My Apologies For Scoffing At Prayers

[Jacob_Rising]

I have never really joined in on prayers too much and I don't know how many times I have scoffed at you guys saying,'' If prayers work, then why don't you go down to the Childrens cancer unit and heal the children?''

I guess I was dissapointed about watching my sister die of Cancer when nothing could help her.

Recently I have witnessed answers to many prayers.

I hadn't slept for 3 weeks and I was at the end of my rope and a Righteous man laid hands on me and it was almost as if I passed out, I could barely make it to bed and I have been slepping well ever since.

I have seen the answers to many prayers these last 2 or 3 months and I think there is a great need to pray for parts of the world now.

There is a fire in California that was human caused, They think maybe an arsonists caused this fire and I would pray that he was caught, They just know it was Human caused.

I would also pray that they recieved relief from the Hurricane and the rains it could bring to California. It would be so nice to think God could just blow on that storm and slow it down and let it drench California for a while, they sure need it.

I still believe that God is warning all of us with weather related stories but there is some hope in that we are told if we humble ourselves, it could be that God will relent from his judgements.

I was just in Meridian Texas and I saw the coolest thing I ever saw, Once a month, all the denominations of the county come together at one place and worship the Lord.

They forget all about their differences and form a unity and that's such a cool thing to see.

They get together and pray for the nation and the world and Lord knows we could use all that stuff.

I was reading a story of a man in Lebanon who wakes to pray his ten thousand prayers each day, and I thought that was really special.

He began his prayers in Alaska because he wanted to begin with fresh air and he would hold his beads and move around the world praying for each nation and taking just a little longer with each troubled area.

This man is a Maronite Christian and I wished I could remember his name but he is very well known in Lebanon and seen as a saint.

Maybe it's time we pray for him because he has been praying for us everyday for decades.

These Maronite Christians are a very special breed and what has happened to them and is happening to them is a terrible thing.

The Maronites were the first Christians, The Cedars of lebanon but they are being pushed out on every side and the war in Iraq has made the Other Arabs see them as enemies because the connect their Christianity with the Christianity of the west.

They are greatly oppressed from all sides and their numbers have dwindled at an alarming rate because they have no choice but to flee the area in search of work, and just to survive.

They hold sort of a special place in Christiandom because they are like a Bridge from Christian Arabs to Muslim Arabs.

[Jacob_Rising]

Looks like we need to pray for Indonesia also because a Earthquake just hit it and those poor people have allready been through so much, They are the most Populated Muslim country in the world, so let's pray for our brother Muslims.

[Jacob_Rising]

Let's pray for Austin Texas because they have had the worst drought and hottest year on the record books and their Lake Travis is drying up.

I just picked up a National Geographic magazine a couple days ago but it was 2 months old and it was showing how unique the Dolphins are that live in the Amazon river, They are almost mystical and are such beautiful smart creatures and they are unlike other dolphins in that they can move like snakes. They are mostly pink in color and I had never seen a more beautiful creature but I was so sad because after that article was printed the Amazon dried up and must have killed untold amounts of those dolphins. The Amazon is said to be the lungs of the earth and if there was ever a river to pray for, it would be that one.

What other part of the world is having extreme weather problems?

Anyone have any prayers for the Earth?

[Sketch]

This poor kid - the one just found after 18 years of being kidnapped, and sexually abused - all the tears of her life from age 11 to 29. do you suppose anyone prayed for her during that time? I mean really prayed? How can one reconcile that? The cancer ward you mentioned is another example.

[Meriweather]

This poor kid - the one just found after 18 years of being kidnapped, and sexually abused - all the tears of her life from age 11 to 29. do you suppose anyone prayed for her during that time? I mean really prayed? How can one reconcile that? The cancer ward you mentioned is another example.

We've touched on this before--what is the responsibility of mankind; what is God's responsibility; how do we want prayer to work versus how prayer actually does work. I would say the girl did have prayers when she disappeared; I would say she has many more prayers now that she has been found.

