Prayers by Non-Christians

Hazelelponi · Jul 6, 2019

dzheremi said:
I know a lot of Muslims claim that the coming of the Holy Spirit is actually a prophecy of the coming of Muhammad, but this is the first I've heard that Muhammad himself claimed that. Source (I'm assuming it's in hadith somewhere)?

It's in the Qur'an where Mohammad applied the verse that pertained to the Holy Spirit to himself.. and ahadith expound on it.

As you see also in the Qur'an, Mohammed knew full well that it was a verse that Christians believe to pertain to the Spirit of God, and still Mohammed applied it to himself.

That is blasphemy according to our Christian faith. Jesus was crucifued for blasphemy over applying verses to Himself that the Jews knew/believed applied to the Messiah. Well when Mohammed applied those verses to himself, he committed actual blasphemy, unlike Jesus who only spoke the Truth..

Jesus said there is only 1 sin that will never be forgiven, and that is blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, Islam is built around blapheming the Holy Spirit, and Mohammeds ursuping those verses for himself.

Those who worship in that faith, aren't worshipping our God, they are worshipping whatever blaphemes our God... not the same God.

Hazelelponi · Jul 6, 2019

☦Marius☦ said:
I didn't say it was offensive, I said it was pointless. Why should a word be surrendered to heretics. Language is fluid? Well plenty of Arabic Christians still use the word Allah to this day. The word hasn't changed definition, the word isn't evil- it is merely a word used to describe the all powerful. It is one's individual beliefs that determine whether you are right or wrong in how you use it.

And I do hope you are feeling better OP.

Since I've been saved I'm unable to use the word "Allah"..

For each person I'm sure they will have their own feelings about it, but you cant say people are stupid if they have to quit using the word.

If we see something as wrong or a sin then it's a sin on us to do, no matter whether it's an actual sin or not. A lot has to do with our heart.

Hazelelponi · Jul 6, 2019

dzheremi said:
I don't believe in a generic "Abrahamic" god that all three major monotheisms share, nor the concept of "Abrahamic religion" in the first place (read some Islamic traditions about Abraham/Ibrahim sometime...they're quite weird and obviously based on apocryphal stories that neither Jews nor Christians accept as authentic in any way), but can't we all agree that it is not up to us or our respective theologies to tell God what He will and will not accept, or who He will or will not hear? Things like Isaiah 59 are addressing sinners, not only non-Christian sinners, and we pray every day while praying the Psalms things like "How long, O Lord, do You forget me, for ever? How long do You turn Your face away from me?" (Psalm 12) And that's in a prayer to God from the penitent himself, not pointed outwards at others and how they are not living/believing correctly or anything like that.

So...y'know...be careful at making any judgments about people. (Judging religions is something else, but that's not what the OP asks about.)

We can judge, just not incorrectly.

Our faith and the seed of the Holy Spirit inside of us, is the dividing line between us and the world, between saint and sinner; that thing by which all men will be judged. Belief in Christ.

As we see in the Lord, Lord verse, God answers prayers of those who do things in His name, but He doesn't acknowledge them at judgement..

But those doing things in other names, He doesn't even hear. He will not give His Glory or Praise to another. Isaiah 42:8

It's not the degree of sin that divides, it's belief in Christ and the Spirit of God upon the man.

marineimaging · Jul 6, 2019

Archivist said:
i have a number of friends who are not Christians. Among them are several Jewish friends, a number of Muslims, several Wiccans and a couple Hindus.

During a recent illness I had friends who contacted me via Facebook to say that they were praying for my recovery. These included prayers from my Jewish, Muslim, Wiccan and Hindu friends.

I believe God hears prayers for healing from my non-Christian friends as much as He hears prayers from my Christian friends. However I’ve had Christians tell me that I should not ask for prayers from non-Christians. Thoughts?

What "I" believe is irrelevant. All of my knowledge comes from scripture therefore, I wouldn't tell you what to do, only what I would do. I would first sit down and find out where it says in scripture to solicit prayers from those who do not believe in the Holy Spirit or Jesus or God our Father. Since healing comes from the Trinity how can one pray to NOT the Trinity in the name of a Lord and Savior, Jesus in whom they do not believe? I would not depend on the humanist or pagan viewpoints as I ask someone to pray to God, Father of all creation in the name of Jesus, His only begotten Son. I would take those requests to like believers. HOWEVER, I would still tell those others, "Thanks for your kindness." and leave it at that.

