Is Your Prayer Life Acceptable to God?

a reply to: TzarChasm

Nah... I don't post to prove anything to anyone...

IF one doesn't believe prayer works... that's fine with me...

In any case its supposed to be done in private, and not advertised like most do...

a reply to: Akragon

a reply to: Spiramirabilis Its written in our hearts... deep down we all know what God wants...

Followers?

Imagine a god craving prayers as if he had withdrawals.

I'm an Atheist and I'm proud! Having said that, I also have to ask myself "Did Jesus exist?" My answer is I believe he did, I'd put money on it. With the printing press not yet invented, so no wealth in book sales, many people witnessed something that they felt needed recording. The entity they documented was most likely real but the message has been messed with over time by those who needed to control the populace. I believe Jesus was trying to tell us that we are Gods, we have the power to change our lives using a form of meditation we've come to know as prayer. Jesus gave us the ten commandments and you only have to read them to understand that if followed by all, we'd be much better off globally. Christians are unfortunately buying in to the perverted message those who seek control have translated from the original truth that a wise man delivered 2000+ years ago.Belief is everything and God is everything that is, and we are all a part of that...Simple! Of course it's not that simple but Christians PLEASE, give your head a shake...You've been hoodwinked by power mongering Politicians over time who've done nothing more than distort the wisdom of an ancient and wise messenger.

originally posted by: minkmouse
Jesus gave us the ten commandments and you only have to read them to understand that if followed by all, we'd be much better off globally.

The Ten Commandments come from the Old Testament, not Jesus.

And if you read them you would see half of them have little value to society unless you're a God fearing Christian, which you stated you are not. The rest of them I've got no issue with but they're not unique to the Bible or the Christian faith. Credit for them shouldn't be attributed to a divine power imo.

Just saying!

originally posted by: WakeUpBeer

originally posted by: minkmouse
Jesus gave us the ten commandments and you only have to read them to understand that if followed by all, we'd be much better off globally.

The Ten Commandments come from the Old Testament, not Jesus.

And if you read them you would see half of them have little value to society unless you're a God fearing Christian, which you stated you are not. The rest of them I've got no issue with but they're not unique to the Bible or the Christian faith. Credit for them shouldn't be attributed to a divine power imo.

Just saying!

Yes they may not have come from Jesus but they live in a book that is the Christian Backbone, they will quote it end to end. Which of the ten (and you are correct, they're not unique to the bible) have little value?

Yes they may not have come from Jesus but they live in a book that is the Christian Backbone, they will quote it end to end. Which of the ten (and you are correct, they're not unique to the bible) have little value?

a reply to: minkmouse

The first four:
-No other Gods before me
-No false idols/graven images
-Don't take the Lords name in vain
-Keep the Sabbath

a reply to: WakeUpBeer

K...I'll have to put those through the mill, I see your problems with them. It would seem that what GOD is needs to be identified before the actual commandments work and to be honest, I knew someone would come up with some of the 10 that didn't mesh. Since I didn't know them off by heart, I waited Cheers.

originally posted by: LesMisanthrope
a reply to: Akragon

a reply to: Spiramirabilis Its written in our hearts... deep down we all know what God wants...

Followers?

Imagine a god craving prayers as if he had withdrawals.

them too... IF they're not blinded by their religion

a reply to: Jesuslives4u

"I would recommend to be realistic in asking God for things. Asking for the lottery numbers (something I have not done) seems ridiculous to me. Keep it simple.... how is your family life (strife with a loved one?) or health or employment. Pray for others and receive blessings from heaven. When prayers are not sincere God will know."

I think that if I ask God to relieve suffering and to spread happiness, then he will answer my prayer.
I would seek to honor the majesty of God by appealing to his infinite mercy and compassion.

We are his children. Why would we not love our family?

You don't need to tell others that you are praying. What would be the point of that instead of trying to manipulate people to see you in a certain way?

Praying with another person is really powerful, though. If you want to tell another person that you are praying in order to get them to ask them if they want to join you, then that is cool. You can really feel a strong unity when you pray with another person.

originally posted by: stirling

originally posted by: Jesuslives4u

originally posted by: stirling
Pray all you want...............the difference is what you DO.....Not all that genuflecting physically and mentally.....Get out and spend the praying time doing something positive,....and youll see how fast things then improve for mankind......
Religion is the opiate of the masses.......

