Does God Intervene?

[POI]

Christians, both in prayer and without, will state God gave me this, did that, or other.

For debate: Does God ever intervene, with or without being asked? If no, why ever ask God for anything? If yes, why does he skip many/all requests?

[marke]

God is not controlled by humans. He commands them to pray and expect Him to hear, but He does not guarantee He will always answer their prayers in the way they want. However, God sometimes grants prayer requests that are not proper, as in this passage:

Okay? So exactly how do humans know if/when God ever actually answers?

Marke: God gives no reason for anyone to believe they will know whether God has answered their prayer the way they expected or not.

Humble Christians pray for deliverance from trouble but, like Jesus, pray also for God's will to be done whether or not the result will bring them suffering .

Well, if a humble Christians prays for cerebral palsy or downs syndrome to be removed, does your claimed God ever removed these unwanted afflictions?

Marke: Miraculous healings were rare before Jesus walked on earth and again have become rare since then.

God does not always work in ways humans think are the only right ways.

See above.

[POI]

God gives no reason for anyone to believe they will know whether God has answered their prayer the way they expected or not.

Then the many claimed 'answered prayers' are all just assumptions, guesses, false claims, or possibly mistaken?

Miraculous healings were rare before Jesus walked on earth and again have become rare since then.

Does this mean God no longer answers prayer requests to perform actual 'miraculous healings', like remove one's down's syndrome, or cerebral palsy, etc?

[marke]

God gives no reason for anyone to believe they will know whether God has answered their prayer the way they expected or not.

Then the many claimed 'answered prayers' are all just assumptions, guesses, false claims, or possibly mistaken?

Marke: God answers prayer but likely not as often and in so many ways as many claim.

Miraculous healings were rare before Jesus walked on earth and again have become rare since then.

Does this mean God no longer answers prayer requests to perform actual 'miraculous healings', like remove one's down's syndrome, or cerebral palsy, etc?

Marke: I am not aware of God miraculously healing diseases like down's syndrome or cerebral palsy in modern times.

[POI]

I am not aware of God miraculously healing diseases like down's syndrome or cerebral palsy in modern times.[/b]

Does God heal any unwanted diseases or conditions in modern times?

2nd request: Then the many claimed 'answered prayers' are all just assumptions, guesses, false claims, or possibly mistaken?

[AquinasForGod]

[Replying to POI in post #1]

I feel like I have answered this more than once. I guess threads repeat. Atheist are running out of originality.

Just in case someone doesn't wish to read my longer answer, here is the short version.

Yes, God intervenesboth when asked and sometimes without being asked. He acts not from randomness, but from wisdom. We ask not to change Gods mind, but to align our hearts to His will. When He "skips" requests, it's not neglectits because what we ask isn't always whats best, or not best now. Love doesnt always say yes.

Now, the longer version.


You got it. Here's a shorter, more modern take on God's intervention and prayer:

Does God step in, even without being asked?
Yep, God absolutely "intervenes." But it's not like He's changing His mind or going off-script. God is constantly upholding everything, giving things their power to act. Think of it like this: when a seed grows or you make a choice, that's all happening because God sustains the world and its laws.

Sometimes, He does something totally out of the ordinarywhat we call a miracle. These aren't Him ditching His plan; they're part of His plan to show His power or goodness in special ways.

So why even bother asking?
Good question! We don't pray to force God to change His mind. His plan is perfect and set. Instead, we pray because God has decided that some things will happen because we pray for them.

Our prayers aren't outside of His plan; they're actually a part of it. When we pray, we're working with God, showing we rely on Him. It's about getting us in line with His will, not twisting His arm.

Why does He often skip requests?
This is where it gets tricky, but here are a few ideas:

For Our Best: Often, what we ask for isn't actually what's best for us in the long run, or for the bigger picture. God's like a wise parent who doesn't give a child everything they want if it's not good for them. He might be saying "no" to something small to give us a much bigger good we can't see yet.

How the World Works: God mostly works through the natural order and our own choices. Many things that happen are just the result of how He set up the world, or how people use their free will. Sometimes, what looks like a "skipped" prayer is simply things playing out as they naturally would, or other people making their own choices.

Our Part in Prayer: How we pray matters too. Are we genuinely faithful, patient, and asking for good things? Sometimes, our own approach might affect the outcome.

Ultimately, God's plan is way bigger than we can grasp. We just have to trust that He's good and wise, even when we don't understand why a specific prayer isn't answered the way we hoped.

