Why my prayers were never answered

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Gratitude is prayer. Thanking God for the new blue Chevy? I guess, if it works for you. I think I would just thank him for taking care of my needs.

But sometimes God doesn't take care of our needs, and OP has found a way to get through to God more effectively so that he is more likely to meet our needs.

It's possible that we only think God is not meeting our needs, when actually, because he's all knowing, he's meeting our needs in ways we don't understand and can't understand because we are mere humans.

This is a complex, but useful explanation for times in which our fervent prayers are not answered. It's the kind of thing people often don't think of on their own, because they are disappointed that God did not respond to them in the way that they had wanted. But a clergy person or other more sophisticated believer can present the alternative explanation and help people understand and accept it.

This just about breaks my heart. Teachers praying for their students during a school shooting. Moms praying for their children dying of cancer. And you think God is meeting the needs of these people by killing the kids they're praying for? Come on.

One, stop with the juvenile "God is killing people" thing.

Two, do you think this world is as good as it gets?

Ok, I'll rephrase that: If you believe in prayer, and children die in terrible ways even though you prayed for them, then God must then indeed have allowed them to die. Two, no, I can't make senseless violence ok in my mind by telling myself that things are preferable on the other side.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:Gratitude is prayer. Thanking God for the new blue Chevy? I guess, if it works for you. I think I would just thank him for taking care of my needs.

But sometimes God doesn't take care of our needs, and OP has found a way to get through to God more effectively so that he is more likely to meet our needs.

It's possible that we only think God is not meeting our needs, when actually, because he's all knowing, he's meeting our needs in ways we don't understand and can't understand because we are mere humans.

This is a complex, but useful explanation for times in which our fervent prayers are not answered. It's the kind of thing people often don't think of on their own, because they are disappointed that God did not respond to them in the way that they had wanted. But a clergy person or other more sophisticated believer can present the alternative explanation and help people understand and accept it.

This just about breaks my heart. Teachers praying for their students during a school shooting. Moms praying for their children dying of cancer. And you think God is meeting the needs of these people by killing the kids they're praying for? Come on.

One, stop with the juvenile "God is killing people" thing.

Two, do you think this world is as good as it gets?

It may seem like god is killing people, but that's a narrow, human explanation. We can't be expected to understand the mind of God - although we do try when we come up with reasons why he sometimes doesn't answer prayers, like "please don't let my cild get shot in school."

As humans, we can't understand everything. Religious people believe that when they die and meet God, they will find the answers and if they follow God's law as put forth in the Bible, they will live forever in heaven.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Gratitude is prayer. Thanking God for the new blue Chevy? I guess, if it works for you. I think I would just thank him for taking care of my needs.

But sometimes God doesn't take care of our needs, and OP has found a way to get through to God more effectively so that he is more likely to meet our needs.

It's possible that we only think God is not meeting our needs, when actually, because he's all knowing, he's meeting our needs in ways we don't understand and can't understand because we are mere humans.

This is a complex, but useful explanation for times in which our fervent prayers are not answered. It's the kind of thing people often don't think of on their own, because they are disappointed that God did not respond to them in the way that they had wanted. But a clergy person or other more sophisticated believer can present the alternative explanation and help people understand and accept it.

This just about breaks my heart. Teachers praying for their students during a school shooting. Moms praying for their children dying of cancer. And you think God is meeting the needs of these people by killing the kids they're praying for? Come on.

One, stop with the juvenile "God is killing people" thing.

Two, do you think this world is as good as it gets?

Ok, I'll rephrase that: If you believe in prayer, and children die in terrible ways even though you prayed for them, then God must then indeed have allowed them to die. Two, no, I can't make senseless violence ok in my mind by telling myself that things are preferable on the other side.

Or you could say that God had a good reason, which we do not yet understand, for not allowing them to live. It's very comforting for some people to think that someday, they will understand God's motive for things that seem incredibly cruel and senseless while they are happening. Others find comfort in the belief that there is no god overseeing the good and bad things happening in our lives.

