I know God works in mysterious ways with prayer, but seriously...what could be happening here?

Question

Recently, our church has done a series on miracles and the power of prayer. Well, I've been praying for the strength and perseverance to lose weight. I've been over 60 pounds overweight for quite some time. Anyway, I prayed about this all the time...all day. Everytime I wanted to eat something. I felt frusterated, but I know I was cutting back on the amount of food I was normally eating. On top of that, I have been making a point of going out and really playing with my kids (running, tag, walks, etc). OK, so here's my question....I know weight loss isn't instant. I don't expect to wake up 68 pounds lighter tomorrow (though it'd be nice). And I know God doesn't always answer prayers. BUT, in the past few weeks, I gained 7 pounds which puts me at my heaviest ever. I feel exhausted. I'm frusterated. Could someone who believes in miracles and prayer and God please help me to not get discouraged. What's happening?

Answer 1

God DOES ANSWER prayer, but often not in the way we expect it --and not at the time we want it.

I think what you should focus on first is to find out WHY you are overweight. Has eating become a means to stuff your negative feelings down? Are you living a sedentary life style? Do you drink a lot of pop/soda instead of just water? Do you snack on high-fat foods? Are you addicted to sugary snacks?
God has given us our brain and common sense to use it.

So, I would suggest that you ask God to help you find out WHY you are overweight and ask Him for wisdom on how to make changes. Maybe inner healing is what you need FIRST . Once the CAUSE of overeating is found God will help you in LITTLE steps to change.

We live in an instant-everything society, but God still works the old-fashioned way : )
t still takes nine months for a baby to grow in the womb...like it did thousands of years ago.

Answer 2

No one on this site can claim to know how prayers are answered. And those atheists who felt the need to lecture you on your beliefs should read the last part of your question: "Could someone who believes in miracles and prayer and God please help me to not get discouraged?" Too bad they couldn't hold themselves back.

To deal with your question, prayer is a mystery and is not a magic formula with quick results. But it seems to me like you actually got what you were praying for: you asked for strength, and you got it. You have clearly demonstrated that you are willing to change your lifestyle and work hard at losing weight. Don't let setbacks make you lose sight of this fact! Perhaps your method needs some adjustment. Someone here mentioned eating lots of little meals throughout the day, rather than 3 big ones. This is great advice. It keeps your digestive system going throughout the day. Of course make sure you are eating healthily, and continue to be active.

Atheists will always roll their eyes at advice like this, but remember that prayer will not solve your problems. If it is faithful, it WILL help you, though perhaps not in ways that you can understand until after the problem has been solved. Keep praying for that strength! And keep applying the strength to get you through your hard work.

Answer 3

Nothing against prayer, but have you had your thyroid checked? We need to do everything we can physically to help ourselves, and you may have an underactive thyroid, or as someone else pointed out, you may be causing your body to store fat by the way you eat. If you have a physical problem that can be changed with the right care, I don't think God is going to miraculously intervene to help you lose weight while the physical problem continues.

Losing weight is very hard for some folks, and I feel your struggle. You should keep praying for God to help you not get discouraged while you seek for answers.

Answer 4

You could be doing something wrong. Pray for the Lord to reveal your error.

On the practical side, getting more active exercise is good. Not only cut back on the amount, but the type of food you eat. Cut out as many sugars/carbs as you can. No snack-cakes, less sodas (even diet, they can fool the body), no french fries, cut back on white or even wheat bread (look for low carb whole grain bread - costs a bit more, but tastes great and better for you), increase fiber like brocolli, spinach, cabbage, romain lettuce, keep up proteins with chicken, turkey, beef - it really amounts to a balanced diet.

It comes to the point where you need a new lifestyle, more than a diet plan. A diet should not be a short term thing, but generally how we eat.

Don't give up. Keep seeking the Lord and He will show you what works for you. He may allow you to experiment until you know for sure what works. In the process, you will learn things about yourself, physically and spiritually (yes, repentance may come with the package).

Don't skip meals. Keep your portions sane. Replace fatty or sugary things with fiber and protein. Drink plenty of water (I believe about 2 pints/day). Try not to allow yourself to get bored. If you are angry or frustrated, bring it to the Lord instead of to the Frigidare.

If you need info or other resource info, let me know - my wife has been through this, we can give you some info.

Answer 5

Try fasting. I personally know it's hard to lose weight. I was actually fasting for something I was praying about, and when the prayer was answered, I quit fasting. I'd lost about 10 pounds in 3 days. But to fast to lose weight is not a good reason to fast. And God does answer all prayer, just sometimes His answer is No. Be carefull what you pray for, my mother in law prayed to lose weight too, and she got diagnosed with TMJ not long after that. Now, she can't enjoy eating like most people. Not saying God punished her or anything, she just got her answer, but not quite in the way she wanted it.
I'll be praying for you. In the meantime, quit thinking about it so much, eat smaller portions and drink lots of water.
God Bless!

