god wants us to pray to him and ask him for things we need or want and for his help. he answers them when he he is ready to give us these things, and sometimes he answers them and people just dont see the answer. but we are his children and he wants us to depend on him for our wants, needs our love for him, and our faith in him to help us.

Theory on prayer~ You can look at it as guidance for the tenents in the serenity prayer.

We pray to gain understanding that in many things in life we cannot control what happens. That gives us peace and understanding and allows us to give up the control we'd like to have. If you pray~ you give up the right to worry because it is out of your hands.

It takes FAITH

actually never thought of it that why...ty for that point

Theory on prayer~ You can look at it as guidance for the tenents in the serenity prayer.

We pray to gain understanding that in many things in life we cannot control what happens. That gives us peace and understanding and allows us to give up the control we'd like to have. If you pray~ you give up the right to worry because it is out of your hands.

but doesn't believer know that everything is out of their control and in God's hands ...so why would one have to pray to gain peace and understanding unless they have doubts about the power of God

To be perfectly honest there is an element of prayer that does bother me. I remember not long ago a friend saying that she was running late for work but had to stop by the store first. It was a cold rainy morning and she mentioned that she prayed that there would be a parking spot near the store to help her save time, avoid getting rained on and just make the trip easier.

She found a spot right in front of the store and so she figured that God had answered the prayer. I guess what bothers me is the capriciousness of that story in that a different friend of mine was struggling with a very sick daughter. Her daughter had been born with a congenital defect and though both my friend and her husband prayed day and night for God to assist they lost their brave little girl not long after.

I think the question that some might ask (so I will) is this: Did God have anything at all to do with the relatively minor request for a parking spot and if so how is that more important or a more worthy prayer than healing a sick little girl? If God listened to both prayers and answered only one, why that parking spot request?

Surely the person who found the spot near the store that day would have gladly given up her prayer being affirmed so that a child could live.

I know some of the response answers about "working in mysterious" ways and that only God knows why...., but that fact is of no particular comfort when you are left to bury a child.

And imagine how you would feel if you were that parent and heard someone attribute to God the rather mundane and ordinary request for a parking spot. How could you not feel at least a bit irked about the method, the motives and the result?

Just wondering--thanks for reading.

Drew

If people believed that things were truly out of their hands they would not pray for things to happen. They would need to gain understanding that they cannot....

<----taking cover

"Too bad those war torn places of Africa riddled with famine and children dying horrible deaths are not praying correctly. If he hears them the same, I really think he should have sent the lap top there so they could trade it for some rice."

a quote from another thread...anyone care to address this?

If people believed that things were truly out of their hands they would not pray for things to happen. They would need to gain understanding that they cannot....

Yellow~ from what I see in here already I'd guess this might be a circular reasoning sort of issue. And an overcomplication....

that's only if they lost their faith

I just know funches and have seen you in action

<---crawling under the table