What is the point of praying?

[frienden thalord]

WHEN ye pray, be not as the heathen are , with their vain empty repettions
they think they shall be heard for their many words
Be not like them.....YOUR FATHER already KNOWS what ye have NEED OF....
therefore when you pray say.....OUR Father.....which is in heaven
hallowed be THY NAME
THY WILL................take heed........it said not MY WILL
BUT THY WILLL be DONE..
MY FATHER already KNOWS ye have NEED of such things
he clothes the fields, he feeds the birds
GIVE THESE THINGS ..........not some thought.........NO THOUGHT
JESUS , HIS PROMISES aer YEAH , HE CANT LIE
THUS I give those things no thought
JUST PRAY FOR GODS WILL to become YOUR HEARTS WILL........
He will give you a NEW HEART with NEW DESIRES
not earthen flesh desires.........SPIRITUAL DESIRES on that NEW HEART.
amen.

 

[RaymondG]

Ask whatever you desire, in my name, and it will be given you" says that the Lord is concerned about a great deal more than "his mission........
THAT YE MAY BEAR FRUIT..........................its all about THE MISSION
prosperity gospel preachers keep twisting everything.....
GODLINESS with CONTENTMENT IS GREAT GAIN........
I have learned to be CONTENT in all things.........
I seem to remember paul, when he asked to church to give to Him
IT was a cloke or parchments........you know so he would not FREEZE to death in prison
which he was IN , I might add....because he wasn't like most these false men
of belial who preach that false money loving gospel
NO he was in prison........because OF HIS MISSION. the MISSSION
the DIRE NEED to reach souls
PAUL and the true men , preached the TRUE prosperity gospel
the gospel which tells of the true riches and treasures
YOU KNOW JESUS
he wasn't asking for money so he could build his OWN empire up
HE asked money also for the POOR starving saints......
The prosperity gospel of man is DEATH
the PROSPERITY GOSPLE OF GOD................IS JESUS CHRIST.........

What is the point in talking about prosperity Gospels? The OPer believes that there is no point in praying because prayer does not work....they dont get answered.

THis is not about what you should pray for when you pray, or how to pray or why we pray. If it was, I would have a good bit to say about that as well. I just thought, when responding, we should attempt to answer the question in the OP.

 

[RaymondG]

WHEN ye pray, be not as the heathen are , with their vain empty repettions
they think they shall be heard for their many words
Be not like them.....YOUR FATHER already KNOWS what ye have NEED OF....
therefore when you pray say.....OUR Father.....which is in heaven
hallowed be THY NAME
THY WILL................take heed........it said not MY WILL
BUT THY WILLL be DONE..
MY FATHER already KNOWS ye have NEED of such things
he clothes the fields, he feeds the birds
GIVE THESE THINGS ..........not some thought.........NO THOUGHT
JESUS , HIS PROMISES aer YEAH , HE CANT LIE
THUS I give those things no thought
JUST PRAY FOR GODS WILL to become YOUR HEARTS WILL........
He will give you a NEW HEART with NEW DESIRES
not earthen flesh desires.........SPIRITUAL DESIRES on that NEW HEART.
amen.

But you have to ask to receive. Is this not right? Two blind men called out to Jesus......Help me! Jesus didnt say "I know what you need and want so say no more!" He asked......"Do you believe that i can do this?" In another instance, a blind man called to him and stood before Him blind... Jesus asked "What will you have be do?"

Ii is ok to wait one time a year for an angel to trouble the water and try to be the first to jump in. Great dedication and perseverance in that. But if you want to, instead, have the faith of the mustard seed. You can have one you desire now....

 

[frienden thalord]

