CHRISTIANS...... It is time that we show the world the power of prayer.

If I prayed to God for money, if my motive for it is true and just, theres no reason why I would not get it but there is no need to pray for money at all because the motive would be money if I was praying for it in the first place, its a complete oxymoron in itself. If I prayed because I love money and want to buy useless goods, I will probably be taught a lesson, the lesson would show me why I do not need the money. To someone who does not understand that God tries the heart, knows you, teaches you, judges you fairly, the lesson God gives would feel like you are not being answered because you do not get the money and fall on a tought set of trials. People choose to ignore the answer because they simply do not like it because they fail to understand.

reply to post by XXXN3O


I couldn't disagree with this.

Belief comes from understanding.

Originally posted by wx4caster
i suppose that billions of christians praying will remove the oil from the gulf?

what if god designed this to happen. if it happened and he did not mean it to... isnt that a bit of a paradox?

just sayin

Who said the oil spill was a bad thing for humanity?

Maybe it will wake us up from our nightmare?

Many blessings come in disguise.

If you were fair in your heart and liked to pray, I doubt you would ASK for ANYTHING.

You would probably spend all of your time THANKING your creator for the chance to actually LIVE.

How spoiled and selfish can people be to always think of themselves?

These are all mere inconsequential predicaments. None of this makes any difference in the end.

Just realize how lucky we are to exist right now.

Try to enjoy your life while it lasts. It won't last much longer!

[edit on 25-6-2010 by muzzleflash]

If i am walking down the street, see a homeless person, and have money in my pocket... i will give him some money.

I will pray for him when i get home... but there is no point in just praying when you have the ability to help... That’s simply passing the buck and treating God with disrespect in my opinion.

I true Christian (or anyone who is decent and caring regardless of belief) will always provide help with actions.

Those that just close their eyes and say God will provide are either lazy or blinded by spiritual madness... God is not there as our personal banker who will just throw goodies our way after we have muttered a few words!!

I believe that we will be judged on the content of our heart rather than our actions... however, more often than not, our actions reveal the true content of our heart!

Peace

Originally posted by Titen-Sxull
reply to post by Doomsday 2029

 

I think the lack of demonstrable power in prayer is shown every day when millions of Christians clasp their hands and pray and squat happens.

You speak from malignant ignorance...
...I see things happen every day.

This is how it works...
...man was made with soveriegnty over the earth...
...that's what it means to be 'as' the image of God...
...and God wanted to work with us within the creation to realize its infinite possibilities.

But mankind decided to go it alone and continues to demand autonomy...
...but then humanity blames God for bad stuff when it happens...
...and wonder why He doesn't intervene to sort stuff out.

Psst...here is the secret...
...God doesn't help until He is asked...
...but few (even Christians) bother to ask.

But then I guess you have to believe in God first eh?

Originally posted by Muckster
If i am walking down the street, see a homeless person, and have money in my pocket... i will give him some money.

I will pray for him when i get home... but there is no point in just praying when you have the ability to help... That’s simply passing the buck and treating God with disrespect in my opinion.

I true Christian (or anyone who is decent and caring regardless of belief) will always provide help with actions.

Those that just close their eyes and say God will provide are either lazy or blinded by spiritual madness... God is not there as our personal banker who will just throw goodies our way after we have muttered a few words!!

I believe that we will be judged on the content of our heart rather than our actions... however, more often than not, our actions reveal the true content of our heart!

Peace

Very nice post Muckster.

That is the high quality type of thinking that caused me to mark you as a collaborator a long time ago.

You speak truth. Cheers Friend.

i think the power of positive thinking IS a miracle and it works


HOWEVER i was totally *turned off* by the title of this thread

CHRISTIANS

it is time that we show the world the power of prayer.




what???
only CHRISTIANS have any power in their prayer?
GOD only listens to CHRISTIANS??

or what?



maybe that's actually the root of the problem and since it's been only CHRISTIANS praying all these years, things are screwed up!

