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Author Topic:   Stories about prayer
Faith 
Suspended Member (Idle past 1445 days)
Posts: 35298
From: Nevada, USA
Joined: 10-06-2001


Message 31 of 80 (862576)
09-06-2019 9:46 PM
Reply to: Message 30 by Theodoric
09-06-2019 6:59 PM


Re: Thread is for reporting answered prayers
They may or may not have believed. There are no guarantees. Sometimes prayers do go unanswered. We don't know why. I just want to report the ones that got answered. Maybe because they make me happy.
Edited by Faith, : No reason given.
Edited by Faith, : No reason given.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 30 by Theodoric, posted 09-06-2019 6:59 PM Theodoric has not replied

  
ramoss
Member (Idle past 612 days)
Posts: 3228
Joined: 08-11-2004


Message 32 of 80 (862578)
09-06-2019 10:42 PM
Reply to: Message 29 by Faith
09-06-2019 4:50 PM


Re: Thread is for reporting answered prayers
And, that is known as 'cherry picking', because well, for almost 3000 people, that didn't happen. You will always find someone who doesn't make it to work , or get delayed to work every day. But, a disaster happens, and then suddenly you count it as 'a miracle'. But, think of all the times people got delayed, or couldn't make it, and a disaster didn't happen.
It just sticks out in their mind because of the disaster.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 29 by Faith, posted 09-06-2019 4:50 PM Faith has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 33 by Faith, posted 09-06-2019 10:50 PM ramoss has not replied

  
Faith 
Suspended Member (Idle past 1445 days)
Posts: 35298
From: Nevada, USA
Joined: 10-06-2001


Message 33 of 80 (862579)
09-06-2019 10:50 PM
Reply to: Message 32 by ramoss
09-06-2019 10:42 PM


Re: Thread is for reporting answered prayers
Actually it sticks out in their mind usually because of odd circumstances that suggest something out of the ordinary. Some unusual event that prevented a person from going to work for instance.
The woman who believes she was helped by an angel remembers a man she encountered on her way down the stairs, an ordinary man dressed in ordinary clothes, who directed her through a door as he held it open for her, smiled at her and assured her she was going to be OK with a sense of certainty that impressed her. Doesn't sound like your ordinary scared human being to me. But you can dismiss anything if you want to.
Wanna hear another angel story? Not from 9/11. Saskatchewan pastor Bill Scottish Last Name, soon after his experience of a big revival in his home church, found himself with his wife in a South American country that was completely unfamiliar to him. They were there for a conference on revivals and somehow didn't have the address of the place of the conference. They were in the airport when a man came up to them, bowed and offered them information about how to get where they were supposed to go. They got on a bus he indicated and just started riding still without knowing their destination. Eventually a man sitting behind them leaned forward and told them to get off at the next stop. They did and found themselves at the conference. I'll remember the guy's name eventually. His report of the whole revival experience is on You Tube and the story of the angels directing him is toward the end.
ABE: FOUND IT. Bill McLeod.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idA3fJlit4U
This is the first video, you have to get to the last video for the angel story.
I think this is the next part. I'm having a hard time putting the whole series together: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv2dLRs0dV4&t=2127s
Edited by Faith, : No reason given.
Edited by Faith, : No reason given.
Edited by Faith, : No reason given.
Edited by Faith, : No reason given.

This message is a reply to:
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Replies to this message:
 Message 35 by Faith, posted 09-07-2019 6:16 AM Faith has not replied

  
Tangle
Member
Posts: 9489
From: UK
Joined: 10-07-2011
Member Rating: 4.9


Message 34 of 80 (862580)
09-07-2019 3:31 AM


You're wrong, it's Allah that answers prayers. It's written in the book, so it must be true.
quote:
And when My servants question thee concerning Me, then surely I am nigh. I answer the prayer of the suppliant when he crieth unto Me. So let them hear My call and let them trust in Me, in order that they may be led aright. (Baqara, 186)
.
I went to a Muslim wedding a while back that seemed to cost the father of the bride far more than he could afford but he said that he wasn't worried because 'Allah would provide' and he did! Though exactly how was a little unclear.
Of course Jews are also sure that God answers their prayers but that was somewhat tested by the holocaust were literally trillions of prayers were ignored.

