God we pray you show mankind your mercy at this hour

originally posted by: backcase
"I realize according to some interpretations not all prayers are answered, despite Jesus making it sound like that. Though I don't necessarily think he meant literally."

Please explain this.

Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. Mark 11:24

If you ask anything in my name, I will do it. John 14:14

And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. James 5:15

Now that I read these again, it does sound like Jesus is being literal. They aren't vague, they are straightforward. According to these verses there are no conditions, other than faith, for prayers to be answered. Jesus doesn't say, "Ask anything in my name and I will do it if I feel you deserve it, or need it, or it's part of my plan."

I don't recall at the moment what other verses about prayer say. Maybe there is more to it than what Jesus says. However this begs the question. In a time before the Bible, where people couldn't study scripture and look things up, why is Jesus telling people "If you ask anything in my name, I will do it." if it doesn't actually work like that?

It takes faith to pray and faith to believe that God has answered prayers and that answers and conclusions have not come by chance. If you take up a study of virtue you will see that all virtues are connected and come from love.

This reads like: "You need a confirmation bias to believe prayer works."

If prayer worked outside of the mind, there would be stats to show it!

Especially considering James 5:15. Yet we sometimes hear stories on the news about Christian families who have lost a child because they believe more in the power of prayer than in taking their sick child to a doctor for a diagnoses and treatment.

Miracles like you have mentioned happen, but it seems to happen so that it takes science off guard and science cannot entirely wrap its head around it. Look at the cases of exorcisms, look up Stephen Jeffreys, Jack Coe, and Dr. John Alexander Dowie. Some of these men turned aside from God because of the gift granted to them made them mad with pride.

Whoa whoa whoa.. Miracles like the ones I mentioned happen but when they do science can't wrap its head around it? Bold claim. Please give me some evidence of this. The miracles I mentioned were healing the blind and raising the dead.. You're trying to tell me that God will answer prayers to raise the dead but not to heal amputees!?

I don’t know about God showing how much It’s in love with humanity, It’s own creation.If you remember right the last time humanity got out of hand, and god was displeased, humanity got wiped off the face of the planet. God kills what he don’t like. You heard about the flood right? So keep sucking up to this psycho, cause you ain’t like the rest of them, God loves you. sure he does. Look what It says It’s got in store for you,destruction, annihilation, hard times, suffering in life and you don’t even want to know what’s coming after you die. But like I say you’re different. Keep praying, you’re going to need it.

a reply to: arpgme

I cannot find it, but I believe it was cited in a David Wilcock book. But there was a study of sorts regarding prayer. This study apparently has shown that while people are experiencing positive thoughts about other people, this positivity (prayer and meditation) affected the other person in a healthy way. I believe another part of the study involved days of mass prayer. On days with large groups praying about violence in the world, these specific days were found to have reduced numbers of violent crime. This all was linked back to something about our DNA being made up of light photons, which are all connected with each other and everything else in the world.

Regardless, I think that creation is everything, it is you and it is me and all the things in between and around. Creation is thoughts, words, and deeds. This means you, yourself are a creator. You can use your thoughts words and deeds to create a beautiful world. By positively impacting those around you, you are creating the change that you want in the world. If more people strived to do this, the world would be a much more beautiful place. You are in the image of the supreme creator, but that only means that you are also a creator, destined to someday be divine. But you cannot create a universe if you are unable to first think only pure thoughts, speak only inspiring and uplifting words, and act in a manner that benefits the world.

Love and Respect.

a reply to: nerbot

Prayer isn't wishful thinking, prayer is a transmission line to the higher power. Call it coincidence if you want, but there is no such thing as coincidence. There is a very complex design unraveling and if you can chalk that up to a shoulder shrug, you're not seeing what you are part of.