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Thoughts on Prayer
By Susan Underwood
Prayer I have to confess it's been a while since I prayed properly, for reasons I won't bore you with! However, I was reminded of the saying: 'Prayers are always answered, sometimes the answer is "Yes" but sometimes it's "No".' Here we're looking at the idea of God being similar to a loving parent who knows better than his child (me or you). So as a loving parent, if your child were to beg and plead for something, you would surely answer the request, but you might say yes, or you might say no. And your answer would be based on a loving parent having more wisdom, foresight and experience than their child. A trivial, but simple to understand example current in the UK news is that of children's packed lunches. Although a youngster may plead for doughnuts in their packed lunch, a wise and loving parent will not grant this request, because this is not a healthy lunch choice. (This of course assumes that the parent is wise and loving, which sadly isn't always the case.) So let's move from a child wishing for doughnuts to a more adult prayer topic as an example. Someone whose relationship has broken up may pray fervently for their partner to come back. An all-seeing God may deny this request because He is aware that round the corner is a much happier future with a completely different "Mr, or Mrs, Right". Well that's the theory and I could pad this out with example after example, but I'll spare you that. The problem remains that in "real-life" it's not hard to come up with examples where these possible rosy outcomes do not come to fruition, and where completely lovely and deserving people are left with their prayers unfulfilled for the rest of their days. Why? Is their faith being tested by unanswered prayers? Is God being capricious? Or is it just that there is no God at all? (Just writing that leaves me with a little shiver and a feeling that I might be struck by a bolt of lightning!) Perhaps the saying is just a "cop-out" for all the priests and clerics who are no more able to explain the injustices of the world than the rest of us. At the end of the day – and at the end of my musings – the only conclusion we can draw is none.
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PLEASE VISIT THE CONTRIBUTOR'S WEBSITE
 | | Laraine respected this intel. Apr 22, 2011 |
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Very thought provoking, Joy.
Thank you for sharing.
Keep up the good work.
Frederick
I liked your illustration of a loving, wise parent.
Jesus said: “You must pray, then, this way.” (Matthew 6:9) Millions around the world have committed the Lord’s Prayer to memory and repeat it often, perhaps daily. It must be acknowledged, however, that many who recite the Lord’s Prayer do not fully understand it. “If you have any kind of Christian background you probably are able to rattle off the Lord’s Prayer without having to pause for breath,” says Canada’s Ottawa Citizen newspaper, “but you might have difficulty saying it slowly and with understanding.” Millions regularly recite Jesus’ model prayer in church. But how many have been taught its meaning, especially the first part of the prayer dealing with God’s name and Kingdom? These subjects are so important that Jesus placed them first in the prayer. I truly believe that we need to know what to pray for and what NOT to pray for .. using Jesus model prayer as a guide. Keep writing. I enjoy your intels.
Laraine
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This intel was contributed by Joy Healey
Joy Healey
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