ANSWERS: 25
  • I don't pray much, actually, because I believe that in giving his son to die for us, God has made the ultimate sacrifice (being a mother I could not imagine giving up a son)so I could have eternal life. I don't have the huevos to ask him for more when he's given me all the talents to obtain what I need for myself.
  • a good question, I've actually pondered this in my mind for quite some time, and i think that the christians believe that by communicating with their deity, via the medium of prayer, that it gets what's on their mind off, and "offered their thoughts to their god"
  • If a child doesn't ask for a cookie...how do we know they want one? It's our decision to make as to when, and how many.
  • AWESOME!
  • Great question Antigone, that no one can answer! ++
  • "Now it came to pass, as HE was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, that one of his deciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his deciples." So he said, "when you pray, say: Our father in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Your kindome come, your will be done on Earth as it is in heaven. Give us day by day our daily bread and forgive us our sins, for we also forgive who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. LUKE: 11 Your question has already been answered, you just need to ask. Keep seeking, and you will find. . . First you must believe He is listening, truelly believe... If you ask and do not recieve, ask yourself why. Do you ask out of greed? Do you ask for proof? Do you need to see a Miracle before you believe? Where is faith? If a child goes to thier parent and asks for say, a new car, should it just be given? How is that child to learn to be on its own and provide for themselves and then thier children. Not everything is given. Wisdom, however can be learned. Give a man a fish and he will eat for a night. Teach a man to fish and he will never go hungry.
  • http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/143120 Apparently, you can actually change the will of God with prayer, but he has a set plan at the same time. Also, with omnipotence comes the ability to bend logic.
  • Many times my father was going to punish me very severely but my prolong tears and trembling often soften his heart and caused him to change his mind.
  • If you don't ask you don't get, but sometimes the answer is no :-)
  • Ha! Thats George Carlin all the way
  • I never had an unanswered prayer but then I do not pray for materialistic things. I pray because I feel that is the time I have with God. Part of what he ask is that we acknowledge who he is, Praise and worship only him. I pray not only for his sake but my own peace of mind. Knowing he is listening fills my heart with peace. I pray because it makes me feel close to my maker. My life has been blessed in every way asking for more would be selfish. I don't know why others prayers are not answered perhaps they do not see the answer because the results didn't come out like they thought that they would. I accept the will of God over the will of my own desires.
  • God wants us to talk to him thru prayer. Prayer is for offering thanksgiving, asking for strength to face trying times and situations, asking for courage to do what's right, asking forgiveness when we fail. Some of the most powerful prayers are when we pray for others. Prayer should not be selfish. What are you going to do with what you are asking for? When we face adversity it is to teach us, so that we can help others from what we have learned. Most importantly, don't forget to thank God for answered prayers.
  • What if his will is to give us what we ask for? "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you." Matthew 7:7
  • Pray your desires be in line with his will so he may grant them.
  • what are you praying for? we pray for strength, endurance, courage, wisdom, etc. to help get through trials in life, HE is COMFORT...HE KNOWS what we need already...and we pray to give THANKS for what we have, not for what we want.. and yes, we know HIS WILL, will be done.. Quote, Jesus,"Let thy will be done, not mine." The Lord's Prayer: "Thy Will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven". asking HIM to COME and make earth like heaven... so, you don't have to pray if you don't think you need or want HIS help... it is freedom to choose and we all have it...
  • God's will is not along a single strand. His will can be achieved in many ways. So His will can be achieved by a prayer that God decides to answer in the negative or in the positive. Why pray? Because it is communication. We talk things over with God, just as we talk things over with any other being. Because God wants to talk to us, and help us work through things. Because prayer is more than asking for things that make our lives more comfortable. It is saying thanks for God's goodness, saying sorry for failings, and asking for help for others. If the only communication we did with our partners was to demand things, then we might as well not communicate with them at all. If we relate to them, and speak to them about the full gamut of our lives, and tell them we love them and are grateful for the love they give us, then maybe we can have a long and rich relationship. (we might even discover that we can live without a lot of the things we previously demanded, and that other things have priorities)
  • First, a Christian ought to always pray that Gods will be done in a situation.This is because if we believe that all things work together for the good of them that love The Lord.God wants us to have good things. He gives us good things all the time. We dont always notice. Barring that, most people dont recieve because they dont believe! Jesus healed a man with an affliction that the apostles couldnt seem to pray off.He was grieved at the lack of faith. Christ said That it was a faithless and perverse generation. Why because their faith wasnt sufficient to believe that God could heal. Look in Matthew 9:20-29 Matthew 13:58 Matthew 14:31 Matthew 15:28 Matthew 17:16-18 Matthew 17:20 Etc. God works by your faith. That is a channel He chose. Jesus said "your faith makes you well" to people because He works through their faith in His healing (or prayer answering) power.