Je suis Charlie. Je suis Ahmed. Je suis Juif. Je suis Parisien. I am Mancunian. I am Brum. I am London.I am Finland. Soy Barcelona
"Life, don't talk to me about life" - Marvin the Paranoid Android
"Science adjusts it's views based on what's observed.
Faith is the denial of observation so that Belief can be preserved."
- Tim Minchin, in his beat poem, Storm.

  
Faith 
Suspended Member (Idle past 1445 days)
Posts: 35298
From: Nevada, USA
Joined: 10-06-2001


Message 35 of 80 (862583)
09-07-2019 6:16 AM
Reply to: Message 33 by Faith
09-06-2019 10:50 PM


May report on some revivals too
Revivals are interesting supernatural phenomena too. I listened to some of the Bill McLeod talk and was reminded of how the church got cleaned up before the revival proper happened. People who had been at odds with each other forgave each other and reconciled; people who had divorced reconciles and remarried.
When new people started getting saved the local police department got lots of them coming in confessing to crimes and making restitution where they could. The police chief said he wasn't a religious man himself but he knew the signs of a revival when he saw them.
A real revival is a work of God Himself, not something people decide to do. That's why people are actually changed by it.
Sometimes in revivals whole towns get cleaned up, morally changed overnight as it were.
At the same time there are usually also people who flee such phenomena as if their lives were threatened by it: no moral change for me, thank you. They feel the spiritual pull and get out of town. There are some here I can imagine might react that way.
Edited by Faith, : No reason given.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 33 by Faith, posted 09-06-2019 10:50 PM Faith has not replied

  
ringo
Member (Idle past 412 days)
Posts: 20940
From: frozen wasteland
Joined: 03-23-2005


Message 36 of 80 (862597)
09-07-2019 1:04 PM
Reply to: Message 28 by Phat
09-06-2019 4:43 PM


Re: Thread is for reporting answered prayers
Phat writes:
ringo writes:
The people who died on September 11, 2001 didn't have their prayers answered in their lifetime, did they?
I believe that they did. Granted their remaining lifetime was a matter of minutes.
Do you really not see how ridiculous that sounds?
When people are in a building that is collapsing, I would think a lot of them would be praying, "God help me get out of here alive." How was that prayer answered?
Phat writes:
What makes you think that even atheists didn't have a desperate hope and belief of salvation...or leaving peace with family---milliseconds before they perished?
No doubt many of them would "pray". That's the culture we live in.
But the question I'm asking is: How were those prayers, or the prayers of believers, answered?

Maturity, one discovers, has everything to do with the acceptance of ‘not knowing.
-- Mark Z. Danielewski, House of Leaves

This message is a reply to:
 Message 28 by Phat, posted 09-06-2019 4:43 PM Phat has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 39 by Phat, posted 09-07-2019 1:40 PM ringo has replied

  
ringo
Member (Idle past 412 days)
Posts: 20940
From: frozen wasteland
Joined: 03-23-2005


(1)
Message 37 of 80 (862598)
09-07-2019 1:09 PM
Reply to: Message 29 by Faith
09-06-2019 4:50 PM


Re: Thread is for reporting answered prayers
Faith writes:
There are lots of miracle stories from 9/11, people who didn't go to the tower that day by some fluke, people who got out miraculously, people who got saved that day, a woman who in retrospect is sure it was an angel who helped her get out.
You remind me of the gamblers who only remember their wins. Gambling must be a good idea because they won $1000 once. But the casinos stay in business because it cost them $5000 to win $1000.
I'm more concerned about the cases where a miracle didn't happen.