GOD wants to hear from the rest of his children.
the rhetoric gets old.

reply to post by muzzleflash


No... Thank you sir... i didn’t realise that you had added me as a friend... I’m honoured and have returned the compliment.

Thanks again

reply to post by queenannie38


Yes God does only listen to his faithful. Why would he answer prayers of unbelievers, to make them comfortable in their unbelief? He wants us to seek first the Kingdom of God.

That said, Our prayers should be for our own(and others) understanding and strength through trials in this life and for God's will to be done no matter the cost to us. God's plan is like a cake. A wonderful finished product, but try to eat the ingredients separately and it could leave a bad taste in your mouth.

The CHRISTIANS wouldn't even know about their own "christian history." So how can THEY could understand about "Prayer."

reply to post by Titen-Sxull

I think the lack of demonstrable power in prayer is shown every day when millions of Christians clasp their hands and pray and squat happens.

While what you say here might be accurate, it is more a reflection of those praying, than prayer itself.

There is power in prayer. Jesus taught us how to pray. I am sure we are all familiar with that passage from the book of Matthew...Two important parts that cannot be overlooked I will include here:

Matthew 6: 7-8

"7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.

8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him."

God already knows what we "need". Not what we want or desire. What we need...

Matthew 6: 10

10 "your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven. "

Gods will be done. Not ours...Not what we think is best. Not what we want to see happen or what we want to receive.

Our prayer should always be for Gods will to be done. He knows what we need before we ask because what we need flows from him...from his will for us. Many, Many Christians need to look at themselves (including myself) and make sure our prayer is for Gods will, in all things.

I am not a Christian but I will "pray" I believe in the power of positive thoughts and energy.

Lets all do it at the same time. To whichever God.

reply to post by Titen-Sxull




Fantastic POST

Couldn't have said it better myself.

As a Christian myself, I know there is a powerful feeling in prayer, that leads to positive effects. It's really something you can't explain unless you sincerely ask God for help. If people are wondering out there why God isn't 'helping' with all these disasters, simply think about what God gave us: Free will. You can decide for yourself what you want to feel, act, say, etc. God will not interfere with your actions, because he gave us a choice and a highly intelligent mind to think about them. With so many people dying with diseases, people being poor, disasters like 9/11 and this oil spill, are such from man's own choice.
God gave us a book to follow, a mind to think, and an awesome life to live with many plans. I myself used to consider myself not believing in any supernatural/God type of ideas, but then I looked out there in the real world. The human body is the most complex, intelligent stand alone design out there in our known universe.

I took a biology course, and let me tell you, I haven't been more sure of a God than ever. After you get close with God, there is just out of the world feelings of greatness. I really don't know how to explain it. The Bible is a book far more than just historical stories, it's the greatest piece of philosophical literature on this Earth to the current date. You really have to take a step closer into the teachings of the Bible because it's perfect for establishing peace. The more and more you read and understand the Bible, you become clear that it's no normal book. Being only a 16 year old, I found a lot of beneficial moral teachings in the Bible, and I found myself more happy then ever. I have the ability to forgive people if they ever hurt me, the ability to resist temptations of the mind and of the world, the ability to be humble and kind to others, and to see everyone as my brothers and sisters even if they are not Christian.

I have talked to God before, and it's not the physical talking we're used to here... it's more of talking through our minds. It's kind of like seeing dreams or pictures in the mind, while not even seeing them physically through our eyes. You really have to be close to him, to feel him. I understand how there are more than 2 billion Christians out there who feel the same thing, it's extraordinary. Being an ATS member myself, I don't believe anything unless with intensive research and 110% confidence it is indeed true. The same way I feel about my faith, it's more faith oriented yes, but it's much more than physically understanding it... If God were to reveal to everyone, what would be the point of faith? Free will? Prayer?
Faith is a gift from God, an awesome one. Prayer is powerful, but it can be anything. Prayer is having a conversation with God. There is no need of looking through lists and lists of prayers, you could simply come up with your own prayer It's good to know the Lord's prayer, because that's what Jesus taught us.

