On Fri, 13 Aug 2004 13:25:07 +1000, Rohan wrote: >Perhaps it's not so much what we pray for, as how we pray for it.
Hi Rohan, Amelia et al, I agree. I think the issue is akin to praying for healing for someone. We know that not all prayed for are physically healed, but should we give up praying on that basis? When should we give up praying for physical healing for a particular person? When faced with this question recently, I found the Parable of the Persistent Widow [Luke 18: 1-8] helpful. I came to the conclusion that I should go on praying, not in the expectation that God would answer the prayer the way I wanted, but in the knowledge that it would be answered ultimately, and that prayer is an expression of faith in a God that can and does change things. And, looking at Luke 11: 1-13, if we pray 'Your will be done', we are actually praying for more of the Holy Spirit/ God's presence in each situation, whether the outcome is to our liking or not. Sue On Fri, 13 Aug 2004 13:25:07 +1000, you wrote: >Hi Wesley. > >If we expect God to deliver rain because we prayed for it, what happens >when the rains don't come? That's a pastoral and theological issue as well. >Perhaps it's not so much what we pray for, as how we pray for it. > >Regards, > >Rohan > >Rohan Pryor >Manager, Information Technology Services >Synod of Victoria and Tasmania >Uniting Church in Australia > >Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Ph: (03) 9251 5243 >Fax: (03) 9654 4110 >Website: http://vic.uca.org.au > >-----Original Message----- >From: Susan & Wesley [SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED] >Sent: Friday, August 13, 2004 11:14 AM >To: 'insights-l' >Subject: Re: Praying for Rain > >When we say 'don't bother praying for rain, because God doesn't work like >that', we not only limit our God to a cosy little box, but we lose hope, >and >I think that we are losing hope. We don't rebuke the laments of the Old >Testament, the pleas of the Psalmist, we don't criticise Jesus for pleading >with God in Gethsemane to have 'this cup taken from me', in fact we accept >and 'celebrate' these in our worship. > >If praying for rain is going to bring comfort to those who are facing the >loss of their livelihood, their home, the land that they and their >ancestors >have worked for many decades, to those who this drought and past droughts >have cost the lives of family members and torn families apart and we refuse >to let them be heard, we are doing them great injustice and are not being >Christ to them, for does Paul say: "Cast only theologically correct >questions on God, because God hasn't got the time or energy to deal with >excess wishes like rain" or does he say "Cast all your anxiety on him, >because he cares for you" 1Peter 5:7 (NRSV)? > >Praying for rain in a time of drought is a pastoral issue, and when we lose >hope pastorally, we might as well give up. > >Later > >Wesley > > >------------------------------------------------------ >- You are subscribed to the mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] >- To unsubscribe, email [EMAIL PROTECTED] and put in the message body >'unsubscribe insights-l' (ell, not one (1)) >See: http://nsw.uca.org.au/insights-l-information.htm >------------------------------------------------------ > >------------------------------------------------------ >- You are subscribed to the mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] >- To unsubscribe, email [EMAIL PROTECTED] and put in the message body 'unsubscribe >insights-l' (ell, not one (1)) >See: http://nsw.uca.org.au/insights-l-information.htm >------------------------------------------------------ Sue Bolton Sydney, Australia ------------------------------------------------------ - You are subscribed to the mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe, email [EMAIL PROTECTED] and put in the message body 'unsubscribe insights-l' (ell, not one (1)) See: http://nsw.uca.org.au/insights-l-information.htm ------------------------------------------------------
