Posted: 11/5/2008 6:07:34 PM EDT
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I have been going to church since I was 2 years old and have been a believer since I was about 12. I am actually starting to question the methodology of prayer. I know that the Bible says that God will answer our prayers and that we have not because we ask not.
God is sovereign. God has a divine plan that is bigger than a single persons existence. If I pray for something and God says 'No' because it is against his divine plan, what is the point in praying in the first place? If it is part of God's divine plan, it will happen anyway whether I pray for it or not, if I pray for it and he says 'No', it would have never taken place anyway. I have been praying for something for a while now and it is becoming clear that God is saying 'No', and that is fine, but the big problem for me is I am totally not seeing 'The Big Picture' here and I am getting very discouraged. 
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Look at "The Lords Prayer" He said pray after this manner. "Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done". There is nothing wrong with asking for something but if he says "no" it is probably for your good and I don't mean this to sound wrong but your prayer is probably out of "His Will"
Hope this helps! Hang in there. God is good |
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I have been praying for something for a while now and it is becoming clear that God is saying 'No', and that is fine, but the big problem for me is I am totally not seeing 'The Big Picture' here and I am getting very discouraged. This may sound harsh, but please don't take it that way: What makes you think you deserve to see "The Big Picture?" Sometimes He says no without letting us see the reason right away in order to teach us humility, and to trust Him. |
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what's in God's plan still involves a choice for each of us. don't lose heart.
how about this? when your child wants something, you already know before they ask what your answer will be... you see them looking at it, drooling over it, working up the courage to ask, and you know you'll tell them yes or no, based on the ultimate benefit/harm of the item. when they do finally ask, it makes you smile to hear them ask politely, right? how would it make you feel if they said, "if you wanted me to have that, you'd get it for me, so I'm not going to bother asking." because, while they'd be right, part of the process is the asking. and prayer is MUCH more than asking for things, right?  building up that relationship, bringing your heart closer to His, encouraging you by focusing on Him - that's priceless.
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| I have been praying for a cure for my dis-ablilitating panic attacks since I was 13 years old. I'm 41 now, and at times my faith was shaken due to what I thought was either Him not answering at all, or even a no answer to my prayers because I was sinning and not deserving of a cure. Please don't put yourself through what I did. We all sin and fall short and that is why Jesus died for our sins. I came to realize after understanding more of His love for us as His children, that it has been better for me and others around me for me to suffer through this for so long. I don't know if you have children or not but that is when I realized exactly how His love works. Because of my panic attacks, I had to quit work and go on disability in 2000. I can't drive more than 10 or 15 miles before I have a major attack if I'm alone. It stopped me from being able to hunt, play tennis or golf, or take my son to ball games or other activities that fathers normally do. It kept me out of military service, because no one would accept me even though I scored very high on the exams when they found out my condition. What I didn't realize though, and couldn't see until the last few years, is that by continuing to praise God even through all of these things, several people have accepted the Lord from that witness. Other things are that I am able to spend a lot more time with my son than if I were working full time and he has really needed this as he has had emotional problems at times because of his mother divorcing me, (as a result of the panic attacks), which I never told him of course. This time together has helped to shape him into a young man that knows that he is blessed even though we don't have much, and has kept him active in the church and kept him from getting into the things that a lot of kids do these days. Those are blessings that I would never have had without this illness. I continue to pray for healing however, and if it is in his will for me then it will happen. I have had lots of prayers answered too, more than not. If it is healing you are praying for continue to do so, and if it doesn't happen it just means he is using you for something much greater than yourself. If what you are going through leads one soul to God, it means you are in his will, and will be rewarded for your faithfullness. God is your Father and loves you, I am your brother in Christ and love you as well, and I'm sure a good many people here are brothers with us and love you also. We will pray with you for your needs to be met. |
| One last thing that I forgot to mention. Just talk to God as you would your father here on earth. Above all else he wants our love, and a relationship with us. Think of the things you would like to hear from your children, and things that would please you as a parent. You don't need to get caught up in any particular prayer, just talk to Him, tell him how your day went, how you feel, and think him for the things he has provided for you and your friends and family. As the other poster on here said, recite the Lord's prayer, but also just talk to him about things going on in your life just like he was standing right in front of you. Don't get caught up too much into reciting the same words over and over. It would seem a little insincere if your family members just said the same thing over and over every day. I guess I'm just saying every type of prayer has it's place and time, but our Father just wants you to let him know you love Him and how you're doing. May God bless you. |
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I have been praying for something for a while now and it is becoming clear that God is saying 'No', and that is fine, but the big problem for me is I am totally not seeing 'The Big Picture' here and I am getting very discouraged. This may sound harsh, but please don't take it that way: What makes you think you deserve to see "The Big Picture?" Sometimes He says no without letting us see the reason right away in order to teach us humility, and to trust Him. Honestly because like any child being told by a parent, the child wants to know why. 'Just because I said so' is hard to take and understand to my fleshly side. 
