Solve this problem for me about prayer?

Question

Solve this problem for me about prayer?
Most prayers, apart from prayers for peoples health, involve affecting free will in some manner (for example if I pray for a job, go to an interview, do my best - a prayer to God that you get that job would be asking God to bend the ear and will of the man with the power to hire you)(if you pray for the return of missing children God has to bend the free will of the one who abducted them
BUT you all keep saying God gives us all free will, he can't interfere with that in any way.
So logically prayer is useless - if God wants to help he can't

Answer 1

Prayer, miracles and life-after-death are simply man-made embellishments to a religion based around a normal bloke that talked a lot of sense. Prayer is a mechanism that has no rational reason and serves no purpose other than to make a person feel hopelessly optimistic and generally wastes precious time out of a persons short life.

Answer 2

If for a few seconds, let us say, we can penetrate God's mind, I think we'll all go crazy. That's the answer, you don't know what God is thinking or planning to do.

But personally, I think God works like a lego. He doesn't need to bend one lego to fit the other coz He custom-fits it and makes sure everyone fits exactly. (Ergo, He fits one situation to fit lots of other situation). It's hard to explain but think of it this way:

If we pray, we submit to His will (not our free-will) coz we acknowledge He knows better than us.

Also, when He answers prayers, we can either be the answer to other's prayer, or our answered prayer can lead to other's prayer being answered. Or His answer to our prayers maybe His way to punish others. There are actually countless possibilities that I cannot enumerate. As I have said, i am not God.

About what you were saying that God will bend the supposedly free will of the abductor if we pray for the release of the abductee, has it occurred to you that God may provide a situation (like somebody saving the abductor's life or what) that will lead him to realize his mistake and change his will 'voluntarily'. He can but He doesn't directly change your heart and bend it, you know.

Answer 3

Actually prayer isn't for getting things from other people, its about talking to your chosen deity and asking for support and strength in your own endeavors. In your Job example, he would be helping you to be the best you can be and show a spark that the interviewer will notice. That doesn't mean he would bend the will of the interviewer, he would still be able to decide against you if he really wanted, or to choose someone else leaving you free to try a different place that might be better for you.

Answer 4

No one can "solve this for you." You have to work it out for yourself. Of course God knows every word we say before we say it. The logic of prayer is that He wants us to be aware of our need and dependence on Him. Where God is, is always "here" and always "now." So he can see all possible outcomes. By praying we are requesting one of those many possibilities. If you pray in full belief, God may not give you what you think you want, if He knows it's dangerous for you in some way.

I suggest you look up "prayer" in a topical concordance (book or online) and do some research in the Bible.

I know you'll probably try to analyse this answer out of existence. That's OK. You still have to work it out for yourself.

Answer 5

Just because you ask does not mean you get what you want. God's will is not always yes to all our request. Second you need to search out what it means by God's will. You are lacking understanding it seems there. Third prayer is communication between Him and you. It is better then a phone line and much better then internet.

Answer 6

Prayer is not useless...Prayer is just like talking to Him. Like a real conversation between humans except this is between God and a human. But God is almost like begging us to as what we want anything!! a new car,computer, even can be a boyfriend or a relationship! anything your heart desires! just say that "I got a blah blah" and keep saying but add some verses like Mark 11:23 John 15:7 Psalm 37 Matthew 6:33. and there are more just keep saying it until you get what you asked.

Answer 7

Divine intervention is independent of free will -- and the methods and resources of God are above and beyond it as well.

In general, God is concerned with spiritual matters and not earthly ones.

Your logic that prayer is useless and that God is impotent in any matter whatsoever does not take into account the all-seeing, all-knowing, all-powerful aspects of the Godhead.

He knows and can change the heart of any person should He choose to intervene.

Answer 8

Allow me to ask.
Why pray?
If we pray to tell God what we want, then we would be god instead God being God.

God will do what he wills to do.

Then why pray?
Because praying is a command.
Because praying is a huge act of relying on God, that what will happen will happen because God permits it to happen due to the free will of man.

To those who answered and commented on this question, who do not believe in prayer or God.
You cant answer the question, because it is irrelivant to you.

Answer 9

Do you see why prayer is so important? It is not a small thing we ask, when we request that our all-powerful loving God change things.

He said "PRAY"...just obey!

My grandparents died in the Holocaust during WWII because they were Jews. They prayed. But God set up his world, with His WORD that there would be freedom for man to have dominion over "free Choice".

Many Jews condemned Him for those MILLIONS of martyrs, but out of that horror came a willingness to recreate Israel.

He said "PRAY"...just obey!

I KNOW prayer changes things, but only your ow experiences will convince you!!!

We'll understand it all someday. For now, we obey. He said "PRAY" so we do.

Perhaps because WE are His hand extended, until He returns, and He would have us grow into the role of "DOers of the Word", allowing US to make a difference for the better!

Perhaps because it changes US. A man who rises from prayer changed, hs had his prayer answered!

or ... Perhaps because prayer helps us to FINALLY "hear" His good advice ...with our heart (no our ear).

Perhaps because He's doing a survey on how to make Paradise a HEAVEN for us. Don't laugh! He listens to you!!!

It is "not ours" to reason "WHY?" To leave this hard "school of life" on earth we all will die! Can we just LEARN to obey our LORD?!?

He said "PRAY wihout ceasing"...maybe we'd avoid our own folly if we were asking His will as we chose our path. Yes, even on small choises that can lead to big consequences!

Perhaps because our "conscience" and/or "gut instinct" is His way of helping us IF we focus on His will, which prayer and meditation helps us to do.

He said "PRAY"...just obey!

Answer 10

Whatsoever you bind in earth is bound in heaven. This is in the Name of Jesus Christ our Lord & Savior.

So, in prayer in spirit in truth. Especially in a prayer group, to bind the man who kidnapped the child, that he can't harm the child, That the child will be freed, etc... Sadly, sometimes we hear the news after child has been murdered. But taking Christian authority over evil, is realizing our Christian authority in Christ.

Right now, I have prayed to bind the Taliban regarding their kidnapping Chrisitan South Korean Missionaries. Though some were murdered, we, as Christians, need to take supernatural authority over these evil taliban people. These Korean Christians Missionaries need to be set free. We need to agree together in prayer in this. And also for the persecuted Church elsewhere. To bind the taliban from harming the hostages. That the hostages will be set free. (And we don't need to do an exchange by letting prisoner taliban free from jail in exchange.)

God gives us free will to choose God or reject God; to obey God or disobey God. But there is the power of the Saints agreeing together in prayer. When praying abiding in the Spirit of Truth & honest from our hearts. Delighting in the Lord.

Right now the Church is being awaked to our authority in Christ, so I think your question is good. We need to take the authority Christ has given to us. And make a change in our world. A change to free the captives. To open blind eyes. To open the ears of the deaf. Right now there is prophecied that God is doing medical miracles along with other types of miracles. There are new cures for diseases. Etc...


Prayer & praise is never useless. Jesus said that if you have faith of a mustard seed, you can move this mountain from here to there. This is growing seed/faith, that comes from hearing & hearing a word about God &Christ. This is abiding in Christ love & Gods Word. This is delighting in the LORD & His Word & His Presence. Delight yourself in the LORD & He shall give you the desire of your heart.