Raymond........that is good advice you give........
truly it is.........
BUT WHY does he believe their is NO POINT to praying
Because he asks and he receives NOT.........
someone needs to help him LEARN HOW to pray, SHOW him,
HE is giving up on prayer, because he keeps asking and keeps getting no answer.......
MY advice to HIM,
WOULD be to RETURN to JUST SEEKING THE LORD
the LORD , the SPIRIT will teach him.
HE is giving up , because his prayer life is wrong....
HE is focused on the earthen things
HE needs to be seeking GOD with all the heart ,
HE needs the FIRST love on his heart
SO here is my advice to him.
GO AFTER GOD with all the heart...................forget all about what you desire on this earth.
JUST GOD aftter GOD...........seek him for WHO HE IS
and YOU WILL HAVE THE ABUNDNANT JOY FILLED LIFE
by abundant life , though I must add, not to believe the prosperity gospel
for they see abundance as MONEY
BUT JESUS said........
beware of COVETEOUSNESS.................for a mans LIFE
consists not in the ABUNDANCE of what he possess....
the prosperity preachers LIE....................its not about RICHES.....that is COVETOUSNESS
AND yes I do agree with the prosperity preachers on this ONE thing
GOD does desire us to be RICH
THEY HAVE THAT PART SO VERY RIGHT
but here is where they are so wrong about that very point they teach......
YES , I say GOD does want us rich
BUT WHERE DOES HE WANT OUR RICHES...............
and WHERE DOES HE NOT WANT them
HAVE YOUR RICHES ABOVE, NOT stored up on earth
FOR WHERE YOUR TREASURES ARE...................THIER IS YOUR HEART
they LIE , mans prosperity gospel is a lie
BUT GODS IS TRUTH
for HIS PROSPERITY GOSPLE IS JESUS, OUR RICHES OUR ABUNDANCE OUR LIFE
as DAVID WELL KNEW
when he spoke in the psalms.
O LORD NOW SEND PROSPERITY
and the answer was....................BLESSED BE HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD
THAT IS JESUS.
DAVID KNEW............he saw.........................and NOW i shall join
with those who love him an say...........OUR PROSPERITY
where we lose all, even the loss of freedom, all earthen possessions
even in prison and on the run,
beaten for his name sake........Man cannto Take my joy , nor my peace
nor my HOPE, FOR MY RICHES and my hope is all above on him
MY FAITH is not in my circumstances.............it matters not what i lose
I SHALL ONLY ABOUND FOR MY HOPE IS IN CHRIST...........
sing with me Raymond...................
even if they kill me...............to be absent from this body is ONLY to be present with the LORD
which is far better.......even though NOW even i have HIS JOY IN ME......
NO MAN can move me...........no threat can give me fear...........
FOR GOD IS WITH ME to THE END..........IMMANUEL
MY faith is not based on , nor my trust or hope is in anything material
or of this earth.............
thus what can man do unto me
sure he can take away all my eathen things
he can hunt for me, he can put me in prison,
beat me, and even kill me.
BUT HE CANT TAKE THE JOY OF MY LORD FROM ME
HE CANT TAKE MY TREASURE FROM ME
CAN NOTHING SEPERATE ME FROM THE LOVE OF GOD
and thus it don't matter what man does
and even if one kills me , i hope only this for them
LORD FORIGVE THEM , and still BRING THEM TO YOU
for you set a wicked vile man like me free
SO FORGIVE THEM TOO..............................for truly i am no better
for my only GOODNESS is FROM YOU
MY only RIGHTEOUSNESS is FROM YOU
and i was CHANGED BY YOU........................
that issome of the true riches i learned from MY LORD
HIS SAYINGS are my treasure and his words and SPIRIT
the only LIGHT i have to see..............CHRIST my ONLY HOPE and TREASURE
so sing it raymod.............and be encouraged. i hope it encouraged all...................

 

[RaymondG]