Archivist · Jul 6, 2019

marineimaging said:
What "I" believe is irrelevant. All of my knowledge comes from scripture therefore, I wouldn't tell you what to do, only what I would do. I would first sit down and find out where it says in scripture to solicit prayers from those who do not believe in the Holy Spirit or Jesus or God our Father. Since healing comes from the Trinity how can one pray to NOT the Trinity in the name of a Lord and Savior, Jesus in whom they do not believe? I would not depend on the humanist or pagan viewpoints as I ask someone to pray to God, Father of all creation in the name of Jesus, His only begotten Son. I would take those requests to like believers. HOWEVER, I would still tell those others, "Thanks for your kindness." and leave it at that.

Once again, just to be clear, I am not specifically soliciting prayers from those who do not believe in the Holy Spirit or Jesus or God the Father. I posted on Facebook that I was in the hospital undergoing treatment for a severe infection. That post went out to all my FB friends. Among them are non-Christians who wrote to tell me that they were praying for my recovery, just as many Christians let me know that they were praying for me.

Hazelelponi · Jul 6, 2019

Archivist said:
Look at the City of Nineveh; they prayed that God would spare their city and He did.

I wasn't going to answer because I don't want to just argue with you, but when I opened my Bible randomly to read this morning, it was this exact page my Bible opened to. So I will mention this.

Jonah preached to the people of Nineveh the message God told Jonah to preach and the people of Nineveh believed and repented of their sin.

If you read Jonah 2:3-6 They believed God's word, proclaimed a fast, and from the least to the greatest put on sackcloth.. Even the King put on sackcloth and sat in ashes.

These are the signs of mourning and repentance in the Old Testament..

Then they turned in repentance - in Jonah 2:8 we see even the animals were covered in sackcloth, and they turned from their evil ways and their violence.

It's kind of like saying the Taliban all came to faith in Jesus and repented if their sin, so God gave to them salvation. Jonah had a grudge against the people themselves and so he was angry about God saving them, but they did both believe and repent and have sorrow for their sins.. and God heard their prayer and saved them.

He didn't arbitrarily save these people.. Of course, they as a nation didn't stay in repentance and belief so some years later they ended up being destroyed anyway, but here we see repentance and sorrow for sin..

It's showing us that no one, not even the greatest enemies of God's people are beyond salvation, and no one should be angry when God saves Israel's enemies, but rather be happy and rejoice in God's providence...

This said, if your asking whether or not you can specifically ask a mixed group of believers or unbelievers to pray for you (and not walking up to a person of another faith and asking for prayer) I don't suppose it's particularly harmful. It wouldn't be a sin and your God is greater than he who is in the world..

My preference if I really wanted healing would be to not ask anyone except for a specific few people I knew were good Christian brothers and sisters, but I've also asked here for prayer in the prayer forum, and I know most who call themselves Christian aren't..

So it depends on your heart I would imagine, and whether or not it would bother you that people are praying to other gods in your name.

If you have no issue with it, then fine. If you want a healing that would absolutely glorify God, I would not ask, and I believe that to be the most Biblical position.

Although again. I don't believe in being rude to people either. Anyone who offers prayer I am always kind to..

For me it bothers, bothers to the point I have a more difficult time even asking nominal Christians for prayer.. but, that's me. I don't expect that every one would feel the same.

I pray for you to have a speedy recovery from your illness.

Archivist · Jul 6, 2019

Hazelelponi said:
I wasn't going to answer because I don't want to just argue with you, but when I opened my Bible randomly to read this morning, it was this exact page my Bible opened to. So I will mention this.

Jonah preached to the people of Nineveh the message God told Jonah to preach and the people of Nineveh believed and repented of their sin.

If you read Jonah 2:3-6 They believed God's word, proclaimed a fast, and from the least to the greatest put on sackcloth.. Even the King put on sackcloth and sat in ashes.

These are the signs of mourning and repentance in the Old Testament..