Maturity, one discovers, has everything to do with the acceptance of ‘not knowing.
-- Mark Z. Danielewski, House of Leaves

This message is a reply to:
 Message 29 by Faith, posted 09-06-2019 4:50 PM Faith has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 38 by Phat, posted 09-07-2019 1:31 PM ringo has replied
 Message 48 by Faith, posted 09-07-2019 3:55 PM ringo has replied

  
Phat
Member
Posts: 18262
From: Denver,Colorado USA
Joined: 12-30-2003
Member Rating: 1.1


Message 38 of 80 (862601)
09-07-2019 1:31 PM
Reply to: Message 37 by ringo
09-07-2019 1:09 PM


Re: Thread is for reporting answered prayers
ringo writes:
I'm more concerned about the cases where a miracle didn't happen.
That's why you are currently an atheist. You can't wrap your mind around the belief in a God Who doesn't answer each and every prayer by rescuing the individual. My belief is that Gods primary concern for each and every one of us is that we make it to the next level on the road to eternity. In order to make it to this level, it is obviously entirely Gods decision. Some argue that it is based entirely on works--on what we have done versus what we could have done, how we related and responded to each individual we encountered during our lives and how we treated them. The argument here is that we are charged to do what Jesus commanded us to do and how well we respond to this call shows our value towards graduating.
A good man (or woman) dies in a tragedy. God foresees the tragedy as it unfolds, perhaps. He watches the terrorists as they sow a plan to bring about destruction towards the entrenched power and greed of their enemy. He sees each and every one of their family members and the needs thereof. Similarly, He sees the eventual victims. He sees who they interact with on a daily basis and how their lives are important in these relationships. To God, all people on both sides of a war have value. One government or the other may be the more evil of the two in that the nation sows more strife globally. But God looks at the hearts of the individual people and sees the reasons why they act the way they do and their impact on those individuals around them.
  • How is a prayer answered?
  • What options might God have?
    Keep in mind that God would know many things that we humans couldn't. He may know, perhaps, that a Father's untimely death may save the lives of many of those close to them down the road. Despite what jar preaches, I don't believe that humans have the responsibility to correct God. It may well be, however, that our behavior and our individual efforts play a role in how He responds to events directly connected to us...and others....in the timeline of life.

    Chance as a real force is a myth. It has no basis in reality and no place in scientific inquiry. For science and philosophy to continue to advance in knowledge, chance must be demythologized once and for all. ~RC Sproul
    "A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes." ~Mark Twain "
    ~"If that's not sufficient for you go soak your head."~Faith
    You can "get answers" by watching the ducks. That doesn't mean the answers are coming from them.~Ringo
    Subjectivism may very well undermine Christianity.
    In the same way that "allowing people to choose what they want to be when they grow up" undermines communism.
    ~Stile

  • This message is a reply to:
     Message 37 by ringo, posted 09-07-2019 1:09 PM ringo has replied

    Replies to this message:
     Message 40 by ringo, posted 09-07-2019 1:40 PM Phat has replied

      
    Phat
    Member
    Posts: 18262
    From: Denver,Colorado USA
    Joined: 12-30-2003
    Member Rating: 1.1


    Message 39 of 80 (862602)
    09-07-2019 1:40 PM
    Reply to: Message 36 by ringo
    09-07-2019 1:04 PM


    Re: Thread is for reporting answered prayers
    ringo writes:
    Do you really not see how ridiculous that sounds?
    When people are in a building that is collapsing, I would think a lot of them would be praying, "God help me get out of here alive." How was that prayer answered?
    For some, they got out alive. For others, their family would find peace in the midst of the tragedy of their death. Perhaps the ones who died were ready for the next level. It was metaphorically their time. Perhaps even some who died were foreseen to have caused greater problems in the future toward others and thus were taken now. Bottom line? Neither I nor anyone else knows what God was thinking as a human tragedy unfolded. One thing I don't believe, and that is that God is like a giant rescuer Who appears, diverts the path of the airplane, and saves the greatest number of people which he can. It's too simplistic and insults the knowledge which such a Deity knows.

