Originally posted by confusemind:
Does God always answer prayer?
Many would say so- stating that God either answers [b]yes, no or
wait. That way, we are led to believe that God answers
every single prayer of the believer, one way or another.
But, could it be that this could be used as a cop-out?
I mean, could it be that one of the reasons some of our prayers are
not anwered is because God will not listen to our prayer? Maybe in
some cases God is not saying yes because there is sin in our lives
and it is blocking our prayers?
As far as I can tell, there are 3 major qualifications that must be
met in order to have a prayer answered. (1) Right motives, (2) With
a clean heart and (3) Within the will of God.
The Bible tells us, "You ask and do not receive, because you ask
wrongly, to spend it on your passions." (James 4:3). If our motive
is to get a new car and a bigger wardrobe or fame and fortune, your
prayer will probably not be answered.
The Bible also tells us that "If I had cherished iniquity in my
heart, the Lord would not have listened." (Psalm 66:1
. As long as we hang onto sin and refuse to confess and
forsake it, God will not listen to our prayer, no matter how
eloquent the prayer is.
Then we are told, "Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do,
that the Father may be glorified in the Son." (John 14:13). Asking
in His name does not mean tacking on "In Jesus' Name, Amen" at the
end of every prayer. It simply means praying as if it is something
Jesus would pray. Doing so glorifies God and He answers.
Now, the cop-out comes when we boldly smile and when God does not
answer our prayer as we say, "He said no." or "God must be saying,
"Wait."" The problem with that is, you may be mistaking the symptom
that there is a problem, with being the answer itself!
If your prayers are not being answered, try examining yourself. Ask
yourself, "What is my motive for asking for this?" If it turns out
your motive passes the test, then ask yourself, "Is there sin in my
life that is blocking my prayer?" If not- ask yourself, "Is this
something Jesus would pray for?"
Maybe by doing so, we would grow in faith and wisdom, and would see
more prayers of ours answered.
Source
from:http://www.infuzemag.com/staff/andy/archives/2005/12/yesnowait_answe.html
[/b]
So you are saying that praying for better health is unlikely to
be answered then. Of course there is always "Wait".
Meanwhile on the planet of the Great Hypercomputer the people
celebrate the death of the Microcomputer Man.
"The microcomputer will never be as great as the Hypercomputer!"
the people chanted in unison. The Microcomputer Man was just a
blind, ignorant, small-minded man who thought he saw nothing inside
the Hypercomputer, whereas everyone else could feel the other
dimensional parts.
How can a system made of visible, well-understood components into a
comprehensible organization ever beat a System made up of
invisible, mysterious trans-dimensional components?
Never.
