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Gambling and prayer?

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ViaCrucis

ViaCrucis

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JohnClay said:
Hi recently my brother in law went on a holiday. He asked 4 people to pray for him when he went on the poker machines. He won about $300-$400. Then next day he asked 2 people to pray for him and he won another $300-$400. He only put in about $50 each time. Do you think God answered their prayers or was it just a coincidence?
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Coincidence. Not because (necessarily) it was just that he happened to win a few hundred playing slot machines after praying, or as though it would somehow be impossible for God to work through a situation like that (though, I'm raising an eyebrow preeeeetty high right now). But because I do not believe God would do something that would directly result in someone being led into error--and thinking that praying to God = winning at a slot machine is pretty high on the list of possible errors one can have. It's even above thinking that God is going to make your favorite sports team win.

-CryptoLutheran
 
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ViaCrucis

ViaCrucis

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RileyG said:
It sounds like that person is abusing prayer.
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I wouldn't even call it prayer.

I'd call it magical thinking. It's no different than a baseball player thinking that wearing his lucky unwashed socks will help him and his team win the big game. Or rubbing a pebble and making a wish.

-CryptoLutheran
 
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ViaCrucis

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AlexB23 said:
Just a coincidence. Gambling is prohibited by proxy in the Bible.

The Bible teaches self-control in Ephesians 5:18, Galatians 5:22-23, Titus 2:11-12, and 1 Peter 5:8. Gambling can lead to compulsive behavior and a loss of control. Also, the Bible warns against greed in 1 Timothy 6:9-10, and the Tenth Commandment prohibits covetousness.

Anyways, God bless, and I will let the others here have the floor.
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Gambling is one of those things that sits in a messy grey area. It's not prohibited, i.e. the simple act of gambling is not in and of itself sinful. But it has some pretty nasty consequences, and can be a serious problem, and we can place it on a list that reads, "Unwise". Sometimes things aren't necessarily bad in a moral sense; but certainly aren't wise. It's like eating too much sugar in your diet, is it sinful? No, but you probably shouldn't. Same with smoking, it's not wrong, but you probably shouldn't. Well, you definitely shouldn't. And I say this as someone who has on-again off-again tried quitting nicotine over the last twenty years. Smoking is stupid, bad for you, and nobody should do it--and the fact that I still haven't been able to quit the habit is evidence that no one should start.

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Ain't Zwinglian

Ain't Zwinglian

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AlexB23 said:
Gambling is prohibited by proxy in the Bible
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Gambling as we have it today is foreign to the NT. Gambling today is based upon probability theory developed in the 17th Century.

Casting lots in the NT was a way to determine God's will.

However you quite right in pointing out about gambling today.....

AlexB23 said:
The Bible teaches self-control in Ephesians 5:18, Galatians 5:22-23, Titus 2:11-12, and 1 Peter 5:8. Gambling can lead to compulsive behavior and a loss of control. Also, the Bible warns against greed in 1 Timothy 6:9-10, and the Tenth Commandment prohibits covetousness.
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