[Jacob_Rising]

How can one reconcile that? The cancer ward you mentioned is another example.I can reconcile it very easily because I know that there are no coincidences. I have been a bigger skeptic than you for a long time now but I couldn't see the truth, only the hurt.

I believe in an afterlife Sketch and if I am right, well this Earth is just a very tiny spec of forever and forever is a long time.

I know that you understand how hard it is to explain to people just how New of a thing we humans really are.

Even the lifespan of this Earth is such a short time that it's like a spec of sand.

If you talk to a young person and mention,'' B.C.'', They can't even get their mind around it because it seems to them as if B.C.E. 4000 is some trillion years ago but it was just yesterday in the grand scope of things.

Without pain, there would be no relief.

Without fire there would be no Gold.

What is a man who has no trial or torment?

Pain and agony are what makes a person and without this, there would be no happiness and no expectations.

The reason that evil exists in this world is to show forth the good that is in this world and to teach a man what is right.

Your buddy there once said, '' To even observe a culture would be changing it''

This is really the truth because everything is tied to everything and everything has it's place and function in order to bring about what is needed.

Slavery and oppression are bad words but without these, Israel would not have bended their knee and cried for the Lord for help, and thus they wouldn't know God.

That Girl you speak of, I didn't hear the story but it sounds like a bad one.

But the difference between you and I is that you believe her life has pretty much been wasted and I do not.

You have to look as if we just have one shot at this puny little life and things are over.

I would say that your wrong and that poor little girl who was abused so much will have more comfort and expectation than just about anyone, if not in this life, then in the next.

It's a funny thing about pain and suffering, You really don't realize your alive until it happens to you.

Everything has a reaction sketch, Leo divinci saw it in the water and then he looked to the wind and figured out that on single movement goes on forever.

This abused girl could ball up and go completely crazy if she hasn't allready, But more than likely, people like this become world shakers at times because Charachter has to be built and pain is it's maker.

[Sketch]

We've touched on this before--what is the responsibility of mankind; what is God's responsibility; how do we want prayer to work versus how prayer actually does work. I would say the girl did have prayers when she disappeared; I would say she has many more prayers now that she has been found.

I'll bite - how does prayer work, and how do you know?

[Jacob_Rising]

I'll bite - how does prayer work, and how do you know?Let's put it to the test.

Just something small to begin with.

Maybe your looking for a Job, or your having problems with that boss, or you are looking for a girlfriend,{Allthough,I don't know who would want you}:D

Give us something little like that, something that your trying to have a breakthrough with.

And a few of us will pray and see if it helps.

Of course you know that if it doesn't work, it was meant to be?:eh:

[Meriweather]

I'll bite - how does prayer work, and how do you know?


I'll start by saying prayer varies greatly and what I will be describing is more a rule of thumb of my own experiences. Let's use my example of being a teacher, a career I did not plan but sort of got tossed into by circumstance. Once I had to be a teacher, naturally I wanted to be a very good teacher--thus my prayer, "Make me a good teacher."

I am sure it comes as no shock to you that I didn't walk into a classroom after this morning prayer of mine and lo and behold, was a great teacher. I had to work at it, and I had to pay attention. Some of the same problems plagued me for years, but I kept being "handed" lessons in various forms and in various ways and places.

Believers will understand what I mean, but I realize it is a little more complex for you. Yes, some of the lessons I learned, I learned because I was determined and I had my eye open for every opportunity. Other times there odd sorts of twists, coincidences you might call them, where I was pretty much against going in a certain direction or doing something--but still being pulled or guided into it despite my reluctance. It was only afterwards I would realize what my own resistance had almost cost me.

God is a spiritual being and I believe He is primarily interested in our spiritual welfare. You may have heard it said that we are spiritual beings having a human experience. Some human experiences can be downright foul. Still, I believe that if we are open to Him, God can take whatever situation in which we may find ourselves, and create blessings from it--if we are willing, if we work, too.

I understand that this is probably perplexing for you. But as a rule of thumb, I believe we can't just say a prayer and consider our part done. I believe we have to work with God.