So Christians, when someone close to you gets very ill...?

Question

I was just reading this question:
"So atheist,when you or someone close to you gets very ill...?
Do you call on/pray to God for help and mercy?Or do you just let the dice of life fall where ever they may and accept the results? "

It seems to be a normal thing to ask to people who don't believe in a god. It seems to be an assumption that a lot Christians make: the famous 'there are no atheists in foxholes' analogies.

It assumes that I, as an atheist don't have the full trust in what I deeply believe in.

It made me wonder though, since Christians obviously have these assumptions, does it work the same for Christians?

Let's assume somebody close to you is ill, and you pray and pray to God....and the person dies anyway, which means your God didn't answer the prayers in the way you hoped. At the next case somebody gets ill, do you pray to the same God, or do you pick Zeus that time, in hope for a better answer?

Answer 1

I read these answers, and I just want to scream!

If it's all up to "god's will", why pray at all? If we're all just pawns in his game, why do you give him glory? He's toying with us is what you're saying? Prayer makes no difference because he's gonna do it his way anyway? If he's so friggen controlling, why do you honor him?

I just wish people would open their eyes and see!

Markyyy, your question is a good one. I wish people would truly read it and allow themselves to see the truth.

Answer 2

I don't look at it that way. If it is their time who are we to argue. Lets say my mom had a stroke. She is in the hospital. We pray that GOD will heal her but 2 days later she dies. Think about this. What kind of life would she have had if she would have lived. Would she be a vegetable? Could she communicate? we don't know. Only GOD knows. And guess what? God will not give us more than we can bear. And I think My mom being a vegetable would be unbearable.

When I pray for someone and he dies my prayers turn toward the family he left behind.

Answer 3

Pray to the same God because I know that God has a plan I can not see and sometimes the answer to a pray has to be no. For example, my mother died in a car accident. She should not have died because she was not on the side of impact but she did against all prayers. We discovered later that she had an unknown medical condition that would have slowly robbed her of her vitality. Although the accident was difficult to deal with we had to admit the long drawn out death would have been worse.

Answer 4

When I was a pastor, there were many sick people that I prayed for that were not healed and died. This doesn't mean that God doesn't answer prayers. As Christians, we believe that there is more to life then this physical existance. When a Christian dies, that's not the end. We no longer see that person here on earth, but we know that they are with Jesus, and that one day we will be with them again.

Answer 5

As a Christian I pray to God whenever I have a problem, someone is very ill etc...and No He doesn't always answer my prayers in the way I want or expect. But what I have noticed since I have become a Christian, God is faithful.
Bad things happen to all people, it is the sacrifice for free will....God has allowed us to all have free will and so if someone shoots me..it was not God's doing, it was someone else's.

Answer 6

God's ways are higher than my ways. He is infinite God.
God does not answer according to my will but His, and I am grateful for that, because as I look back over my life, I recognise that if God had answered certain prayers when I wanted them to be answered for a positive result, it would have at that time been disastrous. God knows best, He is infinite.

Nine years ago my youngest son lay dieing in a itu unit in our local hospital. Of course I prayed for his recovery along with hundreds of other people. My son sadly died, and I don't understand all the reasons, but what I do know is that I only have the small picture - God has the bigger picture. You see, there is more than just this life. Just days before my son had his accident, although just 12 year old, He gave His life to God, asking for forgiveness of his sin, and asking Jesus to be the leader of his life. For some reason, God saw fit to take him. I miss him dreadfully, and the loss will always be hard, but I have peace in my heart, because I know where He has gone - He is now with the Lord Jesus.

Have you this assurance if you were to die - which you will eventually, because we all will some day. No one knows what a day will bring forth, but are you prepared for eternity?
Serious question, worthy of your thoughts - at least!

Answer 7

Dear Markky,

First let me say that Christians are all at a lot of different places when it comes to their faith. Jesus in his parable of the seeds says of those whose faith are not deeply rooted that they when trials and the worries of this world come- their faith is choked away.

So a lot of Christians if they are not very strong in their faith will blame God or turn away from God because their faith was not deeply rooted.

For the Christians of the Bible who have a strong faith in God there will be times in their lives when they experience things (fair or unfair) which they don't understand. Job said: "Thou he slay me, i will yet trust." Most of the apostles were persecuted greatly and still trusted in God.

i think humanly speaking one of the most agonizing things we can encounter is the death of a loved one. i don't think that's a time to be arguing about theology. i will pray for ill people regardless of their faith. Or let me say i will offer- if it's unwanted then no need to press the issue.

Last week my grandma who is a very strong believer was in the hospital and i prayed for her and she seems to be doing quite well. i also prayed for the doctors to have wisdom and to diagnose her problem well. The lady sharing the room with my grandma was due for a surgery and was very scared so i asked her if i could pray for her surgery and held her hand and prayed. When i went back to visit my grandma, the lady next door was telling me how well her surgery went and just said thank God.

All that being said, the point is not to say whether there is a God or not. We have enough of those types of questions on yahoo answers and there are forums and places and times for that. When it comes to people who are sick in the hospital i think we just all like to see people not suffer (the patient and their loved ones). Prayer i think is a great source of comfort and my personal experience is that God answers prayer.

Hope that helps. Kindly,

Nickster

Answer 8

Good question. As a Christian, I pray for a sick person because I believe that God can cure them. I place that person in God's loving and merciful care and ask that He, in His infinite wisdom, do what is best for them.

I know that sounds like I'm hedging my bets, but I don't know what God's plans are for a person's life and death. I *do* know that the safest place for anyone to be is in the center of His will and that He will be with us, whether we live or die.

I guess it all comes down to admitting my limitations and putting all my trust in His goodness and mercy. His way is always the best.

Answer 9

If anyone prays, it will not hurt the situation. However, God has given men brains to figure out things like medical science. When you see a doctor, thank God for that wisdom also.

Answer 10

I pray to God for every sick or ill person. I pray to God for every brokenhearted or hurt person. It is always best to pray for everyone. It is God's will that we are happy and not suffering. He disciplines us only when we need it for our good. God does everything for our good, regardless of what we think. A curse without a cause does not come so we can bring quite a bit of evil upon ourselves. Consider disease sin.