Raymond........that is good advice you give........
truly it is.........
BUT WHY does he believe their is NO POINT to praying
Because he asks and he receives NOT.........
someone needs to help him LEARN HOW to pray, SHOW him,
HE is giving up on prayer, because he keeps asking and keeps getting no answer.......
MY advice to HIM,
WOULD be to RETURN to JUST SEEKING THE LORD
the LORD , the SPIRIT will teach him.
HE is giving up , because his prayer life is wrong....
HE is focused on the earthen things
HE needs to be seeking GOD with all the heart ,
HE needs the FIRST love on his heart
SO here is my advice to him.
GO AFTER GOD with all the heart...................forget all about what you desire on this earth.
JUST GOD aftter GOD...........seek him for WHO HE IS
and YOU WILL HAVE THE ABUNDNANT JOY FILLED LIFE
by abundant life , though I must add, not to believe the prosperity gospel
for they see abundance as MONEY
BUT JESUS said........
beware of COVETEOUSNESS.................for a mans LIFE
consists not in the ABUNDANCE of what he possess....
the prosperity preachers LIE....................its not about RICHES.....that is COVETOUSNESS
AND yes I do agree with the prosperity preachers on this ONE thing
GOD does desire us to be RICH
THEY HAVE THAT PART SO VERY RIGHT
but here is where they are so wrong about that very point they teach......
YES , I say GOD does want us rich
BUT WHERE DOES HE WANT OUR RICHES...............
and WHERE DOES HE NOT WANT them
HAVE YOUR RICHES ABOVE, NOT stored up on earth
FOR WHERE YOUR TREASURES ARE...................THIER IS YOUR HEART
they LIE , mans prosperity gospel is a lie
BUT GODS IS TRUTH
for HIS PROSPERITY GOSPLE IS JESUS, OUR RICHES OUR ABUNDANCE OUR LIFE
as DAVID WELL KNEW
when he spoke in the psalms.
O LORD NOW SEND PROSPERITY
and the answer was....................BLESSED BE HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD
THAT IS JESUS.
DAVID KNEW............he saw.........................and NOW i shall join
with those who love him an say...........OUR PROSPERITY
where we lose all, even the loss of freedom, all earthen possessions
even in prison and on the run,
beaten for his name sake........Man cannto Take my joy , nor my peace
nor my HOPE, FOR MY RICHES and my hope is all above on him
MY FAITH is not in my circumstances.............it matters not what i lose
I SHALL ONLY ABOUND FOR MY HOPE IS IN CHRIST...........
sing with me Raymond...................
even if they kill me...............to be absent from this body is ONLY to be present with the LORD
which is far better.......even though NOW even i have HIS JOY IN ME......
NO MAN can move me...........no threat can give me fear...........
FOR GOD IS WITH ME to THE END..........IMMANUEL
MY faith is not based on , nor my trust or hope is in anything material
or of this earth.............
thus what can man do unto me
sure he can take away all my eathen things
he can hunt for me, he can put me in prison,
beat me, and even kill me.
BUT HE CANT TAKE THE JOY OF MY LORD FROM ME
HE CANT TAKE MY TREASURE FROM ME
CAN NOTHING SEPERATE ME FROM THE LOVE OF GOD
and thus it don't matter what man does
and even if one kills me , i hope only this for them
LORD FORIGVE THEM , and still BRING THEM TO YOU
for you set a wicked vile man like me free
SO FORGIVE THEM TOO..............................for truly i am no better
for my only GOODNESS is FROM YOU
MY only RIGHTEOUSNESS is FROM YOU
and i was CHANGED BY YOU........................
that issome of the true riches i learned from MY LORD
HIS SAYINGS are my treasure and his words and SPIRIT
the only LIGHT i have to see..............CHRIST my ONLY HOPE and TREASURE
so sing it raymod.............and be encouraged. i hope it encouraged all...................

May I ask why you are talking about a prosperity Gospel? Where did that come up in any post other than your own? Why cant we just keep to the topic. It doesnt matter what He prays for if he doesnt know how to pray. Why dont you teach us how to pray. Not what to pray for, but how to pray. A way to pray that is biblical without any loop holes for why your prayer will fail. I know True Prayer never fails, and no one can convince me that this is a lie, no matter what kind of extra-gospel name we give it.

 

[frienden thalord]

But you have to ask to receive. Is this not right? Two blind men called out to Jesus......Help me! Jesus didnt say "I know what you need and want so say no more!" He asked......"Do you believe that i can do this?" In another instance, a blind man called to him and stood before Him blind... Jesus asked "What will you have be do?"

Ii is ok to wait one time a year for an angel to trouble the water and try to be the first to jump in. Great dedication and perseverance in that. But if you want to, instead, have the faith of the mustard seed. You can have one you desire now....

ASK FOR THE SPIRTUAL...........that is my POINT..i do ask, i pray much
BUT FROM A NEW HEART WITH NEW DESIRES..............heavenly , not earthly............
JESUS said SEEK not thes things
TO SEEK is all about SEEKING GOD with ALL YOUR HEART
how much more shall my heavenly Father give the HOLY SPIRIT to them that ASK
KNOCK upon the DOOR
when ask seek knock becomes all about a closer walk with GOD
that man IS FREE...............
i have never asked for anything material.......
but i pray for spiritiual all the time.................
but only for this reason..............so that i may by faith walk pleasing unot HIM
and do that which is pleasing in HIS SIGHT
raymone.......................i cannot fully express the true inner peace
the true joy , that i have, because my HOPE is above ON HIM and not at all
on earthen things.......
I cannot give this to anyone...............i cannot give the icrease of this to any
ONLY GOD CAN.......but i sure can talk about it
and hope its heard and received............oh that i can do

