is heartless, powerless, both, or does not exist at all.

Answer 2

We are neither predestined nor ignored in prayer. Sometimes God says yes, sometimes no, and sometimes He says wait. I do not believe God dabbles in our everyday lives in the way that most people may think. We are agents of free will, and the issue is whether or not I am obedient. Me personally. And so what God gives me in answer to prayer is strength. Patience. Humility. And do you know how I GET those qualities? With leaning upon God in honest conversation during the trials and concerns of this life. Think of it this way. Are you a parent? If so, just because you have a plan for your child, does it mean they will follow it? Will you stop loving them if they don't? Will you approve if they are living an immoral, or dangerous lifestyle? Will you accept them into your home if they are repentent of wrongdoing? That's God, sugar! And that he gives us the choice, THAT'S miraculous!! It's up to us to pray for the right things.

Answer 3

I guess the best way to put it, if you do pray, is that some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers, not a "No" but simply heard and left alone, that's how I feel at least, but I was hardcore Christian at one time and prayed each and every day, during this time I watched a lot of my loved ones die horrible deaths, lonliness, extreme illness, greed from the rest of my family and homelessness, not one prayer answered during the whole time, but I still believe in God, and I can only Hope that my faith will get me out of suffering some day....

Answer 4

God always says yes to prayers. You have to be led by the Holy Spirit to know what to pray for. The Holy Spirit instructs believers what to pray for. When we pray it is God that tells us what to pray for so prayers are always answered. That's how faith is built. God will often instructs us to pray and believe things we think are impossible, but if we are obedient and exercise faith he will bless us with what we ask for. It is impossible to please God without faith. That's why God is not trying to prove he is God. If it can be proven, there is no need for faith. Then God will have no stage to reveal his glory in our lives. God exists for his glory. We are to be glorified for his sake.

Sin prevents us from hearing from the Holy Spirit. Because sin is pleasing to the flesh. Sin relies on the 5 senses. When we live in sin we rely on what we see, feel, hear instead of the spriritual blessings of God. People who live in sin prayers are hardly ever answered because they know not what to pray for because they can't hear the voice of God. Stay close to God, he will reveal his will to you. Then all we have to do is pray his will.

God has a wonderful plan for each of us. If we follow his plan for our life our prayers will always be answered. Even the bad things that happen in my life are used for good. The low points is when he gets our attention and speaks to us. We pray and then he delivers us to a higher place than where we were before.

There are no today, or tommorrows for God. He has already completed us. He knows our weaknesses and he will often manipulate the route because he knows the decisions we will make because he knows the desires of our hearts.

Answer 5

God does have a plan. And He also ordained the means to that end. If He has ordained a certain thing to take place in answer to prayer...then that ordained event will not take place without ordained prayer.

And God does say no sometimes. And I am so thankful that He does. I thank Him that many of my prayers have been refused. I have asked amiss and have been rejected. I have prayed from lusts and been rejected. I have longed for Egypt and been given a wilderness. In His wise counsel, He has said no to many of my vain prayers & has fit me to accept it.

Answer 6

God lets us have free will, He doesn't direct every minute detail of our life's. We make our own choices.

And God answers prayers according to His will.

While the planet is still under the influence of the devil there will always be death and sorrow. But that will all end when Jesus returns...

Have a great New Year!

Answer 7

Yes-when it is against HIS will.

nope.
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Salvation
Imagine standing on the roof a ten-story building. A parade is going to start in the street below. It forms, it begins, and it travels the parade rout length and then disperses. All this happened in your view.
This is the way OUR GOD sees us! Before our birth HE knows the complete and whole story! But HE also orchestrated our "parade rout" before we were even born. That is called PREDESTINATION. Before we were even born HE knew everything.
Romans 8: 30. Ephesians 1: 5. Ephesians 1: 11.

Answer 8

when u do good an overall outlook on ones life is generally good. god does not control circumstance as a parking spot or a dying man from mans self infliction. but he can heal and yes it is just as significant as he sees all as equal. self infliction of mans death is is like, war, smoking,drinking, poisoning are bodies with all the impurities as even the food we eat.etc. not many live to the age of the lords word. but no he wont pass by prayer

Answer 9

I've only made an offering to a porcelain God twice in my life due to drinking (now the flu and food poisoning are a different matter), but the offering was made the same night and it was made with no request from my side. In fact, I remember laughing even when the Sloe Gin washed up through my nostrils. I was fine the next day.

Answer 10

You know neither the scriptures nor God. The bible says that God is not the ruler of the world. Satan is. 1 John 5:19. Adam and Eve, by their disobedience, said that they did not need God to rule them. To decide for them what was good or bad. God stepped aside to allow mankind to try to rule. God is there to help stregthen us while Satan rules and causes all the world problems and tortures mankind. Soon God will take back rule from Satan. Then he will restore the earth to the paradise he intended for it to be in the first place. God will make it up to mankind for all of the problems Adam and Eve brought to the earth. Never again will God allow mankind to try to rule themselves. This issue will be resolved for all eternity.

Answer 11

Yes, God says "no" to prayer, quite often in the Bible - not to mention in our individual life experiences.
We are not looking for miracles, but for a relationship with God.
If I ask God to help me get a certain job, and I get the job, it is not a miracle, but it is a positive answer to prayer.
To get an unexpected cheque for $20 in the mail is quite ordinary. To get an unexpected cheque for $20 in the mail right after I have asked God for exactly that amount, well that points to a God who listens and answers, doesn't it? And if that kind of thing happens fairly frequently, it becomes hard to point to coincidences.
Now about
God's sovereignty, and his plan for everyone's life:
You are quite right, he does have a plan for our lives. But we are not robots. For instance, if a baby falls off the dock into the lake, and you are standing nearby, surely if he plans for that baby to live, his means will be you jumping into the lake to get the baby out.
In the same way, when we pray for things, that can be His means of accomplishing His plan. James said: "you have not because you ask not, and when you ask you ask in the wrong way to accomplish your selfish motives" (James 4:1-2, my paraphrase).
So we must ask, so He will act. In the same way we must jump into the lake after the baby, for him to accomplish his purpose in saving the baby's life.
No room for idle fatalism in God's sovereignty.