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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Prayer is the act of speaking with God on the deepest level. Sometimes God answers "yes" sometimes "no" and sometimes "wait".  [b] In the bible Jesus says that sometimes persistent prayer wears God down into saying yes.[/b]  Just like a parent and child.  Mostly the answer that occurs is for our own good in the end as God sees the future and the decisions take our eternal life into account.[/quote]

Where in the Bible does it say this?[/quote]
Luke 11:5-13. You can look it up.[/quote]

"So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened."

I am fairly liberal but use scripture from the Christian Bible 90% of the time.  I've also taken countless Spiritual Enrichment Education (continuing ed) courses from ministers in many faiths.  I have never heard anyone, clergy or otherwise, interpret that  passage as "wearing God down".  I'm sure some of the prosperity gospel preachers might use it that way.  No serious Minister would because that interpretation sends a dangerous message.

When we align our lives with God's purpose, our prayers may manifest exactly what we need.  You could pray from now till eternity for a new Lamborghini.  You will probably not "wear God down".  That doesn't mean we shouldn't pray for what we want.  Affirmative prayer often puts into action the things we need to achieve our goals.  But God is not a genie in a bottle waiting to grant wishes to those who pray the hardest.  To suggest this is spiritual malpractice.  Don't you think starving people pray pretty damn hard for food?  Why doesn't God answer?  Does anyone pray harder than the parents of a sick child? As a minister should I explain that their child died because they just couldn't "wear God down"? Maybe more prayer would have kept their baby alive?   Jesus Christ pleaded with God in the garden to "take this cup". He did not want to die.  Yet he was crucified.  Maybe he should have prayed harder?

Prayer allows us to communicate with our Source. It provides comfort and peace. Most importantly, it helps us align our will with the will of God. When you begin thinking in terms of wearing God down, you diminish God.

If you really want to understand this passage, study it with an awareness of time, culture, language, and audience.  This passage is a reminder for us to turn inward. To rely on God's love to guide us as we move through our spiritual journey. To trust God to provide that peace that goes beyond our understanding. To rest in the assurance that when we knock, he/she answers.  [/quote]

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