[Anonymous]

Spoiler Alert- There is no God.

[Anonymous]

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You know there's a different conclusion you could reach, right?

That there is no god. That when you don't get something you've prayed for, it's because there is no god there listening to and answering (some of) your prayers. And that it's mere coincidence when your prayers are answered. It was something that was going to happen anyhow, prayers or not.

Some people find this conclusion comforting. Others are bothered by it because it means a lack of control and the inability to live forever after our earthly death.

Op here. This might have worked if I had never felt the force of the Holy Spirit, or never saw a spirit, but I've witnessed both.

What did the spirit look like? How did you know it was the holy spirit and not a ghost?

It was not the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was a force that pretty much knocked me down. The spirits I've seen appeared to be made of vapors and light. They were ethereal looking. I'm just saying I know there is a God, because of what I've experienced.

How do you know it was the holy spirit that knocked you down? Did it say or do something to indicate its origin? And regarding the spirits, how do you know they came from God? Maybe it was vapor and light.

I'm a Bible-believing Christian, and I wonder why you think the Holy Spirit would knock you down. There's nothing recorded in Scripture to suggest that the Holy Spirit announces Himself by knocking people down. The Holy Spirit convicts unbelievers of sin, testifies to Christ and empowers us for holy living. He doesn't knock people down. I'm rather sure that if you were knocked down by a spirit, it wasn't the Holy one.

I take it you've never been to an Evangelist church.

You mean a Pentecostal one? Yes, I have. I grew up in one. I think many of them have a extra-Biblical misunderstanding of the Holy Spirit.

So you know about the concept of being knocked over by the Holy Spirit, but you don't believe in it. You think Pentecostals have erroneously added that on to the real truth which is only found in the Bible.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Hi OP. I'm an interfaith minister. I won't presume to know your faith path, but I did want to jump in and share what I've learned about prayer. First, I don't believe God (Source Energy, Spirit, Creator, Jesus,....whatever name you chose) wants or needs to be worshiped. That's kind of an outdated, fear-based response to God. What God does want is for us to communicate with him/her. Prayer works when we align our intention with God's will. What you describe is a kind of affirmative prayer - Thanking God in advance for answered prayers. It can definitely be a very powerful, positive way to pray. After all, we do co-create with God. Our thoughts create our reality in so many ways. BUT, we need to be careful about treating God as a genie who exists to grant wishes. Remember, that your answered prayers affect everyone around you. For example, if I pray that my husband gets a job he has interviewed for, someone else is not getting that job. When we pray, we should focus on asking God to show us how to get the things that lead to the highest and best. Not necessarily for what we want in the moment.

I would encourage you to continue to pray, but treat it less like pleading with God and more like having a conversation with your Creator. Ask questions and spend time listening for answers. Remember that we live in a responsive universe. God really does want the very best for you. But you have to be willing to listen and to act in accordance with the information you receive.

OP here. Thank you for your response, I appreciate it. I'd like to clarify that I do not only pray for things. I pray for healings, blessings and safety for myself and others etc. Everytime I turn on the local or national news, I pray for victims of crime or accidents, war etc. I also pray for their families, friends and loved ones. I pray the perpetrators of crime will be caught and punished. You referred to what I do as affirmative prayer. Are there other sorts of prayers? I'd welcome a discussion. Prayer is something I've struggled with for many years. Thank you.

Do you really think your prayers for people you hear about on TV are doing any good? What if you hadn't turned on the TV that night and didn't know about the victims -- do you really think they would not recover as effectively because there was one less person praying for them?

[Anonymous]

Sometimes God doesn't answer your prayers for a reason. There is a song called Sometimes He Calms The Storms, by Scott Krippayne. Listen to it. It's an older song, from the 90's, I think.

[Anonymous]

I have had friends tell me that they have had religious experiences. But when they explain them, all it is is something that seems to defy explanation. For example, once in graduate school a candle holder jumped off my dresser and on to the floor. I can’t explain it, but I doubt that it had anything to do with any God.

[Anonymous]

Read Spinoza.