 

[RaymondG]

ASK FOR THE SPIRTUAL...........that is my POINT..i do ask, i pray much
BUT FROM A NEW HEART WITH NEW DESIRES..............heavenly , not earthly............
JESUS said SEEK not thes things
TO SEEK is all about SEEKING GOD with ALL YOUR HEART
how much more shall my heavenly Father give the HOLY SPIRIT to them that ASK
KNOCK upon the DOOR
when ask seek knock becomes all about a closer walk with GOD
that man IS FREE...............
i have never asked for anything material.......
but i pray for spiritiual all the time.................
but only for this reason..............so that i may by faith walk pleasing unot HIM
and do that which is pleasing in HIS SIGHT
raymone.......................i cannot fully express the true inner peace
the true joy , that i have, because my HOPE is above ON HIM and not at all
on earthen things.......
I cannot give this to anyone...............i cannot give the icrease of this to any
ONLY GOD CAN.......but i sure can talk about it
and hope its heard and received............oh that i can do

May God bless you on your journey to Heaven....

 

[frienden thalord]

oper......................NEEDS TO SEE THE REAL HOPE
HE is losing faith.......................because his faith , is n the wrong place

THIS is deeper than you are seeing
many fall away..
the parables tell why......................
the cares and pleasures in life, the lusts of the world
the lusts of other things...
OPER needs TO see and to have the REAL JOY OF JUST KNOWWING HIM
the great gain of Goliness with CONTENTMENT
HE NEEDS to turn again unot the LORD....and just seek HIM , with all the heart
A man or woman that does this.......is HAPPY , joyful, and will have peace
of mind............................
COME and LEARN OF ME ,said CHRIST................for i am lowly and meek
and YE SHALL FIND peace and rest for your souls......
my burden is easy my yoke light...
THIS IS ALL OPER needs to do
and if he does it all will be fine
SEEK THE LORD with all your heart soul mind ............
RETURN to the FIRST LOVE
that is my advice for him................but its also for many

 

[gideon123]

Questioning BROTHER. Are you still here? Are you reading this thread? It was your thread ... you started it.

 

[CrystalDragon]

Prayer is a conversation with God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit and it doesn't matter which you pray to because they share everything in their dance of love and grace. I pray to God, my Father as I'm sure most people do but you can pray to any one of our Triune God.

I want to emphasize this because many people have it wrong. God is not like a mean-spirited courtroom judge will gavel raised ready to pass judgement on you for the least little indiscretion. Our Father
loves us and wants us to have life abundant and joyful! John 10:10, ' "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly."

In John 15:11 is this, 'These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full."

And the way to have those, along with peace beyond understanding, ' And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.' Philippians 4:7
is to abide in Jesus and He in you, John 15:5, "I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing."

If you have a spiritual, physical, or emotional need the Father will listen and provide for your needs. On the other hand, if He does nothing there is meaning in that too. He may be preparing you for something to come and is trying to teach you perseverance until His will is revealed.

Paul wrote this in 2 Corinthians 1:8-9, ''We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead."

If your prayers aren't 'working' the way you want them to perhaps you are trusting in your own abilities and our Father is trying to tell you that approach won't work because you've separated yourself from trusting and abiding in Jesus.

Just as He won't answer prayers to help you love Him more because He wants you to learn from and follow your indwelling Holy Spirit's leadership, and just to 'rest' in Jesus.

We are taught from childhood to 'do', from chores, to education, to getting a good job. The list goes on but that isn't the way authentic Christianity works. Our Father wants us to abide (rest) in Jesus as He lives His life through us. When we do that we begin to understand how much He truly loves us and we
are then able to love Him in return.

Jesus isn't just the way, the truth, and the life, John 14:6, He _is our life!

It's a bit hard to have a conversation with someone when it's like a one-sided answering machine that the person never calls you back on.

 

[LoricaLady]

I am not sure what you mean by "more intensity." I do know that prayers from the heart, especially humble ones, do work. "Longer duration" is not a factor. The Father heard you the first time. The only reason to repeat a prayer, in my opinion, is because maybe you felt you did not pray well the first time.

The Bible advises us not to pray "amiss." For example you may see some hot person you want to date, but maybe that person isn't for you, or even would be a bad influence, or maybe is married. Or, for another example, you might pray to get good grades but want them without doing the work involved in study. We are told to be industrious.