    Chance as a real force is a myth. It has no basis in reality and no place in scientific inquiry. For science and philosophy to continue to advance in knowledge, chance must be demythologized once and for all. ~RC Sproul
    "A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes." ~Mark Twain "
    ~"If that's not sufficient for you go soak your head."~Faith
    You can "get answers" by watching the ducks. That doesn't mean the answers are coming from them.~Ringo
    Subjectivism may very well undermine Christianity.
    In the same way that "allowing people to choose what they want to be when they grow up" undermines communism.
    ~Stile

    This message is a reply to:
     Message 36 by ringo, posted 09-07-2019 1:04 PM ringo has replied

    Replies to this message:
     Message 41 by ringo, posted 09-07-2019 1:44 PM Phat has replied

      
    ringo
    Member (Idle past 412 days)
    Posts: 20940
    From: frozen wasteland
    Joined: 03-23-2005


    Message 40 of 80 (862603)
    09-07-2019 1:40 PM
    Reply to: Message 38 by Phat
    09-07-2019 1:31 PM


    Re: Thread is for reporting answered prayers
    Phat writes:
    That's why you are currently an atheist.
    You don't know why I'm an atheist.
    Phat writes:
    You can't wrap your mind around the belief in a God Who doesn't answer each and every prayer by rescuing the individual.
    Well, I can't figure out why you would have any interest in such a "god".
    Phat writes:
    God foresees the tragedy as it unfolds, perhaps. He watches the terrorists as they sow a plan to bring about destruction towards the entrenched power and greed of their enemy.
    That makes him an accomplice.

    Maturity, one discovers, has everything to do with the acceptance of ‘not knowing.
    -- Mark Z. Danielewski, House of Leaves

    This message is a reply to:
     Message 38 by Phat, posted 09-07-2019 1:31 PM Phat has replied

    Replies to this message:
     Message 43 by Phat, posted 09-07-2019 1:55 PM ringo has replied

      
    ringo
    Member (Idle past 412 days)
    Posts: 20940
    From: frozen wasteland
    Joined: 03-23-2005


    Message 41 of 80 (862604)
    09-07-2019 1:44 PM
    Reply to: Message 39 by Phat
    09-07-2019 1:40 PM


    Re: Thread is for reporting answered prayers
    Phat writes:
    For others, their family would find peace in the midst of the tragedy of their death.
    Seriously?
    Phat writes:
    One thing I don't believe, and that is that God is like a giant rescuer Who appears, diverts the path of the airplane, and saves the greatest number of people which he can.
    We know he isn't. That's what makes him a monster.

    Maturity, one discovers, has everything to do with the acceptance of ‘not knowing.
    -- Mark Z. Danielewski, House of Leaves

    This message is a reply to:
     Message 39 by Phat, posted 09-07-2019 1:40 PM Phat has replied

    Replies to this message:
     Message 42 by Phat, posted 09-07-2019 1:52 PM ringo has replied

      
    Phat
    Member
    Posts: 18262
    From: Denver,Colorado USA
    Joined: 12-30-2003
    Member Rating: 1.1


    Message 42 of 80 (862605)
    09-07-2019 1:52 PM
    Reply to: Message 41 by ringo
    09-07-2019 1:44 PM


    God the Rescuer
    We know he isn't. That's what makes him a monster.
    So in other words, despite the unbelief in the God described by many, you think that in your mind you can envision a better God. Interesting how minds work! Let me guess...in a perfect world governed by the God of your imagination, nobody would ever kill, steal, or slander their parents. Nobody would ever desire anything that anyone else had. We would all be happy little people scratching each other back as this God taught us to do...giving more than we received and paying it forward. And should a natural disaster arise, this God would divert it from our path.
    Which is why you simply see the utopian people behaving like altruistic socialists without need for a God. Great dream! No God needed.
    Perhaps your God would have been in the hearts of the firefighters who risked their own lives to save others. That God I can respect and agree with.

