If you pray

[Zzyzx]

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1. If you pray for rain and rain begins, has God answered your prayer?

2. If you pray for a traffic light to turn green and it does, has God answered your prayer?

3. If you pray for a team to win a game or an army to win a battle and that happens, has God answered your prayer?

4. If you pray for someone to recover from an illness or accident and they do recover, has God answered your prayer?

Justify your answers

[benchwarmer]

[Replying to post 1 by Zzyzx]

Of course the usual rebuttal is that if it doesn't rain, the light stays red, the team/army loses, or there is no recovery then God simply answered "No". Oddly enough, it seems the answer is mostly "No" otherwise the hospitals would be empty, crops would never dry up, everyone's team would win, and I would get to work extra fast every day.

[bluethread]

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1. If you pray for rain and rain begins, has God answered your prayer?

2. If you pray for a traffic light to turn green and it does, has God answered your prayer?

3. If you pray for a team to win a game or an army to win a battle and that happens, has God answered your prayer?

4. If you pray for someone to recover from an illness or accident and they do recover, has God answered your prayer?

Justify your answers

Yes, to all four and even if it does not rain, the light does not turn green, your team or army doesn't win, or someone does not recover from an illness or accident, Adoai has answered my prayer. As Yacov says, (Jms, 4:13-15) "Now listen, you who say, Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business make money. Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, If it is the Lords will, we will live and do this or that." Prayer isn't like a drive up window at a fast food restaurant. It is a conversation.

[Zzyzx]

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Yes, to all four and even if it does not rain, the light does not turn green, your team or army doesn't win, or someone does not recover from an illness or accident, Adoai has answered my prayer.

I see. No matter WHAT happens (negative, positive, neutral, nothing at all) one can still claim that their prayer has been answered.

What a plan. Guaranteed success " even if the outcome is directly opposite what one prayed for.

Praying to a politician running for office should produce about the same result.

Prayer isn't like a drive up window at a fast food restaurant. It is a conversation.

Yes, like a conversation over a phone with a dead battery " same quality of answers. In either case, one can imagine that they have received an answer.

[OnceConvinced]

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1. If you pray for rain and rain begins, has God answered your prayer?

Of course yes. God would have moved the clouds in my direction... or magically made some appear overhead to cause that rain. God controls all the weather patterns because otherwise how would these patterns operate? Their path is ordered by the lord and all one has to do is ask and he might change them around for you. He does this all the time, especially for church picnics.

2. If you pray for a traffic light to turn green and it does, has God answered your prayer?

Yes. One might say that these lights are automatic, but God is mighty. He will change the light to green for you while ensuring that no cars crash into you. He will prefect the timing to ensure that when you get a green light all the others have had a chance to stop and make way for you.

3. If you pray for a team to win a game or an army to win a battle and that happens, has God answered your prayer?

Yes! God does this all the time! He helps teams to win against others to show how powerful he is. Some may call it cheating, asking God to help you win at sports, but no its not. When God's involved it no longer becomes cheating. It becomes God showing his glory. He will either make you play/fight better or sabotage the opposing team/force. Hallelujah!

4. If you pray for someone to recover from an illness or accident and they do recover, has God answered your prayer?

Yes. And don't you dare call it coincidence and definitely don't try to say it was medicine that healed them. God would have got there first to perform the healing before any medicine did the trick. If someone gets a cold and it goes away, then that's a miracle! Don't you dare say otherwise. You may believe that the body can heal itself, but the only way it can do that is if God allows it!

Just don't ask him to save starving children or people who are suffering horribly. He expects us humans to intervene in those ones.

[MadeNew]

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1. If you pray for rain and rain begins, has God answered your prayer?

2. If you pray for a traffic light to turn green and it does, has God answered your prayer?

3. If you pray for a team to win a game or an army to win a battle and that happens, has God answered your prayer?

4. If you pray for someone to recover from an illness or accident and they do recover, has God answered your prayer?

Justify your answers

A better question would be "is God real" ?, and does He have a plan. Does having faith in God actually mean anything? Is it real?

"If you don't love God, you don't know God"-anonymous

[rikuoamero]

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1. If you pray for rain and rain begins, has God answered your prayer?

2. If you pray for a traffic light to turn green and it does, has God answered your prayer?

3. If you pray for a team to win a game or an army to win a battle and that happens, has God answered your prayer?

4. If you pray for someone to recover from an illness or accident and they do recover, has God answered your prayer?

Justify your answers

Yes, to all four and even if it does not rain, the light does not turn green, your team or army doesn't win, or someone does not recover from an illness or accident, Adoai has answered my prayer. As Yacov says, (Jms, 4:13-15) "Now listen, you who say, Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business make money. Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, If it is the Lords will, we will live and do this or that." Prayer isn't like a drive up window at a fast food restaurant. It is a conversation.

Bluethread, let's say that I apply for a college course. I send in my application.
I never get a reply back from them.
Has that college answered yes or no to my request? How do I tell in either direction?

Let's say that I ask a jug of milk to help me land that big promotion at work. When I go into work today, no mention is made by anyone of a promotion, whether in the positive or negative. The jug of milk said nothing either.
Has the jug of milk answered yes or no to my request? How do I tell in either direction?

Basically bluethread, the point of the OP's question (in my mind) is falsifiability. If there is no way for to prove this claim false (God answers prayers), why do you bother promoting that he does in fact answer prayers?

[Zzyzx]

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Let's say that I ask a jug of milk to help me land that big promotion at work. When I go into work today, no mention is made by anyone of a promotion, whether in the positive or negative. The jug of milk said nothing either.

If you ask the jug of milk for help in getting the promotion and you DO get the promotion, can we conclude that the jug of milk DID help?

[Zzyzx]

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A better question would be "is God real" ?, and does He have a plan. Does having faith in God actually mean anything? Is it real?

Each OP establishes specific question(s) for debate in its thread. If a member does not like or approve of the OP question they are not obligated to post in the thread. Attempting to sharpshoot, critique or criticize OP questions in its thread is discouraged.

If a member thinks they have a better question they are entitled to open a separate thread based on their question(s) in an appropriate sub-forum.

That's how it works around here. The Forum will not conform to the wishes of individual members. Members will conform to Forum Rules and Guidelines.

"If you don't love God, you don't know God"-anonymous

Is this intended as preaching or 'spreading the word'? It would be more appropriate in Holy Huddle or Theology, Doctrine and Dogma sub-forums.

[rikuoamero]

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Let's say that I ask a jug of milk to help me land that big promotion at work. When I go into work today, no mention is made by anyone of a promotion, whether in the positive or negative. The jug of milk said nothing either.

If you ask the jug of milk for help in getting the promotion and you DO get the promotion, can we conclude that the jug of milk DID help?

To use Bluethread's logic, yes, the jug of milk DID help.
Z asked

3. If you pray for a team to win a game or an army to win a battle and that happens, has God answered your prayer?

and Bluethread answered with

Yes, to all four and even if it does not rain, the light does not turn green, your team or army doesn't win, or someone does not recover from an illness or accident, Adoai has answered my prayer.

So if I pray to/ask a jug of milk for my team to win a game, and my team does in fact win...then the jug of milk helped.
If I pray to/ask a jug of milk for my team to win, and my team does not in fact win...then the jug of milk did answer, just not by granting my request.

Bluethread, do you understand how nonsensical your claim sounds now? All I've done is change the noun, and your logic is still sound. Now, instead of Adonai answering prayers, it's a jug of milk.
If you want to argue against the jug of milk, this necessarily requires you to go against what you previously stated. Your logic can't have God answering prayers while a jug of milk doesn't, and still not be subject to falsifiability.