Hey I would just like to know how God has helped you, intervened, given you strength in anything that has happened in your lives? Does he actually make things happen or does the confidence and belief that he is there and loves you, help you succeed and get over problems in your life?
Does god help non believers, people who have been misguided.
Hiya
I am a new christian, and also as a non believer did ask god for things. So I can answer as far as my experience goes.
1: does he help you or make things happen? Yes
2: for non believers? Not so much in my experience. But I do think he was there looking out for me while I was a non believer and making things happen that eventually lead to me becoming a Christian. So if you have been finding that you are thinking about this (which obviously you are or you wouldn’t be here) and maybe have met Christians etc., or been approached, but don’t feel ready to make that decision at the moment, then chances are it is because god is looking out for you and wants to bring you to him.
But...
I did not find that my prayers were answered in anything LIKE the way they are now. Much of what God does for me now is not exactly critical, its things like finding my car keys for me when I can’t (which prior to becoming Christian was every day) and there are lots of other things that I need help with (but won’t die without) or just stuff that makes life easier, that god does for me now which he did not when I was not a Christian (though I prolly didn’t ask either)
But I do think that he had me in his sights and was looking out for me, so while I was not going to get my own whims answered as a non-christian, he had a plan for me, and would not have let anything interfere with that.
What I mean is that say you were about to walk in front of a bus and god had a plan which included you, then he would make things happen to prevent you walking in front of the bus (maybe things you never know like a friend comes along and says hello as you are about to cross the set so you don’t - therefore bus does not hit you) or to prevent the bus hitting you.
But he might not help you find your handbag or get a park when you are running late.
However, when you are saved - it’s a whole different ball game, in my experience. I went into it like, ok why not - don’t really think it will work, and right after ok don’t feel any different, then bam, god let me know he was there
Since then my life has been a series of coincidences that are just TOO coincidental
Where I would ask questions and not get an answer (or if I did not hear it before) I now ask and get answers, in the most uncanny ways
I can ask god for help with all sorts of random petty things and he is there, My questions are answered and I know I am not alone
Also as many others can probably also tell you, there is a peace that you get as soon as you give your life, I think its the actual physical lifting of all the sin.
I think God gave me a message about how that works the other day and I have posted it somewhere in these forums.
Anyway I have had god answer prayers ranging from starting my car when it would not (and the battery was flat), salvaging data off a corrupted extgernal hard drive (I work in IT and know how to fix this sort of thing and I was sure the data was unsalvageable - and asked as a last resort), healed medical issues, answered my questions before I finished asking them, lead my church to me (not me to them, they found me via treasure hunting clues which were about me) and many many other things
I dont know whether it is that before I was a christian, having not invited Jesus in, I was unable to hear or feel or experience his gifts, or whether they are not given to the unsaved, but while I think god will look out for you while you are not a christian, and answer some prayers, it is no comparison to the 'personal service' (LOL) that you get as a christian.
I didnt want to do the whole christian thing for so long because I did not want to give up the fun things in life - I hoped I could just before I died do it then - so I could avoid hell but not be stuck being all christian and religoius before Id been done having fun.
But I can honestly say that life is better as a christian than before hand, I have not given up anything I enjoy, and even if there were no heaven or hell, Id still do it, for the quality of life its given me.
So in terms of prayers, yes he may answer them, (prolly more on the big serious stuff) or he may not, or he may take AGES and you think he didnt - I asked god to reveal himself to me for about 2 years before he did
But the experience of god I had when I was not a christian, is simply not comparable to what it is now. Now its like he is always there, and I know that no matter what happens in my life, I will never feel alone again in the ways I have done as a non christian.
I dont know what your prayer is, but I hope that you might also ask god, to reveal himself to you, or to lead you to more signs and evidence that he is real, so one day you will be able to accept him. If you believe in him enough to ask about prayers to him, then I am sure that if you realised he was real, you would want to know more about him personally. Maybe my prayer for you will be that he will answer your need that you had in mind when writing this, in a way that makes it clear to you that he is real. Then from there you can decide what you want to do next.
Odd thing is I avoided it for so long (becomming a christian), like it was this big thing, then when you do it, its a bit like I dunno, maybe the first time you go on the baby roller coaster, - looks scary and afterward you go, that was so easy and so much fun, why didnt I go on it when I got here, then I could have gone on it again over and over all day, or gone on the bigger roller coasters as well. Anyway becomming a christian is so so so sooo pathetically EASY, and its all win, you get all this good stuff and nothing bad. Now I cant believe I resisted the idea for so long.
maybe I am still in the 'honeymoon period', but I have yet to experience all the sacrifice and so on that christians are meant to have to endure. Its all been good so far, nothing given up except stuff that even as a non christian I wanted gone. Even if I do get asked to endure more than I have so far (which is like...nothing) I would not have any 2nd thoughts about doing so, nothing can compare with knowing that [bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse], there really IS something out there much bigger and mor majestic than anything we can see....
(ok that answer was waaay more than you asked for - sorry - got into a rythym and didnt want to stop!)
Anyway moral of the story, if you are here, then chances are god is going to answer your prayers and look out for you at least as far as keeping you alive and healthy till you get to the point where you commit to him.
But for 24/7 service on almost any random thing, you need to ask him to come into your life and sort everything out for you. And he will do that in a way that does not leave you feeling deprived or unable to cope.
