Do you believe in the power of prayer? If so, why?
Discussion
I don’t believe prayer itself has power. It’s not a magic spell, it’s talking to and relying on God. I believe in the power of God.
He’s told us to pray, and in the Bible are many examples of the desired outcome either coming about or not after prayer for something. In some Biblical cases, prayer does seem to change God’s decision of what to do. In other cases, He sticks with another plan, but something is there to be learned.
In my own life, I don’t expect that if I pray hard enough for something I’ll get it. The attitude is more that I’m telling God what’s on my heart, recognizing His sovereignty and power over the situation, and being receptive to His voice.
There are some things I’ve prayed for and gotten, others I haven’t gotten, and a lot of deepening my relationship with God either way.
Well, this is interesting. I think groups of people focusing on a circumstance may collectively have some influence over the circumstance, I don’t profess to understand the mechanism. I have a problem with the idea of God, all his children and the dumpster fire he seems content to allow us all to live in. I suppose it’s different approaches to a similar outcome. I’m glad we can discuss it.
What don’t you like about the idea of God? Or God’s children?
I wouldn’t call God content to let us live in a dumpster fire. The Bible reveals a God who is loving and passionate for justice.
For the dumpster fire parts of life, I believe a day of judgment is coming, and after that a new creation so full of peace and joy that no one will even think anymore about the suffering we have now (Isaiah 65:17-25). And even now, there are still so many blessings to be enjoyed and mercies to be thankful for.
Sin has distorted all of creation. We can choose (an ongoing process with lots of failure) to not let it control us, but at the present time it can still affect us (we feel the heat of the dumpster fires even if we do our best not to stoke the flames). A lot of my understanding of why this is so is based on the Parable of the Tares, Matthew 13:24-30.
Fathers who are loving and passionate for justice don’t allow endless unproductive suffering to persist in the reality of their children. Omnipotent fathers would certainly not tolerate the persistent presence of a injurious molester in their child’s room, yet here we all are, living amongst self serving animals with the supposed presence of a persecuting fallen angel our “father” does nothing about. Religion mitigates the human fear of death and the loss of loved ones, ritual allows us to imagine we have influence over chance, no matter the dogma, it’s contrived fiction. I would never stand in the way of belief bring peace, or intentionally try to undermine anyone’s faith,but in discussion of what is real and not real, these things are legitimate concerns.