Prayer is a very powerful tool when used properly and those who believe know the power of prayer. It does work... ye of little faith.... try it for 30 days .... it will change your life forever.

Spare me the rhetoric "brother"....praying and doing don't even compare to each other....have a little faith, get off yer knees and practice the way....

In all reality, God is like, "Don't call us....Well call YOU....Youre supposed to be out there BEING your faith".....just a personal take....

Good advice. After my prayers I do go out with my faith in tow. Of course I do NOT approach strangers and bother them with religion.... good way to get my ass kicked.

I try to practice what I teach but there are times I miss the mark.

a reply to: FyreByrd

I read both of your replies and you know what?.... I do not believe you are an atheist ( this is to be a compliment) I think you are sitting on the fence and have not made up your mind ..... like many people. Guess what? One day you will except the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. How do I know? God told me .... that is how I know.

OK ........ now once the laughter stops I will try to answer a question or two.

Prayer is communication and God wants to communicate with his children. He does not want a one way line .... him talking and you failing to talk back to him.

You made a good point about prayer ..... awareness and quiet time and relinquishing control are all important if you want to hear God. This takes practice but it can be mastered.

Not all thoughts generated inside your mind come from you. More often then we think..... thoughts are put into our minds from an external source. God....angels....demons.....satan ..... etc. AND we need to weed out the negative thoughts and reject them BUT we have also been warned to test the spirit (meaning the one who gave you that thought) because Lucifer will and can come as an angel of light in an attempt to mislead you which in time he will lead you to death and you die.

I too am VERY careful what I pray for AND before I pray I think about what, why and how I want to get my point across to God. I try to be very specific and give my reasons for the things I ask for. I ALWAYS pray for others (my first priority in prayer) I don't ask God to heal everyone (cop out....cheap), I ask God to heal (so and so) by NAME.

Like in the days of Christ is it also today! There are MANY holy men and women who have the gift from God to heal. As in the day of Christ the sick ran after HIM for a healing...... it is so today.

So if you are physically or mentally sick and need a healing I recommend you search and find that man or woman of God and then they MUST put their hands on you when calling out to God for your healing.

EDIT LATER: So if you know someone who needs to be healed prayer will NOT always be the answer. The sick MUST be TOUCHED and prayed over by a holy man or woman for they also understand that prayer and FASTING along with the gift from God is what it takes to heal the sick and wake the dead. Search the net and you will find many people who have been brought back from the dead the VERY minute a man of God commands it so. Did not Christ say: "Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father." (John 14:12)

originally posted by: Akragon

originally posted by: Jesuslives4u

originally posted by: Akragon
a reply to: Jesuslives4u

She's simply stating that faith does not always give you what you pray for...

God does not always answer prayers despite what the "good book" says...

Whatever that reason is... is HIS own, and not for our knowing, or understanding

God ALWAYS answers prayers...... most can not hear the answer.

Except when he doesn't...

Many prayers go unanswered my friend... and in many cases the answer is no...

Good point because I believe some people do not pray properly. I believe there is a formula on proper prayer. So here it is:

I pray out loud......very important. I want my prayers to be known (heard) in heaven and hell!

After I wake up and BEFORE I eat anything....First and FOREMOST in EVERY prayer I ask God to reveal my sins to me ..... I want forgiveness of my sins and my slate wiped clean before I continue.....once I realize what and how I sinned I ask God for forgiveness in the name of Jesus Christ (not Jesus.... many on earth today are called Jesus... I show the proper respect for my Lord and saviour Jesus Christ)..... so step one takes some time. I have to SHUT UP and listen to the spirit.

Another good reason to pray in secret as it is quoted in the Bible. I don't want others to hear my sins.

The I give praise and thanks to God..... look into this. This is a long subject matter. This includes the Lord's prayer.

Now I ask God to forgive others....by NAME, reveal himself to .... BY NAME..... to heal so and so BY NAME.... to protect, shelter and feed the innocent, the sick and the elderly.....

The I ask God to help me ... here is where I get also specific as to my needs NOT MY WANTS. NOW this part is repeated day after day ...... year after year until I receive what I asked for.

P.S. It NEVER takes year after year.... a week to a few weeks at MOST. I just threw in the year after year so others understand..... this is a part of faith.