  • Why pray? Why pray when God is already in perfect control of everything? Why pray when God knows what we are going to ask before we ask it? Prayer is a form of serving God (Luke 2:36-38). We pray because God commands us to pray (Philippians 4:6-7). Prayer is exemplified for us by Christ and the early church (Mark 1:35; Acts 1:14; 2:42; 3:1; 4:23-31; 6:4; 13:1-3). If Jesus thought it was worthwhile to pray, we should also. God intends for prayer to be the means of obtaining His solutions in a number of situations. In situations for which we do not know specifically what God's will is, prayer is a means of discerning God’s will. If Peter had not asked for Jesus to call for him to come out of the boat and onto the water, he would have missed that opportunity (Matthew 14:28-29). A lack of prayer demonstrates a lack of faith and a lack of trust in God’s Word. We pray to demonstrate our faith in God, that He will do as He has promised in His Word and will bless our lives abundantly more than we could ask or hope for (Ephesians 3:20). Prayer is our primary means of seeing God work in others' lives. Because it is our means of "plugging into" God's power, it is our means of defeating Satan and his army that we are powerless to overcome by ourselves. References the Bible and www.gotquestions.org
  • The whole prayer thing doesn't make sense. Mostly for the point you make in your question.
  • Why pray? Why pray when God is already in perfect control of everything? Why pray when God knows what we are going to ask before we ask it? Prayers are always answered one way or another. It's up to the individual to recognize the answer. That's why so many claim to have unanswered prayers and simply chalk it up to "the will of God." There's much more to prayer than one thinks. Prayer is a form of serving God (Luke 2:36-38). We pray because God commands us to pray (Philippians 4:6-7). Prayer is exemplified for us by Christ and the early church (Mark 1:35; Acts 1:14; 2:42; 3:1; 4:23-31; 6:4; 13:1-3). If Jesus thought it was worthwhile to pray, we should also. God intends for prayer to be the means of obtaining His solutions in a number of situations such as-----Preparation for major decisions (Luke 6:12-13), Overcoming demonic barriers in lives (Matthew 17:14-21), The gathering of workers for the spiritual harvest (Luke 10:2), The gaining of strength to overcome temptation (Matthew 26:41), The means of strengthening others spiritually (Ephesians 6:18-19). We have God's promise that our prayers are not in vain, even if we don't receive specifically what we asked for (Matthew 6:6; Romans 8:26-27). God has promised that when we ask for things that are in accordance with His will, He will give us what we ask for (1 John 5:14-15). Sometimes He delays His answers according to His wisdom and for our benefit. In these situations, we are to be diligent and persistent in prayer (Matthew 7:7; Luke 18:1-8). Prayer should not be seen as our means of getting God to do our will on earth, but rather as a means of getting God's will done on earth. God’s wisdom far exceeds our own. A lack of prayer demonstrates a lack of faith and a lack of trust in God’s Word. We pray to demonstrate our faith in God, that He will do as He has promised in His Word and will bless our lives abundantly more than we could ask or hope for (Ephesians 3:20). I hope this helps.
  • The Bible states: “Pray incessantly. In connection with everything give thanks.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17, 18) We can express heartfelt appreciation for Jehovah’s supreme position and his wonderful works. Jesus asked: “When the Son of man arrives, will he really find the faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:1-8) Meaningful, heartfelt prayer builds faith. Another reason to draw closer to Jehovah by means of prayer is that he, in turn, draws closer to us. (James 4:8) When we open up our heart to Jehovah in prayer, we experience God’s love in a very personal way. Prayer can also help us to handle problems. The Bible tells us: “Throw your burden upon Jehovah himself, and he himself will sustain you. Never will he allow the righteous one to totter.” (Psalm 55:22) When faced with difficult decisions, we can imitate Jesus’ example. He spent a whole night in private prayer before appointing his 12 apostles. (Luke 6:12-16) Prayer keeps us humble in the face of our Creator and reminds us to look to Him for guidance.
  • Praying isn't a magic wand that we wave to get what we want. The Bible tells us to pray without ceasing. It is something God expects of us. It doesn't mean that God is going to go through a laundry list of our desires granting wishes, but it does serve a purpose. It matures us, so we learn to ask God's will instead of demanding ours. There are multiple examples in the Bible of God modifying His plans in response to the unselfish request of a righteous person. Sometimes God does change his mind. Our prayer is supposed to include praise. Not only does God enjoy our praise, but it focuses us on who He is, not just on what we want from Him. It teaches us to stay focused on Him. If you've ever noticed a truly terrified child, he is rarely paying attention to his parents. He is wholly focused on the object of his fear. If the parent can just get the child's attention, the child usually calms down and his fear lessens. Prayer does the same thing for Christians. If our attention is on God instead of the thing we fear, we are calmer and more trusting. And I truly don't think there are unanswered prayers. When we don't get the outcome we want, it doesn't mean God didn't answer, it means sometimes the answer is "No." That is no different from our relationship with our parents. If we had good parents, they didn't give candy every time we asked. Sometimes the answer is just "no, you can't have that."
  • God always answers prayer if it is asked according to His will and His will is spelled out in Scripture. 1 John 5:14-15 "This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him." Even when we don't ask according to His will, technically, He still answers by not answering the prayer, which should be a huge hint to the person praying from a selfish and angry heart and not according to His will.
  • cause people hope it will be his will when they pray
  • Praying is used to communicate with God. Every time a believer prays, he or she is spiritually texting God.

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