God always answers all prayers. The answer may not be what you want it to be, but the answer will always glorify or strengthen HIS kingdom.El Oso said:
I guess when you grow up doing it 5-10 times a day everyday--old habits die hard.
It doesn't work.
Let me amend that. It only works in the mind of the prayer--and if that's enough to get you through whatever you need it to get you through--then good for you.
See right there is the game. It's built in. God can't lose when the system is rigged no matter what.jstins said:God always answers all prayers. The answer may not be what you want it to be, but the answer will always glorify or strengthen HIS kingdom.El Oso said:
I guess when you grow up doing it 5-10 times a day everyday--old habits die hard.
It doesn't work.
Let me amend that. It only works in the mind of the prayer--and if that's enough to get you through whatever you need it to get you through--then good for you.
It isn't about winning and losing. God doesn't play games.El Oso said:See right there is the game. It's built in. God can't lose when the system is rigged no matter what.jstins said:God always answers all prayers. The answer may not be what you want it to be, but the answer will always glorify or strengthen HIS kingdom.El Oso said:
I guess when you grow up doing it 5-10 times a day everyday--old habits die hard.
It doesn't work.
Let me amend that. It only works in the mind of the prayer--and if that's enough to get you through whatever you need it to get you through--then good for you.
Oh but it is--if I don't follow the rules--I lose my chance at eternity.jstins said:It isn't about winning and losing. God doesn't play games.El Oso said:See right there is the game. It's built in. God can't lose when the system is rigged no matter what.jstins said:God always answers all prayers. The answer may not be what you want it to be, but the answer will always glorify or strengthen HIS kingdom.El Oso said:
I guess when you grow up doing it 5-10 times a day everyday--old habits die hard.
It doesn't work.
Let me amend that. It only works in the mind of the prayer--and if that's enough to get you through whatever you need it to get you through--then good for you.
Don't worry El. God is too loving to force you into his presence for eternity against your wishes.
Grace is your friendEl Oso said:Oh but it is--if I don't follow the rules--I lose my chance at eternity.jstins said:It isn't about winning and losing. God doesn't play games.El Oso said:See right there is the game. It's built in. God can't lose when the system is rigged no matter what.jstins said:God always answers all prayers. The answer may not be what you want it to be, but the answer will always glorify or strengthen HIS kingdom.El Oso said:
I guess when you grow up doing it 5-10 times a day everyday--old habits die hard.
It doesn't work.
Let me amend that. It only works in the mind of the prayer--and if that's enough to get you through whatever you need it to get you through--then good for you.
Don't worry El. God is too loving to force you into his presence for eternity against your wishes.
Let me ask you a serious, off topic question: when you die--where do you go? Are you immediately called up to heaven or do you have to linger in the ground for the rapture?
Again, God will not force you to be with him for eternity. There are no rules to follow. You simply have to decide that you want to spend eternity with God.El Oso said:Oh but it is--if I don't follow the rules--I lose my chance at eternity.jstins said:It isn't about winning and losing. God doesn't play games.El Oso said:See right there is the game. It's built in. God can't lose when the system is rigged no matter what.jstins said:God always answers all prayers. The answer may not be what you want it to be, but the answer will always glorify or strengthen HIS kingdom.El Oso said:
I guess when you grow up doing it 5-10 times a day everyday--old habits die hard.
It doesn't work.
Let me amend that. It only works in the mind of the prayer--and if that's enough to get you through whatever you need it to get you through--then good for you.
Don't worry El. God is too loving to force you into his presence for eternity against your wishes.
Let me ask you a serious, off topic question: when you die--where do you go? Are you immediately called up to heaven or do you have to linger in the ground for the rapture?
No. Many of us pray simply to thank God for any number of wonderful things we see and experience throughout the day. I stop and thank God for a sunset or my kids' smiles or a cool breeze. Pretty much anything man didn't/couldn't make. I pray most often because I am grateful. The second most common prayer for me is for forgiveness. Third is likely patience and ability to accept things I can't change. None of those things require supernatural intervention, except what was a priori...but some do require faith.TexasScientist said:
People pray hoping for supernatural intervention or influence over events or circumstances over which they have little or no control. The efficacy of prayer is psychological only.
Do we also pray for intervention? Yes, of course we do. But it's hardly the bulk of prayers for most of us, just like the bulk of conversations you have with your mother or father here on earth probably aren't about asking them for money (unless you are the kind of guy who lives in their basement.)Quote:
"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." -1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Quote:
Psalms 139: 13-16 "For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance (; GOLEM); in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.
Where is your evidence of this extraordinary claim?jstins said:God always answers all prayers. The answer may not be what you want it to be, but the answer will always glorify or strengthen HIS kingdom.El Oso said:
I guess when you grow up doing it 5-10 times a day everyday--old habits die hard.
