I think the main purpose of prayer is to transform our character and thinking more to that of Christ's.
However, it seems we ("we" being American Christians)emphasize prayer as a means of appealing to God to intervene in our lives, offering physical blessing, protection, healing, etc. It's been my experience that God doesn't seem too concerned about those things. In my weakest moments, God's apparent lack of interceding has caused me to doubt the usefulness of prayer, God's attentiveness, and/or His existence. But I suspect that the problem doesn't lie with God but in our way of understanding the purpose of prayer.
if this is so, then why so much emphasis in the Bible on "asking and receiving" and stories about annoying neighbors and fathers and snakes?
i'm not saying i disagree with you, it's just that we just finished a study on prayer and everyone seemed really quick to dismiss asking for God to work in our lives. and yet, don't we seem continued examples of being told to do just that?
i'm glad to see people getting away from the "health and wealth" approach that views God as some cosmic claus, but are we too quick to lower our expectations for divine intervention?
I'm not really sure how to reconcile those scriptures with my experience. Perhaps the writers had in mind God intervening in such a way as to shape us, give us spiritual blessings. And, by asking God to act in our lives, we may very well be asking for hardship--James 1. I'm not saying God can't intervene with some form of physical blessing, but it doesn't seem high on His "to do" list, particularly as it pertains to physical healing. I guess what I'm saying is that I've never seen God intervene in a way that we would typically label "miraculous." Sure, I've heard of people occasionally having some healing that befuddles doctors, but the majority of the time people are given little or no chance to live, they die--prayer or no prayer.
"Health, wealth, and happiness" prayers perturb me not only because they're shallow but also because to believe God responds to such petty appeals makes Him out to be awfully fickle. I mean, how could we consider God good and loving if He granted folks cars, houses, jobs, etc. while refusing to heal dying children, young parents, and the like?
4 comments:
"the issue of prayer is not prayer, the issue of prayer is God."
Abraham Joshua Heschel
peace
I think the main purpose of prayer is to transform our character and thinking more to that of Christ's.
However, it seems we ("we" being American Christians)emphasize prayer as a means of appealing to God to intervene in our lives, offering physical blessing, protection, healing, etc. It's been my experience that God doesn't seem too concerned about those things. In my weakest moments, God's apparent lack of interceding has caused me to doubt the usefulness of prayer, God's attentiveness, and/or His existence. But I suspect that the problem doesn't lie with God but in our way of understanding the purpose of prayer.
if this is so, then why so much emphasis in the Bible on "asking and receiving" and stories about annoying neighbors and fathers and snakes?
i'm not saying i disagree with you, it's just that we just finished a study on prayer and everyone seemed really quick to dismiss asking for God to work in our lives. and yet, don't we seem continued examples of being told to do just that?
i'm glad to see people getting away from the "health and wealth" approach that views God as some cosmic claus, but are we too quick to lower our expectations for divine intervention?
I'm not really sure how to reconcile those scriptures with my experience. Perhaps the writers had in mind God intervening in such a way as to shape us, give us spiritual blessings. And, by asking God to act in our lives, we may very well be asking for hardship--James 1. I'm not saying God can't intervene with some form of physical blessing, but it doesn't seem high on His "to do" list, particularly as it pertains to physical healing. I guess what I'm saying is that I've never seen God intervene in a way that we would typically label "miraculous." Sure, I've heard of people occasionally having some healing that befuddles doctors, but the majority of the time people are given little or no chance to live, they die--prayer or no prayer.
"Health, wealth, and happiness" prayers perturb me not only because they're shallow but also because to believe God responds to such petty appeals makes Him out to be awfully fickle. I mean, how could we consider God good and loving if He granted folks cars, houses, jobs, etc. while refusing to heal dying children, young parents, and the like?
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