Christians, why do you pray 100 times then if one of the things you prayed for happens?

Question

you think it was because of the prayer, conveniently sweeping under the carpet, so to speak, the 99 times where he didn't answer? This is called propaganda. It is also 'probability' as well.DId you do mathematics at school? Do you really believe your own nonsense when you insult our intelligence with these tales? Can you not see that whatever you prayed for would have happened anyway?

Ed-I was being extremely generous there as it is, but you are quite correct it does not make it impossible. Scientific research has shown there is no proof whatsoever that prayer works also.

Ed-"Don't you know how to shut up and learn from 2.1 billion of the population on earth? "

Sorry? Shut up and don't ask questions-what a healthy mindset you have.

queenbee…You really will say ANYTHING to not admit that it is rubbish, quite comical but really quite sad.

Tina Goo-I commend you for admitting your delusion. You are one of the first.

knockout-You can never prove it. It has been proven otherwise, now go read your bible and be a good boy.

The_Cric-Yes but everyone 'saved' by prayer, one will be saved anyway without. You need to think clearly about this instead of deluding yourself. Good and bad things happen in your world and my world in equal amounts. You are blinkered therefore want to believe there is a god looking after things. Just think about it. I can live the same life as you without the pretence. If prayer worked there would be no problems in the world, saying he answers them randomly is just a fairytale.It is as much sense to say 'if I stare at that wall it will help people get better'-everytime someone gets better I say 'it's because I stared at the wall' It is ridiculous, I hope you will see this one day and join the real world with us!

Answer 1

Our Bible tells us to Pray without ceasing. We are at constant war with the enemy who is trying to keep our answers from getting to us. Daniel once prayed for a length of time and when he got his answer, he found out that the messenger had been trying to get down here with his answer, but he was battling the enemy's angel trying to get here! Never stop praying! Probablility will never be my answer. With man it seems impossible, but with God, all things are possible.

Answer 2

You said something that I've actually wondered about myself, and yes, I'm a Christian. You said:
Can you not see that whatever you prayed for would have happened anyway?

We don't know that. There's just no way to prove it. Perhaps the woman that I knew that was healed of MS would have been healed without prayer. Maybe the aunt of a friend who had breast cancer would have been healed even if my Bible study group hadn't been praying for her. Perhaps the woman I knew who had a fatal heart disease would have been healed anyway. Those are just three instances in a VERY long line of answered prayers. Even science admits that when there's a very long line of coincidence, it may not all be coincidence.

Could positive thinking have done it? Maybe. Perhaps when many people put their minds together, and want the same thing, it can MAKE things happen. Perhaps the human mind is more powerful than we realize. Or...maybe there's a God and He answers prayers.

I've seen too much that can't be explained away by science. I've seen too many things that defy ALL logic. I've experienced too much in my own life that could have ONLY been the work of something greater than myself. This includes the good AND the bad I've lived through.

And I wouldn't dream of insulting your (or anyone else's!) intelligence with "tales." I tell only the truth as I know it. And by the way, I was once just like you. I've only been a Christian for seven months.

Edit: As I said, I've only been a Christian for seven months. Notice, I didn't mention what I was before. Now, I'll go ahead and mention it: I was a skeptic for most of my life (since I was five, though I was scared into becoming a "Christian" at the age of seven by a hellfire and brimstone sermon. Which was WRONG, by the way, and didn't last long.), and an atheist for about seven years.

Do you realize what would happen if EVERYONE got what they were praying for? It would be CHAOS. Some must die, so that others can live. That's just the way it is. There is an order in the world that we can't see, because we CANNOT see the past and future, nor can we see POSSIBLE pasts and futures. Everything in my life has had a specific order, and I had it revealed to me what would have happened if specific bad events had not occurred. Yes, good and bad things happen to everyone. But not too many people are ever able to see the reason for this.

I could go on and on about this, but I don't think that you'll be able to see. We could debate this for years, and never get any closer to convincing each other. I've BEEN on your side. I'm not going back. Not ever, ever again. I've asked my questions, and I've had them answered. I still have questions, sure, but the main ones have been answered.

I PRAY that some day, the same is done for you. I pray that God softens your heart, and helps you understand.

Answer 3

There is one thing I dont really understand about "over" praying too... Religious devotees are supposed to place full faith in their Divinity, and ALL claim that their Divinity are all-powerful, all-Loving.

Therefore, shouldn't devotees only need to pray just ONCE, and then have FAITH and TRUST, in the ALL-KNOWING and ALL-POWERFUL part of that God?

But i find many tend to behave like whiny children in a Toys-r-Us Store when parents ask them to leave without giving them the $500 toy that another kid has in school. Thats where they start whining, pulling, tugging, crying, screaming at the highest possibly pitch in the spectrum demanding for their toy.

Isn't this exactly what we are doing when we pray 100 times a day for the same thing... 1 time is asking, 2 times is pleading, 3 times is begging, 4 times and above becomes doubting and whining isnt it?

Unless prayer is like the Eastern idea of Mantras by reciting over and over a "formula" to focus ones concentration so sharply that the mind is able to affect external events... like how Tibetan Monks are able to Dry soaked robes in an icy environment through just meditation alone...

If THAT is the case, this means one is not depending on a God... but the power of the Human Mind over Matter... but that would make the idea of prayer more self-help than God help wouldnt it?

Answer 4

1. "Yes" is not the only possible answer. There's also "Later" and even, horrors.. "No". I for one am VERY glad that God has not granted everything I asked for in the past.

2. We, being limited in our perception and understanding, cannot always SEE the answers to our prayers, and we don't know how far down the road they may come.

3. Prayer is not simply a mechanism for getting stuff. First and foremost, it's to help us draw closer to God and grow in our relationship with Him, and grow our faith.

*Tiara:
You're right on that point.

Mathew 6:7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

We aren't supposed to whine, beg, and expect God to do exactly what we want. He's not a wishing well, for pete's sake. As I said earlier, all prayer is not asking for something. When the God said pray without ceasing, He didn't mean you had to be ASKING for something the entire time!

Answer 5

Here's the problem with your theory friend, even if only one person in history out of the thousands of individuals who claim to have had it happen ever had their prayer answered it proves that prayer can work. So in fact the burden of proof is on you to prove that every single last one of those was and is a hoax whereas Christians only have to have one answered prayer to blow that theory out of the water


Could you show me where it was proven? I would love to know

Answer 6

Praying just makes a person feel better. And believing it will turn out the way we want makes us feel better.

(Finding out it DIDN'T turn out how we wanted makes us say God didn't want it to turn out that way. Finding out it DID turn out how we wanted makes us happy campers!)

So, over all, we are happier when we pray.

Answer 7

BLA, BLA, BLA, BLA, AMEN.........

Answer 8

hohummm....