When I finished with prayer ...... I believe in my prayer and KNOW it will be answered (called faith) HOWEVER God's will comes first.....not mine.

If I listed all the prayers God has answered it would take hours and my fingers would bleed from hitting the keys on the keyboard.

So.....this is my basic prayer in the morning....... and at night time before I go to bed? Close to the same as above with thanking God for the renewal of sleep and time of refreshment, I ask God to guard my mind and my body as I sleep (NEVER do I have nightmares) I tell HIM I commit myself to HIS protection against every attempt of Satan and his demons in attacking me while I sleep. I renounce all fears and cast every anxiety upon the Lord.

So prayer for me is an important part of DAILY life.

originally posted by: Diderot
a reply to: Jesuslives4u

"I would recommend to be realistic in asking God for things. Asking for the lottery numbers (something I have not done) seems ridiculous to me. Keep it simple.... how is your family life (strife with a loved one?) or health or employment. Pray for others and receive blessings from heaven. When prayers are not sincere God will know."

I think that if I ask God to relieve suffering and to spread happiness, then he will answer my prayer.
I would seek to honor the majesty of God by appealing to his infinite mercy and compassion.

We are his children. Why would we not love our family?

Well said. Keep the faith though you have not seen and your reward will be eternal life with God.

originally posted by: arpgme
You don't need to tell others that you are praying. What would be the point of that instead of trying to manipulate people to see you in a certain way?

Praying with another person is really powerful, though. If you want to tell another person that you are praying in order to get them to ask them if they want to join you, then that is cool. You can really feel a strong unity when you pray with another person.

I can not speak for people of others faith but Christians are to help one another especially in times of weakness and temptations. As I mentioned in an earlier post many Christians do NOT properly pray..... I see it in church and hear it when others talk about it and how their prayers go unanswered. If you want God's attention and you want your prayers answered then you need to make time in your daily life by showing devotion and love to the creator.

Not that I am speaking directly to you...... but to all.

originally posted by: FlyersFan
Matthew 21:22 – “You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it."


That one always irks me. It simply is not true.

I know many, many people who had total loving faith and prayed for cures or miracles that never came. And I know a lot of self righteous Christians who told those people that they didn't get their cure or miracle because they didn't have enough faith and weren't good enough Christians.

Thats actually a bit of a cop out and misrepresentation of the bibles teaching.

More a teaching of what some in the church want to believe

Jesus was teaching that if you have faith in God, you will understand Gods plan is not your plan.
That we have to line our beliefs up with God, not God line up His actions with our wants.
We should be praying as the lords prayer states. "Your will be done", not mine

What is the purpose of faith if God is a statue whos belly we can rub and have our wishes granted.

Faith is accepting Gods purpose without understanding or complaining.

a reply to: borntowatch

Sometimes it is better to complain when things seem very wrong so that you can receive information on why it is what it is and understand gods purpose and the complexity. Faith is for those who do not know. Gnosis is for those who do know and get information revealed on their level of understanding to guide them.

originally posted by: Akragon
a reply to: TzarChasm

Nah... I don't post to prove anything to anyone...

IF one doesn't believe prayer works... that's fine with me...

In any case its supposed to be done in private, and not advertised like most do...

and then afterwards someone says 'i prayed for you' and the person is like 'omg thats why everything worked out'. except according to the study, evidence suggests otherwise. so even if you dont post to prove, i just did.

originally posted by: TzarChasm

originally posted by: Akragon
a reply to: TzarChasm

Nah... I don't post to prove anything to anyone...

IF one doesn't believe prayer works... that's fine with me...

In any case its supposed to be done in private, and not advertised like most do...

and then afterwards someone says 'i prayed for you' and the person is like 'omg thats why everything worked out'. except according to the study, evidence suggests otherwise. so even if you dont post to prove, i just did.

George Carlin stated in one of his stand ups that his God is Joe Pesci and he prays to him on a regular basis. Now that George has passed on Joe Pesci must be lonely.

originally posted by: ketsuko


But as you don't believe that prayer works, you are likely doomed

You don't know me. In fact I do believe that prayer works! That's why I said....

I pray to God to protect me from his spiritually arrogant, holier than thou, Theocratic fascist, followers.

Thanks for the confirmation of my attitudes about most Christians and those that worship authority in any form.