PRAYER
To many Christians, for prayers to be answered it must have the following criteria:
- Pray with faith
- Pray according to the will of God
- Pray in the name of Jesus Christ the Advocate.
- If it does not work fast then pray.
Reference would be made to the Bible to underscore the understanding. But is this correct?
We mortals see issues in a very simplistic manner. The human dimension. To God every action he takes has repercussion beyond our imagination. So I believed that it is not possible to formulate laws and design systems to obtain a positive answer to prayers. Prayer is an exercise of faith and the results is according to the grace of God.
God only establish laws in the physical domain to keep the universe in stable motion. Example. All objects will fall ground ward under gravity. This law will not fail. This gives us an order system. We will not want our furniture to float around for no obvious reason. Cars are supposed to stay on the ground and not shot sky wards, so that we can move around with the least danger. The physical laws established by God will never fail. That is why we could have the discipline known as science. Once the scientists can understand the laws of God we can all depend on it to work without fail.
There is no law in the spiritual realm. God operates by grace, otherwise faith will be meaningless. If every thing works like science there is no need for faith. What will be needed is understanding and knowledge.
Moreover, whatever we are praying for, important as they may be, are only temporal. It has no everlasting value. We pray for peace, we pray for someone to overcome sickness, etc. If we do pray for someone to accept the salvation of God, I cannot see how God can respond to the prayer. Salvation is a personal decision and I do not think that God would show favoritism by making it easy or forcing the person to believe. Should God make a person believe in Him just because someone prayed for this?
Prayer is a spiritual exercise. We pray because we believe that God can deliver, not because God must deliver. To those who are given the gift of healing or other special gifts, let them operate the gift according to the grace of the Spirit of God. Let no one turn a gift into a system. A gift is a gift. Do not try to manufacture or assemble the spiritual gift of God.
On the other hand let no one make light of the gift God has manifested in some of His saints. God has given that saint a mission; let us help him fulfill his mission.
In conclusion let us continue to pray in faith for the items we are concerned for. It can be peace for the world, food for the hungry, comfort for the displaced, salvation for lost souls. It can be more personal. Healing for love ones, success of a church program, fine weather for an event, etc. If you felt the need to fast and pray, do so by all means. Continue to pray in the belief that God can make it happen, but do not felt let down if it did not happen. God is still by your side, for by faith you are children of God. He do not love you less and so did not answer your pray. He has not deserted you or is upset with you. He is always there for you, and knew that you have turned to Him in your hour of need, because you believed in Him.
All prayers are rewarding, for your Father sees in secret.
