I didn't accuse you of anything and I didn't assume anything about you, I asked a question and I said what something seemed to me to be. I didn't say that you were* anything. I hardly assume you're satanic or malicious simply for asking. Your closing statement from your previous post seemed to me, to not agree with a curious and unaware mind. I had no issue with you asking the question.
You may get 10 different responses, I believe "our foundational document's tell us to" get's the heart of most of them. Rather than trying to demonstrate* as many people would, I simply provided what I believe to be the root of it all... it being given in the foundational documents.
Here is an example of what I described above. If you would say Christians typically give so many responses, does that not give me reason to believe that you are already quite aware and sure of what you're dealing with?
I am curious as to the interplay between prayer and divine intervention. From what you've said, prayer has an actual effect on enticing God to divinely interfere with the world, which implies that, if you hadn't prayed, God wouldn't have acted.
Yes, that is what I said.
You said prayer is required to get the assistance of God. The follow-up question would be, "Why?".
You said the efficacy of prayer is related to quantity - more prayers are better.
The wording I used was "...can be more effective" but I agree with you so far.
notice I asked you to elucidate your beliefs, rather than decrying them nonsense and running away. That's evidence of a curious mind, rather than a malicious mind, no?
It is. Though obviously it does not give certainty that you aren't challenging nonetheless. Though I am not trying to press that issue... you say you are not so I accept that you are not.
Foremost I wanted to provide that we find in our foundational documents that we should pray in order to receive assistance from God. Does that mean God does not act without prayer? I would not go that far... but we do find instruction and teaching that implies that we should and need to pray to receive assistance. That is the best WHY we do it that I believe we can provide... our belief is centered around our faith and fidelity to foundational documents that we believe are influenced by God.
Now explaining why our prayer effects God is where the explanations begin to vary because the bible does not become incredibly clear on this matter, there are many books written on the topic of prayer, intercession, etc... seeking to explain and educate people on why we are told we need to pray, how to pray effectively, why God needs our prayers, why some prayers don't get answered, what we can expect or can't expect without prayer... because the simple fact of the matter is our foundational documents do not make it extremely clear and this serves to make room for these many books and sermons. I don't believe any Christian really knows for sure though many Christians decide to believe they do.
The bible tells us that it does matter, the bible does not clearly tells us why. It tells stories of when it mattered, it gives instruction to do it but when it comes to answer the question of why God needs this resource called our prayers in order to act in this world... many have provided ideas but since the bible does not clearly lay it out I say we don't really know. Because of my past, my experiences and I will not readily accept any of these explanations as a sure answer, they are speculation and while reasonable... they remain to be speculation.
The common explanation that seems to at least try to engage the entire issue that I am aware of is the one that says God established the earth and Adam in it as a place where Adam reigned and was given complete control and authority, it was Adams and then Adam gave that authority and domain to Satan in the fall and because God still honors and abides by that structure... God needs someone to request that he act here on the earth because the earth is Satan's when it comes to a legal sort of authority because it was given to him in the fall.
So people think that God needs someone on earth to ask... and thereby give him the right act in earth. It's like God honors these codes, God allows things to happen and unless someone on earth asks God to intervene he does not violate the rule that authority on the earth is Satan's. I would not dare say most or all Christians would agree with that, most Christians don't know their bible very well and would be opposed for some very simplistic reasons. Or some Christians would disagree with that because there are times when it seems God needed no request in order to act... like in Noah's flood or other occasions.
As far as cooperate prayer goes... the bible tells us stories people gathering to pray and Jesus told us that when 2 or 3 people gather for his purpose he is there among them... giving us the idea that such a gathering helps compared to individual prayer. I will not attempt to explain on behalf of God why this is, I simply do not know. The bible tells us it works that way, it does not tell us clearly why that is. Some teachers have speculated that cooperate prayer serves to do something like multiplying an expendable resource that God needs to use in order to act. Like more people praying longer... fills up God's pot of power faster. I don't put much faith in that explanation.
I hope I have provided some of what you were looking for and while I cannot answer your questions, I hope I have given you better insight in the situation still.
It is a time of grieving for the families is it not? The soldiers are not there for their own (only) benefit, but for peace in the world, trying to keep an entity down that wants only to kill the rest of the peoples. When we bring the family before God, He hears our prayers, and perhaps through the tragedy they will find God as well.