But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you. - (Matthew 6:6)

This is how I pray, and if you do it with a sincere heart... God will provide your needs and answer your pleas for help.

Hope I helped make it more understandable
God Bless

Originally posted by Bilw85
reply to post by queenannie38

 

Yes God does only listen to his faithful. Why would he answer prayers of unbelievers, to make them comfortable in their unbelief? He wants us to seek first the Kingdom of God.

i know this far better than you might think.

i do NOT call myself a christian nor do i consider myself a christian.
i love GOD, i love JESUS, and i believe in LOVE and TRUTH.

i pray all the time - and my prayers are literally answered in real time.
miracles, even, have happened, in my presence and in the company of others.

so my beef is with the idea that only those who go by the name of CHRISTIAN have any clout with GOD.

i KNOW that to be untrue and it is a turn-off to the world.

all the proselytizing in the world cannot overcome the discrepancy between words and deeds!

and besides that, if one prays, then obviously they believe!
"the prayers of unbelievers" is an oxymoron!!!

ideally, christians are supposed to follow the steps of Christ and to show the world that GOD is true and is real.

however, with exclusionary attitudes like the one expressed in the OP, there is no honor for GOD! no proof of anything except human ego.

and it is one of the reasons, but not the whole reason, that i have NEVER and WILL NEVER call myself a 'christian'

to do so would leave a bad taste in my mouth.

reply to post by WolfKing


well said, friend!
well said.

Praying wastes time we could be using to ACTUALLY ATTEMPT TO SOLVE PROBLEMS.

I say skip the prayer and solve the problems ourselves.

Tskull..

what a joke. This is the type of human when God said.

" the senual man understands nothing of the spirit "

So ofcourse that response is expected.

No prayer helps alot. I have seen it in my life many times. What the rosary has done for my soul. It's called graces. They are infused by God in the spirit.

Grace is love. Evil is the lack of God and grace in the soul. The man not of the spirit will never understand that because understanding is a grace to.


God grants graces in souls the more you are in the state of grace and fast and so on, and in that state while offering up your sufferings for others and prayers God works on that soul with grace.

The soul has a choice to accpet the amount of graces poured out.


Consolation is a grace. Crying, all those things are graces.

How it's earned is known by God alone.




The mass is the key component of this. Without the grace of a true mass Padre Pio said it's more important then sunlight.

It's unexplainable. Everything is controlled by Gods grace. He distributes them in souls by his doing and will and the souls choice.


We are temples. Lifeless temples without graces. God puts them in us.

Prayer causes the increase of these graces in humans because he works through humans ability to love and do acts of love.


So prayer is everything.

God isn't an invisible sky monkey or any of that. 1000s of saints seen him. My grandmother an incredibly sane woman seen him. 12 apostles seen him, one doubting asking to see the holes in his hands to believe.


So ignore the people who say crap like.


" invisible sky daddy "

They are pardon my language idiots. They couldn't have faith if God came through their toilet with a white beard and magic wand.


Because they don't want to open their idea of the idea of God a reality which it is, which after death they will get their wish.


God was invisible on Earth to them, after death he will stay invisible to them.




Now OP>

I agree and to tell you the truth. I haven't been to mass in months. I used to reach a point in mass, a latin mass, where I would cry through the whole mass. Nonstop wetting the missal.

And the things I felt in my soul and what it produces for the people around me which I take notice of and see their changes is unmistakable.

And I'm not crazy, I don't cry out on the roof top type of christian. I'm a sane normal person who grew up thinking communion was ridiculous and a potatoe chip.

That communion which caused saints to reach ecstacy which I felt I was reaching, which when the devil sees you reach a certain point he works on your harder to leave mass which is exactly what i did by my own doing.



But to simplify the OP. I suggest the rosary and fasting. What it produces is incredible.


peace OP.