The wife and I have been going through a tough spot (job wise) and to be quite frank every time I think I see God working something out in our favor, it is like the rug keeps getting pulled out from under us at the end and it is getting very frustrating. I would rather her not get these promising leads, interviews and follow interviews only to be shot down at the end. Now, I am in no way making a direct comparison here but just follow me. I do not read anywhere that Job knew about what was going on in the background and yet he remained faithful. I am in no where near the situation Job was and I don't plan on denouncing my faith either, that story does keep me encouraged that in the long run things will be fine. I am willing to suffer and sacrifice if I know what I am sacrificing for, I would just like a purpose. |
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what's in God's plan still involves a choice for each of us. don't lose heart. how about this? when your child wants something, you already know before they ask what your answer will be... you see them looking at it, drooling over it, working up the courage to ask, and you know you'll tell them yes or no, based on the ultimate benefit/harm of the item. when they do finally ask, it makes you smile to hear them ask politely, right? how would it make you feel if they said, "if you wanted me to have that, you'd get it for me, so I'm not going to bother asking." because, while they'd be right, part of the process is the asking. and prayer is MUCH more than asking for things, right? building up that relationship, bringing your heart closer to His, encouraging you by focusing on Him - that's priceless.
Is this some sort of weird Master Card commercial? 
Your explanation does make good sense too. |
| Pavlofwof stated it well. If your children didnt talk to you every day how would you feel. So we pray to our father in heavan just as we would talk to our father on earth. also God know us better than we know ourselves. He knows whats best for us both in good times and bad. We sometimes pray for help ,financially, physically, mentally , and sometimes the blessing comes sometimes they dont. have faith when the time comes they will come to you. Having faith in god and our brother jesus christ is the basis of the blessings to come to us all. One thing I know, Jesus christ took upon our sins, our pain, our hate he took upon him all the negative things that would happenb to us all and he felt this so much he bled for us. from every pore of his body. I tell you when you have abad day or bad night pray top him , pray/call upon the atonement of christ to ease your pain and it will be so. I am not to religious as I am spiritual I go to church 2 times a month or so and try to pray daily when I can . |
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Quoted: Quoted: what's in God's plan still involves a choice for each of us. don't lose heart. how about this? when your child wants something, you already know before they ask what your answer will be... you see them looking at it, drooling over it, working up the courage to ask, and you know you'll tell them yes or no, based on the ultimate benefit/harm of the item. when they do finally ask, it makes you smile to hear them ask politely, right? how would it make you feel if they said, "if you wanted me to have that, you'd get it for me, so I'm not going to bother asking." because, while they'd be right, part of the process is the asking. and prayer is MUCH more than asking for things, right? building up that relationship, bringing your heart closer to His, encouraging you by focusing on Him - that's priceless. Is this some sort of weird Master Card commercial? Your explanation does make good sense too. LOL - nope. just reminding us all that some things truly are priceless. thanks for the laugh, though.  about the wife and her job interviews - it may be that this is a time of trial for you both. sucks, but it happens to all of us. (and sometimes, the harder we cling to Him, the fiercer the storm. spiritual warfare is real, and the devil hates it when our faith grows stronger.) know that it WILL pass, and things WILL work out for your good. and it sounds hokey, but have you reminded satan that he has no right to touch you and yours? sometimes he has to be reminded/rebuked. tell him to get out of your home and away from your family, in the name of Jesus. (and I know - it sounds hokey, but it helps, and it's Biblical.) is she looking for the right job? maybe a different field or maybe a specific company is best for her... what does she do? y'all are in our prayers, btw.
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I have been praying for something for a while now and it is becoming clear that God is saying 'No', and that is fine, but the big problem for me is I am totally not seeing 'The Big Picture' here and I am getting very discouraged. This may sound harsh, but please don't take it that way: What makes you think you deserve to see "The Big Picture?" Sometimes He says no without letting us see the reason right away in order to teach us humility, and to trust Him. Honestly because like any child being told by a parent, the child wants to know why. 'Just because I said so' is hard to take and understand to my fleshly side.
