Is there any point in praying for something specific?

Question

If God is a perfect being, then the universe he created must be perfect, therefore he would change nothing.
Also anything changed would affect something else, etc. etc. therefore he would change nothing. So why pray for something to happen? It will or it wont according to Gods original perfect design.
No quotes from the Bible please. And I understand its also about giving thanks by the way. No offence meant..

Answer 1

The world isn't perfect. God is perfect, but earth is full of sin. Ever since adam and eve first sinned. And i know it might be hard for you to grasp because i don't know your religious status, but God knows us inside and out, He knows the desires of our hearts and He will grant those desires if it fits into His plan for your life. He loves to bless us. But He only will if we are walking with Him everyday. It's not the type of thing where you can put God in a box and only talk to Him when you need something. It doesn't work that way. You wouldn't do that to a friend? So why do it to the Man who created you? Besides, He loves it when we talk to him. Even if it's just a few minutes a day. Try it. It's not that hard and you will be blessed for your faithfulness :]

Answer 2

Here's what I think....

The short answer to your question is "No."

You might want to check out the Religious Science version of prayer. It's called Spiritual Mind Treatment. It's about putting your brain in the right place - so things can happen. It's not about asking God for something. You have God within you. Prayer is about tapping into the God within you to get what you want.

Example: Say you want a car. You decide to pray to God to help you get a car. First - you must ask yourself WHY you want a car. Perhaps the answer is: "So I can impress my friends" - and in that case - what you really might want to pray for would be self confidence. Or the answer might be - "So I can get to work everyday." Well - maybe the answered prayer would come in the form of a neighbor who works right near your workplace - and is willing to take you." We don't get to say how the prayer will be answered. In fact - all prayers are answered before they are even muttered. It's our job to recognize the answered prayer.

Prayer happens in our minds. It is not a request of God. It is the act of tapping into our God qualities to see things in a positive light.

Here's how Wikipedia describes Spiritual Mind Treatment:

People can achieve more fulfilling lives through a process called spiritual mind treatment, or affirmative prayer. Spiritual mind treatment is a step-by-step process, in which one states the desired outcome as if it is already known that it has happened. Each step flows logically from the last one. Treatment is to be stated as personal, positive, powerful, and present. The goal is to gain clarity in thinking that guides action to be consistent with the desired outcome. The treatment sets off a new chain of causation in Mind that leads one to act according to the good for which one is treating.

One of the most popular treatment processes includes the following five steps:

Recognition: There is one Spirit. Spirit is all there is. (God is).
Unification: Spirit and I are one. I live, move, and have my being in God. (I am).
Realization: A series of statements affirming/declaring the outcome desired. (I accept).
Thanksgiving: Being thankful that we have received the desired outcome, or something even better. (I am thankful) or (I Give Thanks).
Release: Giving it over to the Law and letting the Law do its work (Let go and let God) or (And So It Is).

Hope this was helpful!

Namaste!

Answer 3

I pray all the time about really insignificant things I'm sure in his sight but that are important to me at the time...example; I needed to know whether to give my son the MMR shots because I felt uneasy about the shots. I prayed and right before the appointment to take him to get the shots I lost my keys so I look for an hour no keys...after the apntmnt was missed I called to explain that I need to reschedule. Right after I got off the phone my keys were immediately found. The appointment came around again and the exact thing happened again! I chalked if up for a prayer answered cause that same day I looked up MMR shot info and found that it can cause type 1 diabetes which I have... Several instances like this have happened in my life! After praying! I know He answers our prayers!!!

Answer 4

Praying to a higher deity is as pointless as juggling your own farts.
No one will hear you , if you want to make a difference go out there and make a change yourself, don't trust in a fictitious being.
If there is a god, hes not concerned with the momentary random whims of a walking stick of calcium, anymore so that a binary mating call of an ant.
Preying seems to be a natural inbuilt mechanism, of us humans. Try not to prey when you are stuck on a raft at sea for 20 days!! I guess it is a last resort for most people.

Answer 5

If you have a fig tree in your heart, you will get figs out of your mouth. But, if you have a vine in your heart, you will never get figs out of your mouth. What comes out of your mouth when you pray indicates what is in your heart.

Deep calls unto deep. Remember that the tongue is a deadly weapon. Obviously, it changes things. But man cannot control it. Only God can.

Think of the bit in the horse's mouth - it controls him;
the rudder in the ship;
the spark that starts a forest fire;
the poison injected into the lifestream.

Same principle as prayer. The tongue has power to cause inestimable damage that might never be undone.

The root of your problem is your heart. Try faith. Confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that you know that God is real, and He is not a mere man that He should lie. His words will never return to Him void.

Have faith...the substance of things unseen, the evidence of things hoped for. If you can't trust God, you certainly can't trust youself...or anyone else, for that matter. Stand on the promises of God.

Answer 6

By praying for something specific...say my right leg to grow out to be the same length as my left leg...and then during the prayer my right leg grows out (instead of my left leg becoming shorter)...that is a faith BUILDER. That is how our faith is built. By God answering SPECIFIC requests.

PS..God DOES answer prayers because my legs are now the same length when they weren't before. There was a 3/4 of an inch difference between the two.

Answer 7

God gives us troubles as a sign of affection. No wait. Listen. If we didn't have problems, we wouldn' talk to God much because we would feel nothing distressing in our lives to ask for help with. He gives trial to those He loves. He loved His Son and Jesus was the most tortured person in the world. He asked 3 times to not be crucified, but it happened anyway, He knew it would. He gave us an example though to ask even when things seem impossible; and to ask many times. Some people asked Our Lord to cure them or their family and he did; but he wouldn't have if they haden't asked. He said "Ask and ye shall recieve" But you won't get anything if you don't ask for anything. He loves to do the will of those who love Him. Their will becomes His will when only good will come of it.

Answer 8

Think of it this way. If you pray for something specific, it just might be in God's plan. If you are His, He likes to give us the desires of our heart.

Answer 9

I prayed for my father's salvation for ten years. I never saw one single bit of evidence that any of my prayers were having any effect whatsoever. But I kept praying.

Four days before he passed away, at age 91, my father was led to faith in Jesus Christ by my sister.

"Is there any point in praying for something specific"? You'd better believe there is.

Answer 10

Everything is as it should be accept that!
Prayer is for giving thanks and continued spirtiual strength. I pray becuase it gives me solace I feel I can release my doubts and fears. The universe will respond to positive thinking.
God is not Santa Claus.