> > I was under the impression that prayers for selfish reasons were not > granted.
That is indeed the case. We are allowed to petition God with what we need, but it's generally considered redundant since He knows these things even before we do, and is hardly the kind of prayer He likes to hear. Don't we all like it more when our kids say "thanks" instead of "but I want this and this and this and this and this..."? We are strictly to give thanks, and pray for His will in every scenario, even when and if it conflicts with our heart's desire. This is the model Jesus left anyhow. Things like miracles and signs are spiritual interventions, but what spirit is intervening is a point of caution. Not all signs and wonders are of God. This is why the gift of discernment is such a spiffy thing. > In any case for every success like you indicate how can you > explain > the millions of horrific events that happen to people and they pray but > do > not get relief? Sounds like a mixed up god to me. People are praying for the wrong things, and view God like people now view the government---like a dispenser of endless entitlement benefits, a cosmic Robin Hood, and a guarantor of unshakable health and financial security in this life. God's not the messed up one. All of this is made the way it is for a reason, and it only seems messed up to us because we're not in right relationship to Him, and have no idea how to begin to see these issues from His perspective. Most of us think He's absurd or cruel, or doesn't exist, or if He did shouldn't exist, and as long as we think this or have other misconceptions about His nature, we won't exactly have His ear. - Bob _______________________________________________ Post Messages to: [email protected] Subscription Maintenance: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profox OT-free version of this list: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profoxtech Searchable Archive: http://leafe.com/archives/search/profox This message: http://leafe.com/archives/byMID/profox/[email protected] ** All postings, unless explicitly stated otherwise, are the opinions of the author, and do not constitute legal or medical advice. This statement is added to the messages for those lawyers who are too stupid to see the obvious.