Now I'm not saying these cases are you, not at all, just giving random examples.

Also, to be real honest, if you are into things like porn, the occult, and so on, you have will have a more difficult time praying successfully. You mind would be clouded with junk. Now, if someone is into those kinds of things and prays for deliverance from them, that is another story!

The Heavenly Father does want to bless us! But He is not like a gumball machine where you put in your prayer and then get your goody. No, He has rules and guidelines for successful prayers. I hope you will seriously study the Bible to find out what those are.

 

[Curtis.Hilliker]

I am questioning the point to prayer. What is the point to praying for something if it never produces the desired result? Everything I have prayed for for about the last 3 years or so has not happened, or worse the things I have prayed to not happen have happened with more intensity and longer duration. So if it isn't producing the desired result, what is the point?

Took me EIGHT years of praying and seeking to be in relationship with the woman I'm engaged to now.

 

[Knollds]

The scriptures are clear that God wants us to pray. Why? The real purpose is to develop a relationship with Him. He also wants us to participate with Him in changing the world and bringing in His Kingdom. Who knows how many things God chooses not to do simply because no one prays? So we should always pray ... without ceasing.

You're perhaps missing the point. How can God change his mind to not do something? Does he not know everything? If he knew he would change his mind later, is it really changing his mind? He knew from the beginning what he was going to do. So how does your prayer affect change?

To be clear, I'm not saying that you shouldn't pray, but be under no impression that it changes anything.

 

[Knollds]

Took me EIGHT years of praying and seeking to be in relationship with the woman I'm engaged to now.

So you're saying your prayer did nothing. What is the reasonable difference between getting the girl your engaged to now, the first time you asked for it as opposed to the 2900th (assuming you prayed about it daily)? What was so special about that time? If your answer is that it's just the time God wanted you to get together, tell me what was the effect of your request?

 

[Lord'sWarrior]

But if we are to pray and ask according to God's will and nobody knows God's will, how are we to pray according to God?

 

[W2L]

But if we are to pray and ask according to God's will and nobody knows God's will, how are we to pray according to God?

Sounds like an excellent bible study. Perhaps you might consider doing a word search using the words "Gods will". I use to do a lot of word searches in the bible. They can be very helpful.

Although i dont think commentaries are perfect, they can be useful. Interlinear software can be useful as well. Scripture4All - Greek/Hebrew interlinear Bible software

 

[Mary7]

I dont believe that is possible. It is my opinion that you get everything you ask for, whether it is good for you or not.....and you deal with the consequences after. It is better to prayer for guidance that to know the Will, than for objects or specific outcomes. I'll give you a key, if you care to hear it, if not, discard it. Your every thought is a prayer that God hears.....This is why it is important to guard your heart and mind through Christ Jesus, Our Lord.

An earthly father does not give his child everything asked for and then lets him deal with the consequences and neither does our Heavenly Father.

 

[RaymondG]

An earthly father does not give his child everything asked for and then lets him deal with the consequences and neither does our Heavenly Father.

Palms 84:9. He will withhold no good thing from them that walketh upright.

My Daddy(God), loves me and gives me everything I ask for. This I know....not believe. You haven't even tried so how can you doubt?

It is good to not not ask for anything, this is not about that. But don't say my God can't don't something that ive proven he can and will. I can't even go spiritual when you don't even understand the natural....

We think we are holy because we don't ask for things here? Yet we expect beauty and mansions and rewards after this life? I don't serve God for a big house in the sky or a crown or rewards here or after death, I serve him because it is my duty. And I want nothing more than my inheritance and only because it was promised to me and I know every word HE said is truth...true for things on the earth and in heaven.

 

[Questioning Brother]

Questioning BROTHER. Are you still here? Are you reading this thread? It was your thread ... you started it.

Yes, I am here. As far as "getting no answer", read the OP. I am getting answered with "No". The problem is not in not getting an answer, but in the continual denial. If you keep asking and always are denied, after a while you don't see the point to asking any more. That is where I am.

 

[Questioning Brother]

To put things in a Biblical metaphor: I am starving and standing at a feast table with God with all sorts of food, but when I reach for something he slaps my hand away. When I ask for some bread, he hands me a flower, when I ask for an egg, he gives me a hug. These are nice, but not helpful to my situation. That is what the spiritual blessings he may be trying to give me are: nice to have, but not really helpful.