Prayer - from an English friend.
This friend and his wife have each undergone serious and major surgery.
Here he writes on prayer. I think that he is on to something.
Some more theology, thank you for the replies to last night. If you believe (I don’t) that in answer to prayer, maybe enough prayer or prayer with enough faith that we get answers that change real physical circumstances in this world, you have to face the real question of why it only works sometimes, I would say not very often.
Was it an answer to prayer that the surgeon was fantastic and a failure of prayer that some of the nursing was rubbish?
The trouble with the theology of God answering our prayer requests is that you need a theology for when He doesn’t.
Many of these are available ….
God allowed you to go through this because he knew you were strong enough to take it ! (thanks a lot!) …..
This is a test of you faith! (Let’s see whose faith needs testing….zap),
at some time in the future you will understand the answer …
the list goes on.
To me, (A has her own views) these theologies are only needed if you start from the wrong theology of “answers to prayer”
So what do I believe!!! God is Good. He has left us to run our own world so that everyone gets good and bad.
Prayer is about a relationship with a friend not about requests and answers.
God can and does break the general rule and miracles happen, but not because of us praying.
God is with us in the mess like other friends and ultimately we are safe with him spiritually and will be with Him in Heaven.
His promises are true but mainly refer to our spiritual well being.
Why does this matter?
Because if we want the church to grow we have to be honest and not pretend that good things happen to Christians if people pray, when they can clearly see that bad things go on happening to Christians when they pray.
“I prayed for a parking space and God answered my prayer” is a theology that stops people taking Christianity seriously.
Every single day I visited A in hospital we got a car parking space. It cost £3 a time in the multistory!!!
Here he writes on prayer. I think that he is on to something.
Some more theology, thank you for the replies to last night. If you believe (I don’t) that in answer to prayer, maybe enough prayer or prayer with enough faith that we get answers that change real physical circumstances in this world, you have to face the real question of why it only works sometimes, I would say not very often.
Was it an answer to prayer that the surgeon was fantastic and a failure of prayer that some of the nursing was rubbish?
The trouble with the theology of God answering our prayer requests is that you need a theology for when He doesn’t.
Many of these are available ….
God allowed you to go through this because he knew you were strong enough to take it ! (thanks a lot!) …..
This is a test of you faith! (Let’s see whose faith needs testing….zap),
at some time in the future you will understand the answer …
the list goes on.
To me, (A has her own views) these theologies are only needed if you start from the wrong theology of “answers to prayer”
So what do I believe!!! God is Good. He has left us to run our own world so that everyone gets good and bad.
Prayer is about a relationship with a friend not about requests and answers.
God can and does break the general rule and miracles happen, but not because of us praying.
God is with us in the mess like other friends and ultimately we are safe with him spiritually and will be with Him in Heaven.
His promises are true but mainly refer to our spiritual well being.
Why does this matter?
Because if we want the church to grow we have to be honest and not pretend that good things happen to Christians if people pray, when they can clearly see that bad things go on happening to Christians when they pray.
“I prayed for a parking space and God answered my prayer” is a theology that stops people taking Christianity seriously.
Every single day I visited A in hospital we got a car parking space. It cost £3 a time in the multistory!!!
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