is an individual prayer not good enough? does it not get answered if there aren't several people praying? does God keep a point system? the more people that pray, the more willing He is to answer?
2007-09-23 15:37:24 · 21 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Prayer requests don't bother me as much as the utterly idiotic reasons people give for them. One girl just asked people to pray for her because her friend may be mad at her.
I mean really with the genocide in Darfur and the War in Iraq doesn't it seem more than a little selfish to bother God with your preteen melodrama?
2007-09-23 15:49:33 · answer #1 · answered by Pangloss (Ancora Imparo) AFA 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Not a bad question. Of course there's no point system. For that matter, why ask at all? Doesn't God already know?
In both cases, the answer is the same: prayer primarily changes you, not God. And if there are 10 people praying, all 10 have the opportunity to be changed by God. That's why we give prayer requests.
Contact me personally to talk more.
2007-09-23 22:42:41 · answer #2 · answered by Gary B 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
oh no! Prayer request don't even have to be public!
it's just a way to communicate to God what you want to fix or whatever...and yes God does already know all this stuff but He likes it when you tell Him about your day and what you want answered. And praying alone is just as powerful as praying with a group of Christians. No god doesn't keep a point system...God is always willing to help but it also depends on if you are praying selfishly, because God will still answer but sometimes He may just say no or wait.
Thats what God said to me when wanted this guy at my church to ask me to be his girlfriend and it just so happened both of us were praying about, not just about dating each other, being in a relationship that would stick...and God told both of us wait. Because it took him the entire summer and a week of school to finally ask me because he knew the way i was and that's...impatient. but God gave me the strength to be patient and wait.... and the best part was i was waiting peacefully i wasn't waiting anxiety. so God doesn't keep a tally He wants your prayers to be personal and sincere.
2007-09-23 22:51:51 · answer #3 · answered by bounceyflutechik 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
God does absolutely everything for His own glory. He answers ALL prayers. The answers are either; Yes, No, or not right now. He will answer your prayer so that He will be glorified in the answer. If saying "yes" will glorify Him then that's what he'll do. Having others pray for and with you allows God to show His glory to those other people as well. Of course there are personal prayers, and there's nothing wrong with them. Just remember God wants you and everyone you know, to realize just how glorious He is.
2007-09-23 22:46:52 · answer #4 · answered by profsparro 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
An individual prayer is great, as long as your faith is strong.
If you were a government official and one person came to you asking for tax relief for his community because of some natural disaster, are you going to consider his plea for very long.
God is very busy in all of our lives.
Now a week later you're still a government official and ten people come to you along with the original one person and they all ask you for the original consideration in unison. Are you not in fact, going to be moved to more seriously consider their pleas.
There is a strength of faith in prayer requests. You want something you are praying for and a bunch of other people want it for you. That's noble of them...
People do this because they care for one another.
I hope you aren't troubled with the question "why".
You can spend your lifetime puzzling and philosophizing this question. Asking why things are the way they are, why the sky is blue and so on.
Asking why plants a seed of doubt within you and doubt can undo your spiritual fiber.
Anyway, I wonder what is that happened in your life that made you ask a question like this. This is really a question for God...
Good luck
2007-09-23 22:53:45 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Prayer request is not needed. Pray from yourself to God. However if the person does not have faith and do not believe in God, anyone can pray for him to God to have faith in him and to let him know the truth.
jtm
2007-09-23 22:45:53 · answer #6 · answered by Jesus M 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
God heard Elijah's prayer when he called down fire from heaven on his sacrifice. He heard his prayer when he prayed for the rain to end...and it did for over 3 years...and He heard Elijah's prayer when he prayed for it to rain again. God hears the prayer of individuals.
However, in Matt l8:20, it says that when two or three come together in my name, there I am in the midst of them. So yes, its also good to pray together. There is strength in numbers.
Some people have very strong faith, and can pray alone with great confidence in God to answer. Others need one another.
That is why we have church, to build one another up and to encourage each other's faith. Take the stick totally out of the fire, and often it fizzles out.
2007-09-23 22:48:45 · answer #7 · answered by bzzz 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's because many times God uses the church to answer that prayer. One of the primary purposes of the church is taking care of Christians.
If you don't share your needs, your fellow Christians can't meet those needs. I know a Christian who once needed a car. She asked for prayer, and we all prayed about it together. Before she left that evening, someone offered her a car. And I've seen many other similar circumstances.
2007-09-23 22:48:34 · answer #8 · answered by Privratnik 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
We give prayer request because the more there is praying...the more powerful the prayer is. Your prayer does get answered...no matter what. It might not be what you wanted but, prayer does get answered. And no...its not a point system.
2007-09-23 22:43:51 · answer #9 · answered by Dallas_Cowboys 2 · 2⤊ 1⤋
I think that prayer requests are ways of letting people know that you need their thoughts of comfort in your time of need. God answers prayers in His own time, His own way, and of His own choosing. He compelled humanity to need and depend on others. Even Christ had people who prayed for Him and with Him. Our prayers whether it is one voice or a thousand are music to our Heavenly Father's ears.
2007-09-23 22:45:36 · answer #10 · answered by rubix110 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