EvC Forum: If prayers go unanswered....?

If prayers go unanswered....?

clpMINI writes:

...hope I don't stink up the joint. Here we go then.

Hello, clpMINI. You smell fine.

I would imagine that every day there are millions of faithful people who pray for a multitude of reasons, some very specific and some not so. I was thinking more along the lines of current events that may inspire specific, and therefore very personal and possibly emotional prayers. The events that came to mind include:
1. The Iraq War: prayers for the safety of loved ones in harms way

Many prayers needed for Iraq. I cannot claim to be Gods press secratary, but I believe that in many cases, God simply foreknows that certain events MUST happen in life. Events such as Columbine High School shootings. Look what came out of it...more awareness of the problem, many families renewing faith and becoming closer, more spirituality in general in Littleton, Colo..I know because I live ten miles away in Denver.

2. The Pope: very ill, thousands show up daily outside his hospital building to get a glimpse, and to pray for a recovery....and I would assume that Catholics everywhere are also thinking of him

Surely if one has to die, as we all do, having a billion people pray for you can't hurt.

3. Jerry Falwell: Has fallen ill as well, and surely there are plenty of his followers and other christians that pray for his well being

Not in the class of the Pope but God reminds us to pray for the least of these...let me ask you this, clpMINI. If you or I prayed for an anonymous starving child in Africa, why would our prayer be a failure? The fact that we are praying is a success for God. The child, if they die, would probably go straight to Heaven!

4. Teri Shiavo: Daily on the news we see poeple praying for her life and recovery, and surely there are people all over the U.S. that also have Teri in their prayers

And now Teri is dead. Look at the awareness of the sanctity of human life in focus and raised? Look also at how many insincere groups have been exposed. None of the prayers were in vain. Unless, of course, the motives were inappropriate.

If a soldier in Iraq dies, if beloved religious leaders fall ill and pass, and if a tragically ill individual who has captured a nation's attention should fail to recover and then also die....what of all the unaswered prayers that hoped for a different ending?

God has three answers. Yes, No, and Wait. Humans should never pray for what we want. We should pray that what happens is within Gods will.

So what happens, what is the outcome, when a sincere, highly emotional, and personal prayer, from a very faithful person goes unanswered? Is there a loss of faith? Do you justify these unanswered prayers by claiming that it was God's plan and we just can't grasp it?

There is never a loss of faith for a believer, because our faith is not dependant on circumstances or results. I never see a sincere prayer as unanswered. Even if I don't understand it all, I continue to pray for understanding.

What is a faithful person do in the face of an unanswered prayer, or from a list like I presented above, from multitudes of unanswered prayers?

Are you a faithful person, MINI or are you just asking? One more comment: Prayer is good because it gives us a relationship with God. Surely He knows what everybody wants anyway, right? The only purpose for prayer is to commune with God.

This message has been edited by Phatboy, 04-02-2005 06:42 AM

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