Why do some people think God helps them and others don't?

Question

Is it because some people pray and feel that their prayers are answered, and others pray and don't? If so, are there differences in the way they pray that could account for the variable results?

If a person who doesn't attend church prays, are their prayers as likely to be asnwered as those of someone who does?

Sorry to keep adding details but I find this point quite confusing. I will pray for clarification and look forward to your answer.

Answer 1

God hears all the prayers of the righteous, whether in church or not. But consider the following:

A Christian hunter is hunting bears in the woods. While walking up a hill he grabs a branch for leverage and it breaks sending the hunter tumbling down the hill, gun flying off elsewhere. When the hunter dusts himself off he sees a huge bear charging him. The hunter begins running, but trips and falls, landing on his knees. Seizing the opportunity, and being a good Christian, the hunter begins to pray, "Lord, make this bear a Christian."

The woods are quiet, the hunter turns and, Hallelujah! He sees the bear on his knees, paws together, praying! Listening, he hears the bear praying, "Father, bless this food to my body."

The point here is that God answers prayers of the righteous, but the answer you get may not be the answer you wanted, BUT it will always be the right answer.

Use the following pattern for your parayers:
Adoration, Contrition, Thanksgiving, and Supplication (ACTS).

Answer 2

Wow such a deep question on Yahoo... that is cool actually. I am not an authority or anything however I think it is really a matter of blind faith. Belief in God is to have faith. Belief in God in your life is to have blind faith. The stronger your belief in God the more you are to realize his works in your life.

God works in everyones life to some degree or another. The simple fact that you were born attests to that. Faith and belief is a choice. Otherwise we would all walk around like mummys and there would be use for heaven or hell or life or death. I personally believe all prayers are answered. Sometimes the answer is NO. That is the thing that most people have a hard time with.

I also believe that you can be a believer and not attend church. To attend church and surround yourself with like minded believers is good but not required to have belief or even to recieve forgiveness of sins. The main reason for church is to have a coming together of the body of Christ so that we can rejoice in the Lord together and get a reneweal of the spirit together. Think of it like this. Have you ever hung out with someone who had a bad habit for a long time. At first you may have thought, Man that is a bad habit however after a while it became acceptable to you because it became ingrained in your psyche that the person you were with was going to do it anyway so you might as well accept it. Church is the same basic principle. If you walk with the world everyday and dont hang with other believers then you may forget what the whole idea of the belief in God is about.

Hope I didnt bore you too much.

Thanks

Answer 3

I think it's easier for someone to believe in "faith" that God will answer their prayers, and someone of a 'human' nature, won't because 'people' are harder to trust, get support from, or who can do the job right.
Even to those who don't attend church, or who believe in God, do some kind of praying, or 'asking their higher power for help', and maybe they truly believe that they'll get the answers they need, if they do this, regardless of what they believe.
I am not religious, in that sense. I think eveyrone is responsible for their actions and how their lives carry out.
I don't pray for things, or ask for guidance, from God, because as far as I'm concerned, if I can't 'see' this "God", then he doesn't exist, in my eyes. I'm one of those 'see to believe' kind of person, and I think if I need something done, or an answer I'm seeking, only I can provide those things, within myself.
God didn't give me a job, or hand me all that I've earned. I made that choice on my own. I have a friend who truly believes that the reason she's not working, is because she 'prayed' about it, and because God didn't put a job on her lap, that she felt it was God's intention that she wasn't 'ready for work'....it's obsurd, I know, but I'm not into that praying bit. I'm obviously not a bible-thumper, and I don't think God answers prayers. We all do what we need to, in order to find the answers we're looking for.

That's my opinion, anyway.

Answer 4

I find that asking or answering religious questions gets you thumbs down every time. People like to think they are sensitive to the topic but, not so much. My opinion....is that your individual results are based directly on what you ask for. I pray but I quit asking a long time ago. It's going to be no matter what. It all boiles down to (in my opinion) what you do in this life. You know in your heart if something is not right unless you are truly sociopathic. Yeah, it is confusing. There is no right answer because everyone thinks they are the only right ones.

Answer 5

Like the bible says, see kand you will find- especially wit hprayers. I think the most important reasons for unanswered prayers are:
- someone not having a true relationship with God. do the yask for a new car, money, or for something like good health for an enemy or their neighbor ? If someone doesn't involve God in their life- live for him, He doesn't want anything to do with them, in time.
- repetitive prayer, with no heartfelt meaning. God cannot be fooled, people are so stupid that they think if they repeat a prayer 100 times, he listens 100 times more. In fact, He ignores these people and their rantings.
- Last, but not least, prayer in the way Jesus taught us in his Sermon on The Mount, He tells us to pray through Him, to God, so we should always end prayers with : 'In Jesus' name, Amen.'

All of that is biblical. Hope it helps !

Answer 6

It's a heads I win, tails you lose situation. If someone prays for a benificence, and gets it, the prayer worked. If one didn't get it, one didn't pray enough, or the right way, or stepped on a crack on the sidewalk, or.... The possibility that there was nobody on the other end of the line is never considered.

Answer 7

Personally, I believe that prayer is an expression of hope.
Does God answer prayer? Yes and no. To the extent that we hope for the fulfillment of the will of God and perfect our understanding of his will, our prayers will be answered. It is not that God hears our supplications and responds directly - prayer is an exercise in conforming our minds to what will already take place, whether we pray for it or not. Prayer is meant to provide us with a better understanding of the purposes of all things.

Answer 8

some people doubt in the existence of god altogether, and therefore won't support the claim that He helps them. some also pray for things that they can't or aren't meant to have, and therefore blame God when He doesn't give it to them.

no, God is just as likely to answer the prayers of a non-churchgoer than a churchgoer. He doesn't really care HOW we practice Christianity, just that we practice it.

Answer 9

you shouldnt look down on others likelyhook b/c their beliefs are different from yours. I dont go to church but I have my own relationship with God. Hes made all my dreams come true. Hes changed my life a great deal. I was baptised catholic but I dont study catholicism and I dont much understand it. I dont have strict beliefs. I only go by what I believe. GOD loves me no matter how i practice my faith b/c I live my life the best I can, doing what I think he'd be proud of.
If people dont think God helps them, they are mistaken. God has his way of helping people. they just need to upon their eyes to all the possibilities.

Answer 10

i think alot of it has to do w/the devil. he doesnt want any 1 to get close to God so he confuses them and clouds their minds w/falsehood. God answers prayers when He sees fit. He doesnt work on our time, He works on His and thats why ppl get confused. they think their prayers will be answer just as soon as they pray, but God doesnt give u something until He nos ur ready to have it and ur strong enough to defend it. if ur not strong enough to defend it then satan will come and take it away hoping u will blame God.