i am a deep believer in God but i believe that prayer is for spiritual goals than getting answers to mundane problems like cure my cancer or pay my credit card debts or make me pass with a B in this math exam please kind of prayers .
however as i am growing older ( i am 37 years and 4 months ) i am getting the feeling that when the exuberance and optimism of youth fade away and we have rubbed our idealistic shins on the rough concrete of reality we need some support some hope that things will be better . that the situation will be saved ; that as long as i have good intentions God is watching over me and that he is a benevolent God ...
so should i change my tack about God and start praying to him to answer my prayers as long as i promise the goodness of my soul shall always grow stronger till i die ?
opinion please ... i am feeling confused .( i am not a Christian or i could ask my pastor for help ; and anyone of any religious denomination is free to answer this question candidly )
2007-09-28 18:52:16 · 18 answers · asked by atmaram 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Latria is a Greek term used in Catholic theology to mean adoration, which is the highest form of worship or reverence and is directed only to the Holy Trinity.
Latria is sacrificial in character, and may be offered only to God. Catholics offer other degrees of reverence to the Blessed Virgin Mary and to the Saints; these non-sacrificial types of reverence are called Hyperdulia and Dulia, respectively. Hyperdulia is essentially a heightened degree of dulia provided only to the Blessed Virgin.
In Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and Anglo Catholic theology, veneration is a type of honor distinct from the worship due to God alone. Church theologians have long adopted the terms latria for the sacrificial worship due to God alone, and dulia for the veneration given to saints and icons. Catholic theology also includes the term hyperdulia for the type of veneration specifically paid to Mary, mother of Jesus, in Catholic tradition. This distinction is spelled out in the dogmatic conclusions of the Seventh Ecumenical Council (787), which also decreed that iconoclasm (forbidding icons and their veneration) is a heresy that amounts to a denial of the incarnation of Jesus.
Veneration is a religious symbolic act giving honor to someone by honoring an image of that person, particularly applied to saints.
The Blessed Virgin, as manifesting in a sublimer manner than any other creature the goodness of God, deserves from us a higher recognition and deeper veneration than any other of the saints; and this peculiar cultus due to her because of her unique position in the Divine economy, is designated in theology hyperdulia, that is dulia in an eminent degree. It is unfortunate that neither our own language nor the Latin possesses in its terminology the precision of the Greek. The word latria is never applied in any other sense than that of the incommunicable adoration which is due to God alone. But in English the words adore and worship are still sometimes used, and in the past were commonly so used, to mean also inferior species of religious veneration and even to express admiration or affection for persons living upon the earth. So David "adored" Jonathan. In like manner Miphiboseth "fell on his face and worshipped" David (2 Samuel 9:6).
2007-09-28 19:04:07 · answer #1 · answered by cashelmara 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, prayer works. The problem of believing is when you pray or ask something and the answer is not what you expected, than your conclusion is negative. For those who received a direct hit "yes", they conclude that prayer works.
Prayer is not a machine that works for you or not. To think about if prayer works, is prayer already at work. So start down on your knees, in the most quiet place you can put yourself into, nothing to disturb you. Talk to God as if you talk to a person right infront of you. Open yourself, open your heart. Speak. This is prayer...at work.
2007-09-30 18:18:25 · answer #2 · answered by Tim G 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Praying works, and God does answer peoples prayers. It's just not how we always want it to be, you can pray for someone to be healed from cancer and they could get better or they could get worse, but you have to have faith that God has chosen that path for a reason. I'm still young so I can't relate to much with some of what you are feeling. But I have been to the point in my life when I prayed relentlessly for God to heal someone and it never happened, they only got worse. I would tell people to have faith and he will work it out, but it didn't happen the way I said it would. And I blamed God for a long time for it, but it's not always what we want. God knows what is best for each and every one of us, and no matter what happens you just have to believe and know that he is there for you. He is there for every happy moment of your life, to hold you when you are scared, or to catch your tears when you cry. Just try and keep the faith, God is real and he is there for you. I don't think you would be writing this if you didn't think so.
2007-09-28 18:59:38 · answer #3 · answered by lil_rebell 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Prayer is very important. You can pray for any situation. That's how we comunicate with God. Sometimes He answers right away sometimes you have to wait. But he does hear and will answer with either a Yes, No, or Not YEt
But you need to first accept Jesus as your Savior, because only when we believe in Him, we will be saved. Also be consistant in reading Bible, because that's where you learn how to live, and get wisdom on everyday life situations.
2007-09-28 19:08:30 · answer #4 · answered by hplyevr4evr 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Bishop John Shelby Spong has written extensively about your question.
Do a Wiki or Google
" A New Christianity for a New World" is one book I've read that deals directly.
2007-09-28 19:01:40 · answer #5 · answered by B C 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Praying without work is dead. I am so happy to you because you attained the greatest gift of the Holy Spirit. Patience to wait. You learned to assimilate yourself in presence of prayer. Openness like this very moment- building a foundation of relationship to me, a Christian. trust to Jesus more. You have the gift that I haven't.
2007-09-28 20:09:43 · answer #6 · answered by arnie 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes. As long as your prayers stay in line with the teachings found in God's Word.
2007-09-28 19:07:42 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Think of it this way, God is like your parental father. He will only give you what he thinks is best for you, not what you want.
These days, too many people think of God as though He is Santa Claus and when people don't get what they 'want', they just believe that there is no God.
Pray for what you have in life, being thankful for life, and pray for the well-being of others.
2007-09-28 18:59:28 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Matthew 21:22 And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.
Believing refers to the whole Covenant of God.
That is to say being Christian.
2007-09-28 18:59:29 · answer #9 · answered by just a man 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Well, I believe that we must seek God in all honesty. Not to pray with alterior motives. To seek His face and not just His hand. Also , Jesus said "No-one can come to the Father accept by Me." He is the Intercessor on our behalf, who stands on the side of God's throne. So in faith through Christ, I can come boldly to the throne of God, because Jesus stands there on my behalf. Knowing that my confidence is in Christ, I'm assured that my prayers are heard. There is nothing good in me but Christ. And only Christ is good, pure, holy enough to approach His throne.
2007-09-28 19:05:09 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