[bluegreenearth]

[Replying to POI in post #1]
Yes, God intervenesboth when asked and sometimes without being asked. He acts not from randomness, but from wisdom. We ask not to change Gods mind, but to align our hearts to His will. When He "skips" requests, it's not neglectits because what we ask isn't always whats best, or not best now. Love doesnt always say yes.

What reasonably obtainable evidence would falsify the claim that the god intervenes or is it not possible to discover if it false?

[POI]

Atheist are running out of originality.

Though I have plenty to say here, I'll refrain from addressing the red herring statement.

Yes, God intervenesboth when asked and sometimes without being asked. He acts not from randomness, but from wisdom. We ask not to change Gods mind, but to align our hearts to His will. When He "skips" requests, it's not neglectits because what we ask isn't always whats best, or not best now. Love doesnt always say yes.

1. Then isn't prayer pointless, as God only "answers" based upon his will?
2. Why does he perpetually skip certain types of requests?
3. As Bluegreenearth earth asked, can the above claim even be falsified? Or, does the believer just accept the hits and ignore the misses? Or, maybe metaphorically through a dart into the wall, and then draw a bull's eye around it?

As usual, I'll await 1-6 weeks for a response, if you should decide to respond here at all?

[AquinasForGod]

Atheist are running out of originality.

Though I have plenty to say here, I'll refrain from addressing the red herring statement.

Yes, God intervenesboth when asked and sometimes without being asked. He acts not from randomness, but from wisdom. We ask not to change Gods mind, but to align our hearts to His will. When He "skips" requests, it's not neglectits because what we ask isn't always whats best, or not best now. Love doesnt always say yes.

1. Then isn't prayer pointless, as God only "answers" based upon his will?
2. Why does he perpetually skip certain types of requests?
3. As Bluegreenearth earth asked, can the above claim even be falsified? Or, does the believer just accept the hits and ignore the misses? Or, maybe metaphorically through a dart into the wall, and then draw a bull's eye around it?

As usual, I'll await 1-6 weeks for a response, if you should decide to respond here at all?

1. No. If you never ask, then there was never anything for God to answer from eternity.
2. Because it would negatively affect the timeline.
3. It can be clear to the person. If one asks God to reveal himself, then he does. You now know he is real, but you can't prove it to others.

[POI]

Atheist are running out of originality.

Though I have plenty to say here, I'll refrain from addressing the red herring statement.

Yes, God intervenesboth when asked and sometimes without being asked. He acts not from randomness, but from wisdom. We ask not to change Gods mind, but to align our hearts to His will. When He "skips" requests, it's not neglectits because what we ask isn't always whats best, or not best now. Love doesnt always say yes.

1. Then isn't prayer pointless, as God only "answers" based upon his will?
2. Why does he perpetually skip certain types of requests?
3. As Bluegreenearth earth asked, can the above claim even be falsified? Or, does the believer just accept the hits and ignore the misses? Or, maybe metaphorically through a dart into the wall, and then draw a bull's eye around it?

As usual, I'll await 1-6 weeks for a response, if you should decide to respond here at all?

1. No. If you never ask, then there was never anything for God to answer from eternity.
2. Because it would negatively affect the timeline.
3. It can be clear to the person. If one asks God to reveal himself, then he does. You now know he is real, but you can't prove it to others.

1. Countless people ask to address/cure certain conditions, but the conditions remain completely uncured. So again, isn't prayer worthless if god only answers based upon his will?
2. Why does perpetually ignoring countless requests to cure incurable diseases negatively affect his timeline? And further, WHAT timeline exactly are you referring to?
3. Then why not just invoke general revelation?

[AquinasForGod]

[Replying to POI in post #69]

1. Countless people ask to address/cure certain conditions, but the conditions remain completely uncured. So again, isn't prayer worthless if god only answers based upon his will?

No. We pray that we have recourse with God. And if you never ask, there was never anything for God to answer. We don't pray to have ever prayer answered. If you ask for a certain job, and God knows that job is bad for you spiritually, he is not going to work a miracle for you to get the job.

2. Why does perpetually ignoring countless requests to cure incurable diseases negatively affect his timeline? And further, WHAT timeline exactly are you referring to?

The time is the whole of existence. We need suffering to grow in virtues, so to cure all diseases negatively effects how many become what they need to be so they never choose to be without God.

3. Then why not just invoke general revelation?

I don't know what your question is asking exactly. General revelation about what and for what?