It doesn't work.
Let me amend that. It only works in the mind of the prayer--and if that's enough to get you through whatever you need it to get you through--then good for you.
The rapture is just a made up concept by some in order to reconcile the contradictions about death and the resurrection. If you are a Catholic, you believe you go to Pugatory, unless you have some folks left behind who are willing to give money to the Church for a priest to pray you out.El Oso said:Oh but it is--if I don't follow the rules--I lose my chance at eternity.jstins said:It isn't about winning and losing. God doesn't play games.El Oso said:See right there is the game. It's built in. God can't lose when the system is rigged no matter what.jstins said:God always answers all prayers. The answer may not be what you want it to be, but the answer will always glorify or strengthen HIS kingdom.El Oso said:
I guess when you grow up doing it 5-10 times a day everyday--old habits die hard.
It doesn't work.
Let me amend that. It only works in the mind of the prayer--and if that's enough to get you through whatever you need it to get you through--then good for you.
Don't worry El. God is too loving to force you into his presence for eternity against your wishes.
Let me ask you a serious, off topic question: when you die--where do you go? Are you immediately called up to heaven or do you have to linger in the ground for the rapture?
jstins said:Again, God will not force you to be with him for eternity. There are no rules to follow. You simply have to decide that you want to spend eternity with God.El Oso said:Oh but it is--if I don't follow the rules--I lose my chance at eternity.jstins said:It isn't about winning and losing. God doesn't play games.El Oso said:See right there is the game. It's built in. God can't lose when the system is rigged no matter what.jstins said:God always answers all prayers. The answer may not be what you want it to be, but the answer will always glorify or strengthen HIS kingdom.El Oso said:
I guess when you grow up doing it 5-10 times a day everyday--old habits die hard.
It doesn't work.
Let me amend that. It only works in the mind of the prayer--and if that's enough to get you through whatever you need it to get you through--then good for you.
Don't worry El. God is too loving to force you into his presence for eternity against your wishes.
Let me ask you a serious, off topic question: when you die--where do you go? Are you immediately called up to heaven or do you have to linger in the ground for the rapture?
I do not know if I go straight there or not. I also don't care. It doesn't matter to me at all because I get to spen eternity with my FATHER. Humans care about time and space. When I die, I leave humanity behind and things like time no longer apply.
You got that part right. Make your mark for good while you can, because our time is limited.Quote:
When I die, I leave humanity behind and things like time no longer apply.
Yes there are other reasons people pray. I wasn't intending my comment to be all inclusive. However, the efficacy of all prayer is psychological.GolemIII said:No. Many of us pray simply to thank God for any number of wonderful things we see and experience throughout the day. I stop and thank God for a sunset or my kids' smiles or a cool breeze. Pretty much anything man didn't/couldn't make. I pray most often because I am grateful. The second most common prayer for me is for forgiveness. Third is likely patience and ability to accept things I can't change. None of those things require supernatural intervention, except what was a priori...but some do require faith.TexasScientist said:
People pray hoping for supernatural intervention or influence over events or circumstances over which they have little or no control. The efficacy of prayer is psychological only.Do we also pray for intervention? Yes, of course we do. But it's hardly the bulk of prayers for most of us, just like the bulk of conversations you have with your mother or father here on earth probably aren't about asking them for money (unless you are the kind of guy who lives in their basement.)Quote:
"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." -1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Prayer is about relationship. It's about expressing thanks, offering apologies, asking questions and just sitting with or listening to the other party, far more than it is about endless requests for some kind of intervention. The notion that God is some kind of Genie there to grant wishes (or He is evil for not doing so) is nonsense and the root of much of the misconceptions about religion.
Try being grateful to God without asking for anything but perhaps forgiveness. Give it a week. You will find you are far less self-centered and much happier. You aren't an accident of chance. You are fearfully and wonderfully made.Quote:
Psalms 139: 13-16 "For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance (; GOLEM); in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.
TexasScientist said:Yes there are other reasons people pray. I wasn't intending my comment to be all inclusive. However, the efficacy of all prayer is psychological.GolemIII said:No. Many of us pray simply to thank God for any number of wonderful things we see and experience throughout the day. I stop and thank God for a sunset or my kids' smiles or a cool breeze. Pretty much anything man didn't/couldn't make. I pray most often because I am grateful. The second most common prayer for me is for forgiveness. Third is likely patience and ability to accept things I can't change. None of those things require supernatural intervention, except what was a priori...but some do require faith.TexasScientist said:
People pray hoping for supernatural intervention or influence over events or circumstances over which they have little or no control. The efficacy of prayer is psychological only.Do we also pray for intervention? Yes, of course we do. But it's hardly the bulk of prayers for most of us, just like the bulk of conversations you have with your mother or father here on earth probably aren't about asking them for money (unless you are the kind of guy who lives in their basement.)Quote:
"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." -1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Prayer is about relationship. It's about expressing thanks, offering apologies, asking questions and just sitting with or listening to the other party, far more than it is about endless requests for some kind of intervention. The notion that God is some kind of Genie there to grant wishes (or He is evil for not doing so) is nonsense and the root of much of the misconceptions about religion.
