I am genuinely curious about this, please don't use this to mock religion. If you give all glory to God for all the great things in your life, that is fine by me. But what about when things aren't going right, why does the goal post move to 'God is testing me, making me stronger'? Like why can't God be wrong sometimes and called out for it? I just saw a friend on Facebook had the winning bid on a house and they thanked God for answering their prayers. What about all the people who didn't get the house and they might've prayed too? I just don't understand why God works for some but not others. And then if the house goes into foreclosure he is nowhere to be found.
Assuming God exists and has the usual properties, "all-knowing, all-loving, all-powerful, all-wise", then it will NEVER make sense to pray for anything.
Why would you want God, who is infinitely wiser, more loving and more knowledgeable than you, to grant your request rather than doing the wisest and most loving thing possible based on perfect knowledge (which is God's will)?
If you think that God is real, stop praying for anything - it makes absolutely no sense.
2) JC is quoted (Matthew 21:22) as saying: "You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it." [Emphases mine.]
Now, it seems to me there are only four possibilities here: a) JC got it wrong. b) The Bible misquoted him. c) No one has faith. d) JC got it right, the Bible quoted him correctly, of course people have faith, but what he said here only applied to the people he was addressing at the time.
I'm going with choice d. In which case, why do people quote this verse nowadays? And why do they expect their prayers to be granted?
I am genuinely curious about this, please don't use this to mock religion. If you give all glory to God for all the great things in your life, that is fine by me. But what about when things aren't going right, why does the goal post move to 'God is testing me, making me stronger'? Like why can't God be wrong sometimes and called out for it? I just saw a friend on Facebook had the winning bid on a house and they thanked God for answering their prayers. What about all the people who didn't get the house and they might've prayed too? I just don't understand why God works for some but not others. And then if the house goes into foreclosure he is nowhere to be found.
The answer to this will only make sense to those who have the eternal in mind, while most people who consider this question only think of the physical aspect of it.
That said, God is most concerned about the spiritual health of a person, so there are times when we ask for the things that we think are best, while God knows what is actually the best for each individual.
So, for your example, losing a house to foreclosure might be to lessen our dependence on material possessions and place it on God. It could also be for a different reason that I do not comprehend. What I do know is that I rarely see what God is doing in the present, but when I look back, it is much clearer for me.
2) JC is quoted (Matthew 21:22) as saying: "You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it." [Emphases mine.]
Now, it seems to me there are only four possibilities here: a) JC got it wrong. b) The Bible misquoted him. c) No one has faith. d) JC got it right, the Bible quoted him correctly, of course people have faith, but what he said here only applied to the people he was addressing at the time.
I'm going with choice d. In which case, why do people quote this verse nowadays? And why do they expect their prayers to be granted?
I am genuinely curious about this, please don't use this to mock religion. If you give all glory to God for all the great things in your life, that is fine by me. But what about when things aren't going right, why does the goal post move to 'God is testing me, making me stronger'? Like why can't God be wrong sometimes and called out for it? I just saw a friend on Facebook had the winning bid on a house and they thanked God for answering their prayers. What about all the people who didn't get the house and they might've prayed too? I just don't understand why God works for some but not others. And then if the house goes into foreclosure he is nowhere to be found.
The answer to this will only make sense to those who have the eternal in mind, while most people who consider this question only think of the physical aspect of it.
That said, God is most concerned about the spiritual health of a person, so there are times when we ask for the things that we think are best, while God knows what is actually the best for each individual.
So, for your example, losing a house to foreclosure might be to lessen our dependence on material possessions and place it on God. It could also be for a different reason that I do not comprehend. What I do know is that I rarely see what God is doing in the present, but when I look back, it is much clearer for me.
If God already knows what's best for us, and acts accordingly, why pray in the first place? Your prayers will not change anything.
3) And if you do somehow believe that Matthew 21:22 applies to people nowadays, just take a few seconds and make this prayer: "Heavenly father, please bring lasting peace in the Middle East before another child is killed."
That would be a good prayer, right? Not selfish or grasping? But believers won't take five seconds to make that prayer, even silently, because they know it won't be granted. So why do people quote that verse now, when they know it has no validity?
Current believers should just forthrightly admit that Matthew 21:22 does not apply to them, and move on.
2) JC is quoted (Matthew 21:22) as saying: "You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it." [Emphases mine.]
Now, it seems to me there are only four possibilities here: a) JC got it wrong. b) The Bible misquoted him. c) No one has faith. d) JC got it right, the Bible quoted him correctly, of course people have faith, but what he said here only applied to the people he was addressing at the time.
I'm going with choice d. In which case, why do people quote this verse nowadays? And why do they expect their prayers to be granted?
I think you left part of the quote out.
Well, I quoted that particular verse in full, but here are the preceding verses:
Matthew 21:18 (NIV) Early in the morning, as Jesus was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. Matthew 21:19 (NIV) Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered. Matthew 21:20 (NIV) When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?” they asked. Matthew 21:21 (NIV) Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. Matthew 21:22 (NIV) If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”
So, yeah, that whole passage seems to support choice d even more. Good call.
prayer is a superstitious form of meditation, which serves a purpose.
It does serve a purpose: It often makes the one who's praying feel a bit better. That might not be much, but it's not nothing, either.
And even if you think prayer is only self-talk--well, it's been demonstrated that positive self-talk can have real benefits for a person. Definitely serving a purpose there.