Prayer, CA, has been more effective than all the might of the human race, from beginning, to it's end. Christ pointed out,You ask amiss, and do not recieve. The whole idea of prayer is not to bail you out of whatever situation you are in, or to get something, but to communicate with G*d. The people of France walked away from their faith after WW1, because they mistakenly believed G*d could not exist to allow such horrors to endure. Man was responsible for the war, and man is responsible for what will happen to us here, and now. G*d wants us to do our best, not our worst, and to leave the rest up to Him. When we do our worst, and then go running in prayer asking to be let off, it ain't gonna happen. It's that old free will thing. You won't even consider prayer, unless you WANT to. The good, as well as the bad, will get caught up in the evil that men do, and suffer the same. The efficacy of prayer in this situation will be that, those who humble themselves before G*d will still suffer, but if it is G*ds will, they may get a reprieve, if it is part of G*ds plan. Three answers to all prayers to G*d. Yes. No. Wait. When the faithless hear No,or Wait, they keep on being faithless. G*ds' people hear Yes, No, or Wait, and still bless His Name.
@Sean: "The good, as well as the bad, will get caught up in the evil that men do, and suffer the same. The efficacy of prayer in this situation will be that, those who humble themselves before G*d will still suffer, but if it is G*ds will, they may get a reprieve, if it is part of G*ds plan."
So, if it's God's plan for you to live, you live; if it isn't, you don't. Why bother praying, then? Just accept God's will.
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@Nathan: "The only thing that is going to help us is prayer."
You don't think there was ardent prayer by people on the planes and upper floors of the WTC on 9/11? By the people left without lifeboats on the Titanic? By people facing the eruptions of Vesuvius and Krakatoa? By people heading into the gas chambers in WWII, or facing the machetes in Rwanda? By people facing the Black Death in Europe? By Ukrainians or Armenians facing death by starvation? By Mezo-Americans facing smallpox and other diseases against which they had no immunity?
Prayer, as a practical matter, is pretty useless. If it makes you feel better about your situation, by all means, pray. If it helps calm you in times of stress, by all means, pray. However, it might be wise to have a Plan B, too.
Very funny 0321, very funny. I'll keep my guns and ammo, thank you very much. If you're in the neighborhood, and you need some chow, water, or some ammo, c'mon by, I'm willing to SHARE. Jimmy, gentle soul that you are, if God's answer is NO, then that is what you get. The reason you ask G*d in prayer for mercy, healing, guidance, is because G*d wants you to come to HIM, and RECOGNIZE that He is G*d, and that He is is the Ultimate Authority and Help, which in my eyes, He Is. And prayer is never a practical matter. It is a spiritual matter, a different plane of life.G*d answers prayers like He wants, not like we neccessarily want. Yes, many good and righteous people have fervently prayed for deliverence, like on 911, and G*d did not deliver them. If you can't accept His Will, He'll give you the decision anyway. We often view those decisions as bad. They are G*ds decisions and that is that. He has never promised heaven on earth, but He has promised eternal life, IF we accept it. A believer understands that it may not go so good in this world, so his eyes are always on the next. That's what faith is. Hard, for some. Easy, for those of us who let go, and let G*d. I sleep like a baby.
Prayer, CA, has been more effective than all the might of the human race, from beginning, to it's end. Christ pointed out,You ask amiss, and do not recieve. The whole idea of prayer is not to bail you out of whatever situation you are in, or to get something, but to communicate with G*d. The people of France walked away from their faith after WW1, because they mistakenly believed G*d could not exist to allow such horrors to endure. Man was responsible for the war, and man is responsible for what will happen to us here, and now. G*d wants us to do our best, not our worst, and to leave the rest up to Him. When we do our worst, and then go running in prayer asking to be let off, it ain't gonna happen. It's that old free will thing. You won't even consider prayer, unless you WANT to. The good, as well as the bad, will get caught up in the evil that men do, and suffer the same. The efficacy of prayer in this situation will be that, those who humble themselves before G*d will still suffer, but if it is G*ds will, they may get a reprieve, if it is part of G*ds plan. Three answers to all prayers to G*d. Yes. No. Wait. When the faithless hear No,or Wait, they keep on being faithless. G*ds' people hear Yes, No, or Wait, and still bless His Name.
ReplyDeleteCA,
ReplyDeleteI read your blog every day and enjoy it. Thanks for all the work you do. However, you should learn the difference between Efficacy and Effectiveness.
Also, fuck you. The only thing that is going to help us is prayer.
Nathan:
ReplyDeleteAwesome comment. I mean that sincerely. Pithy.
Here is the sense in which I use efficacy.
On the prayer point, one of the gifts of grace that I received as part of a recovery program is the demonstrated efficacy (ha!) of prayer.
Nothing fancy - just me humbling myself before God enough to ask, "God, help me."
It works - on enough occasions to redeem the cynicism, disbelief, and bitterness of this child raised in the UMC of 1965-1975.
My point in the post is that God ain't gonna unscrew this situation, just like God didn't get me sober without me putting down the bottle.
I have to do the work.
We can disagree on that point or not, but let's do so as civilized folks.
There's been enough unproductive name-calling lately.
Cheers.
@Sean: "The good, as well as the bad, will get caught up in the evil that men do, and suffer the same. The efficacy of prayer in this situation will be that, those who humble themselves before G*d will still suffer, but if it is G*ds will, they may get a reprieve, if it is part of G*ds plan."
ReplyDeleteSo, if it's God's plan for you to live, you live; if it isn't, you don't. Why bother praying, then? Just accept God's will.
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@Nathan: "The only thing that is going to help us is prayer."
You don't think there was ardent prayer by people on the planes and upper floors of the WTC on 9/11? By the people left without lifeboats on the Titanic? By people facing the eruptions of Vesuvius and Krakatoa? By people heading into the gas chambers in WWII, or facing the machetes in Rwanda? By people facing the Black Death in Europe? By Ukrainians or Armenians facing death by starvation? By Mezo-Americans facing smallpox and other diseases against which they had no immunity?
Prayer, as a practical matter, is pretty useless. If it makes you feel better about your situation, by all means, pray. If it helps calm you in times of stress, by all means, pray. However, it might be wise to have a Plan B, too.
If you guys are going to pray your way through this, would you send me your ammo?
ReplyDelete0321
Very funny 0321, very funny. I'll keep my guns and ammo, thank you very much. If you're in the neighborhood, and you need some chow, water, or some ammo, c'mon by, I'm willing to SHARE. Jimmy, gentle soul that you are, if God's answer is NO, then that is what you get. The reason you ask G*d in prayer for mercy, healing, guidance, is because G*d wants you to come to HIM, and RECOGNIZE that He is G*d, and that He is is the Ultimate Authority and Help, which in my eyes, He Is. And prayer is never a practical matter. It is a spiritual matter, a different plane of life.G*d answers prayers like He wants, not like we neccessarily want. Yes, many good and righteous people have fervently prayed for deliverence, like on 911, and G*d did not deliver them. If you can't accept His Will, He'll give you the decision anyway. We often view those decisions as bad. They are G*ds decisions and that is that. He has never promised heaven on earth, but He has promised eternal life, IF we accept it. A believer understands that it may not go so good in this world, so his eyes are always on the next. That's what faith is. Hard, for some. Easy, for those of us who let go, and let G*d. I sleep like a baby.
ReplyDelete