Try being grateful to God without asking for anything but perhaps forgiveness. Give it a week. You will find you are far less self-centered and much happier. You aren't an accident of chance. You are fearfully and wonderfully made.Quote:
Psalms 139: 13-16 "For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance (; GOLEM); in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.
TexasScientist said:
People pray hoping for supernatural intervention or influence over events or circumstances over which they have little or no control. The efficacy of prayer is psychological only.
I have already given an example of evidence. My evidence has been replicated millions of times all over the world.TexasScientist said:Where is your evidence of this extraordinary claim?jstins said:God always answers all prayers. The answer may not be what you want it to be, but the answer will always glorify or strengthen HIS kingdom.El Oso said:
I guess when you grow up doing it 5-10 times a day everyday--old habits die hard.
It doesn't work.
Let me amend that. It only works in the mind of the prayer--and if that's enough to get you through whatever you need it to get you through--then good for you.
What is "good"?TexasScientist said:jstins said:Again, God will not force you to be with him for eternity. There are no rules to follow. You simply have to decide that you want to spend eternity with God.El Oso said:Oh but it is--if I don't follow the rules--I lose my chance at eternity.jstins said:It isn't about winning and losing. God doesn't play games.El Oso said:See right there is the game. It's built in. God can't lose when the system is rigged no matter what.jstins said:God always answers all prayers. The answer may not be what you want it to be, but the answer will always glorify or strengthen HIS kingdom.El Oso said:
I guess when you grow up doing it 5-10 times a day everyday--old habits die hard.
It doesn't work.
Let me amend that. It only works in the mind of the prayer--and if that's enough to get you through whatever you need it to get you through--then good for you.
Don't worry El. God is too loving to force you into his presence for eternity against your wishes.
Let me ask you a serious, off topic question: when you die--where do you go? Are you immediately called up to heaven or do you have to linger in the ground for the rapture?
I do not know if I go straight there or not. I also don't care. It doesn't matter to me at all because I get to spen eternity with my FATHER. Humans care about time and space. When I die, I leave humanity behind and things like time no longer apply.You got that part right. Make your mark for good while you can, because our time is limited.Quote:
When I die, I leave humanity behind and things like time no longer apply.
Which is more logical? Belief in something for which there is no objective empirical evidence, or disbelief in something for which there is no objective empirical evidence.cinque said:TexasScientist said:
People pray hoping for supernatural intervention or influence over events or circumstances over which they have little or no control. The efficacy of prayer is psychological only.
As a scientist. You understand there's no way you could know that. The best you can do is believe it.
nounjstins said:What is "good"?TexasScientist said:jstins said:Again, God will not force you to be with him for eternity. There are no rules to follow. You simply have to decide that you want to spend eternity with God.El Oso said:Oh but it is--if I don't follow the rules--I lose my chance at eternity.jstins said:It isn't about winning and losing. God doesn't play games.El Oso said:See right there is the game. It's built in. God can't lose when the system is rigged no matter what.jstins said:God always answers all prayers. The answer may not be what you want it to be, but the answer will always glorify or strengthen HIS kingdom.El Oso said:
I guess when you grow up doing it 5-10 times a day everyday--old habits die hard.
It doesn't work.
Let me amend that. It only works in the mind of the prayer--and if that's enough to get you through whatever you need it to get you through--then good for you.
Don't worry El. God is too loving to force you into his presence for eternity against your wishes.
Let me ask you a serious, off topic question: when you die--where do you go? Are you immediately called up to heaven or do you have to linger in the ground for the rapture?
I do not know if I go straight there or not. I also don't care. It doesn't matter to me at all because I get to spen eternity with my FATHER. Humans care about time and space. When I die, I leave humanity behind and things like time no longer apply.You got that part right. Make your mark for good while you can, because our time is limited.Quote:
When I die, I leave humanity behind and things like time no longer apply.
What it "morally right"?TexasScientist said:nounjstins said:What is "good"?TexasScientist said:jstins said:Again, God will not force you to be with him for eternity. There are no rules to follow. You simply have to decide that you want to spend eternity with God.El Oso said:Oh but it is--if I don't follow the rules--I lose my chance at eternity.jstins said:It isn't about winning and losing. God doesn't play games.El Oso said:See right there is the game. It's built in. God can't lose when the system is rigged no matter what.jstins said:God always answers all prayers. The answer may not be what you want it to be, but the answer will always glorify or strengthen HIS kingdom.El Oso said:
I guess when you grow up doing it 5-10 times a day everyday--old habits die hard.
