The power of prayer: in action

But Buzz he never existed - I can't accept someone who never existed!You will be wanting me to saying that gravity doesn't exist next.

Do you not see how the end of this paragraph contradicts the start of this paragraph? I mean directly contradicts it?If God is as powerful as you say, then there is no reason why these bigger issues should take any longer. Speak for yourself, guy. So God'll get around to this stuff later. For now he's got important soda-related matters to attend to. Got it. So... what, the things that happen on Earth are unimportant to God because of that? (Except for soda-related matters, of course.)Wow. Actually, I don't believe in God for a number of reasons. But it just seems odd to me that God would personally take the time out to tell you where to pray, but let millions of people die in Africa.

Leave out talking to imaginary sky friends, and it's great. It's what I try to do when I'm not wasting time on these boards.

Early on in this thread there were many questions about how you can tell when God answers prayers. Unsatisfyingly, the answers said that sometimes God answers prayers, sometimes he doesn't, and sometimes the answer isn't what you expect.It was pointed out that this simply ascribes all outcomes to God without any evidence that there's a connection, and this seems to me to be the key point. The topic of this thread is the power of prayer, but how can one measure prayer's power if one can't know whether prayer was a factor or not?--Percy

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some people can't accept the fact that God repeatedly fails people, through no fault of their own. There always has to be some other reason.

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I agree. I've seen people suffer more trying to find out what they haven't done right.My mother still belongs to the church and still has bouts of wanting to know why Dad died. It usually comes after a sermon on healing.It takes a while for me to calm her down and help her realize that it has nothing to do with what she or Dad did or didn't do spiritually. Death is unavoidable.

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A gentle answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger.

Not for God, but for us. We have to get our selves out of our own mess. If you have it all figured then, let all of us in on it, we are dying to know. He doesn't let millions die in Africa. Man kills them himself.
You expect God to come down everytime man does something wrong, and straighten it out? Where would our free will be then? We would be like the trees.You expect to pass the class without taking any tests.Can you see into the minds and hearts of the African nation? Because you seem to be speaking for them, and exactly how they feel.
I would worry about myself first. Straighten myself out first, so I can go help others.
If your faith in God was strong enough you could:
Change a nation, or move a mountain.You see God has given them everything they need to have it good. It is that some of them choose not to follow his ways, and ruin it for the rest. The ones that follow his ways try their best to see to it that others believe, then there is people like you who know what is right, yet choose to do nothing about it, or explain it away. We are responsible for our actions as a race, and a nation, and an individual.Tell me, just how do you plan to change the world?

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We have to get our selves out of our own mess.

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ergo - prayer is worthless.

What if my imaginary friend is the one telling me to go and help others, and is opening doors for me to do just that?

Through prayer, and obedience.

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Can you see into the minds and hearts of the African nation? Because you seem to be speaking for them, and exactly how they feel.

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You tried the same for the iraqi people before - Pot and kettle.

It will without a doubt be your own subjective evidence. But it might not be subjective to you. You must first learn how to pray and what to expect.Every single one of my prayers get answered.

No I didn't.
I said what I would feel if I saw my own people lining up to shoot me. I would have to question myself if I was right or not.
But thats me.

you are refering to a later post - I refer you to post 86.

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It was pointed out that this simply ascribes all outcomes to God without any evidence that there's a connection, and this seems to me to be the key point.

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Taking the one point made by asciikerr in Message 19 that sometimes God takes a while to answer a prayer.So let's say in another 5 yrs my husband finally gets a job so we can relocate closer to our parents.Christians would say that this constitues an answer to my prayers from 1999.If my prayer had a deadline in it, does that mean that the prayer was not a factor in the final outcome?

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A gentle answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger.

Unless, of course, it's about losing wallet, or figuring out where to pray. Then God's totally comfortable stepping in and sorting things out for you. Okay: there's no God. What you see is what you get.Enjoy! Heck, long as he's coming down anyway to make sure you don't pick the wrong prayer spot, it sure would be nice of him. I'm sorry, everyone. It was ethnocentric of me to just go ahead and assume that Africans don't like to be killed. You're right. They should really appreciate just how good they have it over there. Heck, I do my part by doing what I can for everyone I encounter. I just wish God would do the same. That'd be awful swell of him.