<snip> Now, I am in no way making a direct comparison here but just follow me. I do not read anywhere that Job knew about what was going on in the background and yet he remained faithful. I am in no where near the situation Job was and I don't plan on denouncing my faith either, that story does keep me encouraged that in the long run things will be fine. I am willing to suffer and sacrifice if I know what I am sacrificing for, I would just like a purpose. How very true! However, us being created beings, and He being the Creator, we have no right to expect to be told the "why." That's hard for us in this country to grasp, since our society is wrapped around "rights." "I have a right to know..." With God, it doesn't work that way. What is the purpose for the suffering you endure? Who knows? For now, the purpose is to teach you and your wife humility, perseverance, and trust that His plan is best for you, even if you don't know what it is. I understand about having promising jobs pulled out from under you. Been there, done that. Kind of going through that now. I need a job that pays about half-again what I'm making now in order for us to get out of debt and actually save money for the future. Right now we're barely squeaking by (family of 8). There's a promising job just sitting there for me, if things work out right and if certain contracts come through, but it hasn't happened like it was supposed to. I was all set to change jobs, and the contract that needed to materialize got torpedoed by my current employer because our administrator is friends with the rep for a different company that has an inferior product. I'll have to wait until next summer for the possibility to pop up again. No contract, no job opening. No job opening, no extra money unless I get a 2nd job that is willing to work around a very odd schedule with days on-call. I don't understand why the Lord hasn't led me to the career I need in order to support the family He gave me, but for now I just have to pray, trust, and pray some more. |
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I have been praying for something for a while now and it is becoming clear that God is saying 'No', and that is fine, but the big problem for me is I am totally not seeing 'The Big Picture' here and I am getting very discouraged. This may sound harsh, but please don't take it that way: What makes you think you deserve to see "The Big Picture?" Sometimes He says no without letting us see the reason right away in order to teach us humility, and to trust Him. Honestly because like any child being told by a parent, the child wants to know why. 'Just because I said so' is hard to take and understand to my fleshly side.
<snip> Now, I am in no way making a direct comparison here but just follow me. I do not read anywhere that Job knew about what was going on in the background and yet he remained faithful. I am in no where near the situation Job was and I don't plan on denouncing my faith either, that story does keep me encouraged that in the long run things will be fine. I am willing to suffer and sacrifice if I know what I am sacrificing for, I would just like a purpose. How very true! However, us being created beings, and He being the Creator, we have no right to expect to be told the "why." That's hard for us in this country to grasp, since our society is wrapped around "rights." "I have a right to know..." With God, it doesn't work that way. What is the purpose for the suffering you endure? Who knows? For now, the purpose is to teach you and your wife humility, perseverance, and trust that His plan is best for you, even if you don't know what it is. I understand about having promising jobs pulled out from under you. Been there, done that. Kind of going through that now. I need a job that pays about half-again what I'm making now in order for us to get out of debt and actually save money for the future. Right now we're barely squeaking by (family of 8). There's a promising job just sitting there for me, if things work out right and if certain contracts come through, but it hasn't happened like it was supposed to. I was all set to change jobs, and the contract that needed to materialize got torpedoed by my current employer because our administrator is friends with the rep for a different company that has an inferior product. I'll have to wait until next summer for the possibility to pop up again. No contract, no job opening. No job opening, no extra money unless I get a 2nd job that is willing to work around a very odd schedule with days on-call. I don't understand why the Lord hasn't led me to the career I need in order to support the family He gave me, but for now I just have to pray, trust, and pray some more. Do you wear size 12 shoes? I think we are walking in the same pair. I went back to college to change careers to make more money so I could support my wife and start a family. I truly feel that I was led by God because I really didn't have any issues working 14 hour days and going to school full time for 6 years to get it done. The problem now is that I did get a job right off the bat but it was a pretty good cut in pay but I needed the experience and this is a fantastic learning opportunity and it is stable. Now the economy is down, no pay increases or bonuses this year and then the wife lost her job. I am totally perplexed. |
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I learned this from someone who was a very good Christian shortly before she passed away.
God never says "no." It's always "yes," "not now," or "I have something better for you." We are happiest when we are within God's plan for us. Not always an easy thing to see, and there's a lot of room to speculate about what exactly God's plan for us really is. That's between you and God, me and God, him and God, her and God... Always the person and their individual relationship with God. We each have the beautiful power of choice. Something that the Angels and demons don't have. Once they decide (as the angels did who rebel, hence demons), that's it. We, on the other hand, can choose. Keep God at the forefront of your mind. Keep God in your heart, and more importantly, let him stay there and work in you. There's never a "no," I believe. A part of the wonder that is God is just how awesome it is when you realize how happy you are when you get the "I have something better for you" part. Most times I bet people never even see it coming... I'll pray for ya. Keep yer chin up, trooper. |
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Do you wear size 12 shoes? I think we are walking in the same pair. Actually, I wear size 9. I went back to college to change careers to make more money so I could support my wife and start a family. I truly feel that I was led by God because I really didn't have any issues working 14 hour days and going to school full time for 6 years to get it done. The problem now is that I did get a job right off the bat but it was a pretty good cut in pay but I needed the experience and this is a fantastic learning opportunity and it is stable. Now the economy is down, no pay increases or bonuses this year and then the wife lost her job. I am totally perplexed.
Yup. My first degree was a BA in Theology so I could engage in church ministry as a career, not just volunteer. The family grew, but the income didn't, so I went back to school to get into a new line of work. I make more money than I ever have (church ministry didn't pay squat), but the family grew some more (we're up to 6 boys now, ages 9 to 9mo.). If the Lord wants to give us lots of kids, then by golly I need a better paying job, but they keep getting pulled out from under me. I just have to keep reminding myself: Matthew 6:25-33 |