It doesn't work.
Let me amend that. It only works in the mind of the prayer--and if that's enough to get you through whatever you need it to get you through--then good for you.
Don't worry El. God is too loving to force you into his presence for eternity against your wishes.
Let me ask you a serious, off topic question: when you die--where do you go? Are you immediately called up to heaven or do you have to linger in the ground for the rapture?
I do not know if I go straight there or not. I also don't care. It doesn't matter to me at all because I get to spen eternity with my FATHER. Humans care about time and space. When I die, I leave humanity behind and things like time no longer apply.You got that part right. Make your mark for good while you can, because our time is limited.Quote:
When I die, I leave humanity behind and things like time no longer apply.
[ol]
1. that which is morally right; righteousness."a mysterious balance of good and evil"synonyms:virtue, righteousness, goodness, morality, integrity, rectitude[/ol][ol]
2. benefit or advantage to someone or something."he convinces his father to use his genius for the good of mankind"synonyms:benefit, advantage, profit, gain, interest, welfare, well-being[/ol]
TexasScientist said:Which is more logical? Belief in something for which there is no objective empirical evidence, or disbelief in something for which there is no objective empirical evidence.cinque said:TexasScientist said:
People pray hoping for supernatural intervention or influence over events or circumstances over which they have little or no control. The efficacy of prayer is psychological only.
As a scientist. You understand there's no way you could know that. The best you can do is believe it.
So you're talking to yourself?GrowlTowel said:
To speak with my God.
TexasScientist said:
The rapture is just a made up concept by some in order to reconcile the contradictions about death and the resurrection. If you are a Catholic, you believe you go to Pugatory, unless you have some folks left behind who are willing to give money to the Church for a priest to pray you out.
I guess I missed your posted evidence. Please redirect me.jstins said:I have already given an example of evidence. My evidence has been replicated millions of times all over the world.TexasScientist said:Where is your evidence of this extraordinary claim?jstins said:God always answers all prayers. The answer may not be what you want it to be, but the answer will always glorify or strengthen HIS kingdom.El Oso said:
I guess when you grow up doing it 5-10 times a day everyday--old habits die hard.
It doesn't work.
Let me amend that. It only works in the mind of the prayer--and if that's enough to get you through whatever you need it to get you through--then good for you.
Where is your evidence for dark matter?
1. The quality of being in accord with standards of right or good conduct.jstins said:What it "morally right"?TexasScientist said:nounjstins said:What is "good"?TexasScientist said:jstins said:Again, God will not force you to be with him for eternity. There are no rules to follow. You simply have to decide that you want to spend eternity with God.El Oso said:Oh but it is--if I don't follow the rules--I lose my chance at eternity.jstins said:It isn't about winning and losing. God doesn't play games.El Oso said:See right there is the game. It's built in. God can't lose when the system is rigged no matter what.jstins said:God always answers all prayers. The answer may not be what you want it to be, but the answer will always glorify or strengthen HIS kingdom.El Oso said:
I guess when you grow up doing it 5-10 times a day everyday--old habits die hard.
It doesn't work.
Let me amend that. It only works in the mind of the prayer--and if that's enough to get you through whatever you need it to get you through--then good for you.
Don't worry El. God is too loving to force you into his presence for eternity against your wishes.
Let me ask you a serious, off topic question: when you die--where do you go? Are you immediately called up to heaven or do you have to linger in the ground for the rapture?
I do not know if I go straight there or not. I also don't care. It doesn't matter to me at all because I get to spen eternity with my FATHER. Humans care about time and space. When I die, I leave humanity behind and things like time no longer apply.You got that part right. Make your mark for good while you can, because our time is limited.Quote:
When I die, I leave humanity behind and things like time no longer apply.
[ol]
1. that which is morally right; righteousness."a mysterious balance of good and evil"synonyms:virtue, righteousness, goodness, morality, integrity, rectitude[/ol][ol]
2. benefit or advantage to someone or something."he convinces his father to use his genius for the good of mankind"synonyms:benefit, advantage, profit, gain, interest, welfare, well-being[/ol]
Canada2017 said:
I pray to give thanks for the many blessings God has granted me and my family . We have had a few miracles come our way over the years . Most likely due to my wife.
GolemIII said:
People often dismiss God for the same reasons they attribute the desire of others for religion...psychological cover. They claim a strength they rarely if ever possess and attempt to prove it by claiming not to need a higher power. They never see that they are projecting and they are rarely as truly happy and emotionally stable as their 'benignly' religious counterparts (excluding those who worship explosives).