    Chance as a real force is a myth. It has no basis in reality and no place in scientific inquiry. For science and philosophy to continue to advance in knowledge, chance must be demythologized once and for all. ~RC Sproul
    "A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes." ~Mark Twain "
    ~"If that's not sufficient for you go soak your head."~Faith
    You can "get answers" by watching the ducks. That doesn't mean the answers are coming from them.~Ringo
    Subjectivism may very well undermine Christianity.
    In the same way that "allowing people to choose what they want to be when they grow up" undermines communism.
    ~Stile

    This message is a reply to:
     Message 41 by ringo, posted 09-07-2019 1:44 PM ringo has replied

    Replies to this message:
     Message 44 by ringo, posted 09-07-2019 2:04 PM Phat has not replied

      
    Phat
    Member
    Posts: 18262
    From: Denver,Colorado USA
    Joined: 12-30-2003
    Member Rating: 1.1


    Message 43 of 80 (862606)
    09-07-2019 1:55 PM
    Reply to: Message 40 by ringo
    09-07-2019 1:40 PM


    Re: Thread is for reporting answered prayers
    Phat writes:
    God foresees the tragedy as it unfolds, perhaps. He watches the terrorists as they sow a plan to bring about destruction towards the entrenched power and greed of their enemy.
    ringo writes:
    That makes him an accomplice.
    God is an accomplice in every human decision ever made. He is aware of the decision. So arrest Him.

    Chance as a real force is a myth. It has no basis in reality and no place in scientific inquiry. For science and philosophy to continue to advance in knowledge, chance must be demythologized once and for all. ~RC Sproul
    "A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes." ~Mark Twain "
    ~"If that's not sufficient for you go soak your head."~Faith
    You can "get answers" by watching the ducks. That doesn't mean the answers are coming from them.~Ringo
    Subjectivism may very well undermine Christianity.
    In the same way that "allowing people to choose what they want to be when they grow up" undermines communism.
    ~Stile

    This message is a reply to:
     Message 40 by ringo, posted 09-07-2019 1:40 PM ringo has replied

    Replies to this message:
     Message 45 by Theodoric, posted 09-07-2019 2:05 PM Phat has not replied
     Message 46 by ringo, posted 09-07-2019 2:06 PM Phat has replied

      
    ringo
    Member (Idle past 412 days)
    Posts: 20940
    From: frozen wasteland
    Joined: 03-23-2005


    Message 44 of 80 (862607)
    09-07-2019 2:04 PM
    Reply to: Message 42 by Phat
    09-07-2019 1:52 PM


    Re: God the Rescuer
    Phat writes:
    So in other words, despite the unbelief in the God described by many, you think that in your mind you can envision a better God.
    I can envision seven better gods before breakfast.
    Phat writes:
    Let me guess...in a perfect world governed by the God of your imagination, nobody would ever kill, steal, or slander their parents. Nobody would ever desire anything that anyone else had. We would all be happy little people scratching each other back as this God taught us to do...giving more than we received and paying it forward. And should a natural disaster arise, this God would divert it from our path.
    Why not?
    Phat writes:
    Which is why you simply see the utopian people behaving like altruistic socialists without need for a God.
    You keep getting that wrong. We do have a "need" for a god who would do those things - but there is none. You're just trying to reconcile the real world with a God who does nothing.

    Maturity, one discovers, has everything to do with the acceptance of ‘not knowing.
    -- Mark Z. Danielewski, House of Leaves

    This message is a reply to:
     Message 42 by Phat, posted 09-07-2019 1:52 PM Phat has not replied

      
    Theodoric
    Member
    Posts: 9076
    From: Northwest, WI, USA
    Joined: 08-15-2005
    Member Rating: 3.7


    Message 45 of 80 (862608)
    09-07-2019 2:05 PM
    Reply to: Message 43 by Phat
    09-07-2019 1:55 PM


    Re: Thread is for reporting answered prayers
    Stunning that your belief is of a god that not only condones evil but abets it.
    Yet you wonder why a lot of us do not buy into something so utterly offensive,.

    Facts don't lie or have an agenda. Facts are just facts
    "God did it" is not an argument. It is an excuse for intellectual laziness.
    If your viewpoint has merits and facts to back it up why would you have to lie?

    This message is a reply to:
     Message 43 by Phat, posted 09-07-2019 1:55 PM Phat has not replied

      
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