Answer 6

To make a really long story brief for now, I've been studying nutrition for myself for a while now. I've found that the same things that cause weight gain, wrinkles and acne are all the same. Spikes in your blood sugar level. That's caused by complex carbohydrates (bleached, white flour and sugar). Also, genetics play a role. I have a friend whose nieces are insanely perfect looking and they don't bother with diet at all. They drink coffee and eat pastries all the time. After I had my kid, coffee makes me really jumpy, I break out in a cold sweat and, the next day my face breaks out. But, I eat cake and have donuts, a lot of cookies and people envy my size. Whereas, my friend does jazzercise, has diabetes so she really watches what she eats but is still very overweight.
But, she eats a lot of bread and nutritionists have found that complex carbohydrates are what cause wrinkles, acne and weight gain. And that women's bodies are more likely to gain weight.
I'm definitely not Christian but I have studied nutrition a lot in the past several years for my own health-related reasons.
If you have any questions, feel free to email me...If you don't bring it up, I'm fine with not discussing religion. I can vent on here ;-)
BTW, that seven pounds weight gain could be muscle. It's normal to gain weight at first but then the fat starts burning off and then you lose. My cousin is losing the weight she gained after her third pregnancy-she's doing the drink your breakfast and lunch but eat a low calorie dinner for now but is planning on switching to a low carbohydrate and sugar, health food diet later...

Edit:Worrying about your weight is important (to you and yours) b/c it might be an indicator of a physical or mental problem that needs to be addressed.

Answer 7

If you have truly become more active, it is not unlikely that you have gained muscle. As muscle weighs more per volume than does fat, you might have lost 10 lbs of fat, gained 17 lbs of muscle, and actually have LOST inches off your waist or hips (that example is a bit excessive, but you get the idea). OR you might just be bloated.

Please, if you are truly interested in losing weight, you will benefit greatly from significant research into how fat is burned, how muscle is gained, how different foods affect your body. Take a little of that prayer time and put it into research.

I suggest "You: On a Diet".

Answer 8

Nothing fails like prayer. No one's listening. You're simply putting more stress on yourself by trying to invoke a "miracle" that will never happen.

Cutting back on food is not the answer either, it only makes your body want to "hoard" what you eat. Eat small meals every few hours so you don't feel hungry, eat good quality food, include lots of fiber in your diet, drink water instead of sugary drinks, keep fruit and veggies and nuts on hand for snacks, if you eat chicken, remove the skin and fat before cooking, become a vegetarian, exercise.

Most important of all -- don't feel you're depriving yourself. If you do, you'll be defeated right from the start. Instead, put notes on the fridge, your computer monitor, wherever, about what you expect from your efforts. Something like, "I'll be able to wear the clothes I like, and look good in them." Or, "I'll have more energy to play with my kids."

Good luck.

http://www.dimaggio.org/Eye-Openers/prayer_does_not_work.htm
[Excerpt]

"Prayer Does Not Work. Sorry.
Once again, it's all in your mind..

"In a long-awaited comprehensive scientific study on the effects of intercessory prayer on the health and recovery of 1,802 patients undergoing coronary bypass surgery in six different hospitals, prayers offered by strangers had no effect. In fact, contrary to common belief, patients who knew they were being prayed for had a higher rate of post-operative complications such as abnormal heart rhythms, possibly the result of anxiety caused by learning that they were being prayed for and thus their condition was more serious than anticipated."

* * *
http://www.whydoesgodhateamputees.com/
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12082681/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3193902.stm
http://nogod.tribe.net/thread/b31ef8f0-f4d2-42c6-a695-3377ac65e85b
http://www.evilbible.com/Jesus_Lied.htm

Answer 9

You have to pray and BELIEVE with all your heart. Believing that your prayer will be answered is key. God is a positive force, not a negative one.... This has worked for me very well.

If I may, can I suggest the bible diet? All the bible diet is is to eat fruit, vegetables, lean meat and proteins such as nuts and rely on honey as a sweetener. God made these foods for us so we stay healthy, young looking and fit. There are plenty of healthy snacks and chips you can eat as well so you don't feel deprived.

This also means no processed foods! Replace bad oils with olive oils... No aspartame, high fructose corn syrup or hydrogenated oils.


Good luck and God bless you. :)

Answer 10

We often pray for things we want, and not the things we need. Not saying that this is the problem, but your mind can also fool the body. If your mind is trying to help you and your body feels like your trying to starve it, then you will have a reverse affect. Stop thinking on it so much and just let it come. Walk everyday or every other day.

Blessings and Good Luck