Then they turned in repentance - in Jonah 2:8 we see even the animals were covered in sackcloth, and they turned from their evil ways and their violence.

It's kind of like saying the Taliban all came to faith in Jesus and repented if their sin, so God gave to them salvation. Jonah had a grudge against the people themselves and so he was angry about God saving them, but they did both believe and repent and have sorrow for their sins.. and God heard their prayer and saved them.

He didn't arbitrarily save these people.. Of course, they as a nation didn't stay in repentance and belief so some years later they ended up being destroyed anyway, but here we see repentance and sorrow for sin..

It's showing us that no one, not even the greatest enemies of God's people are beyond salvation, and no one should be angry when God saves Israel's enemies, but rather be happy and rejoice in God's providence...

This said, if your asking whether or not you can specifically ask a mixed group of believers or unbelievers to pray for you (and not walking up to a person of another faith and asking for prayer) I don't suppose it's particularly harmful. It wouldn't be a sin and your God is greater than he who is in the world..

My preference if I really wanted healing would be to not ask anyone except for a specific few people I knew were good Christian brothers and sisters, but I've also asked here for prayer in the prayer forum, and I know most who call themselves Christian aren't..

So it depends on your heart I would imagine, and whether or not it would bother you that people are praying to other gods in your name.

If you have no issue with it, then fine. If you want a healing that would absolutely glorify God, I would not ask, and I believe that to be the most Biblical position.

Although again. I don't believe in being rude to people either. Anyone who offers prayer I am always kind to..

For me it bothers, bothers to the point I have a more difficult time even asking nominal Christians for prayer.. but, that's me. I don't expect that every one would feel the same.

I pray for you to have a speedy recovery from your illness.

I’m not trying to argue or fight with people, but I will say when I disagree. It is a discussion and debate forum.

We simply have to disagree. I see nothing wrong with asking my friends for prayers, and some of them are not Christians. However if you would not want to ask non-Christians for prayers of recovery that is, of course, your prerogative.

Thank you for your kind wishes. Hoping that this clears up...

RickardoHolmes · Jul 6, 2019

What I found interesting was that in my most desperate hours only an elderly Islamic man seemed to care. The priest and the Christians I knew did not seem to. I have since STOPPED dividing people based on religion and belief. Life and experience has proven that there are good people scattered around the planet. I would place the person who works to help ANOTHER higher on the ladder of merit than someone who claims superiority based on a book or a religion. A-Men

Archivist · Jul 6, 2019

RickardoHolmes said:
What I found interesting was that in my most desperate hours only an elderly Islamic man seemed to care. The priest and the Christians I knew did not seem to. I have since STOPPED dividing people based on religion and belief. Life and experience has proven that there are good people scattered around the planet. I would place the person who works to help ANOTHER higher on the ladder of merit than someone who claims superiority based on a book or a religion. A-Men

Well said. While I have had many Christian friends praying for me, a Muslim and a Jewish friend (both women) have been among the two most concerned with my recovery, contacting me regularly to see how I’m doing.

Monk Brendan · Jul 6, 2019

W2L said:
praying to saints is unbiblical

So are altar calls, invitation hymns, and revivals.

Hazelelponi · Jul 6, 2019

RickardoHolmes said:
What I found interesting was that in my most desperate hours only an elderly Islamic man seemed to care. The priest and the Christians I knew did not seem to. I have since STOPPED dividing people based on religion and belief. Life and experience has proven that there are good people scattered around the planet. I would place the person who works to help ANOTHER higher on the ladder of merit than someone who claims superiority based on a book or a religion. A-Men

Of course there are "good" people (according to our societal standards) in all different backgrounds.

None of us are Christian because we are any more worthy than any other people.. God chose us for His Glory, not because we are awesome in some way that means we can or should boast over other peoples..

But have you considered making close freinds within the Christian community?

I just wonder if you have, since many Christians won't tell you their praying for you and various other things they may do, because they don't want to appear as if they are doing something for societal reward and praise for their righteousness (Dont let the right hand know what the left is doing) so you won't always know what kind of a place you have in another Christians prayer life.

And unless I feel close to someone in some way, I don't inquire as to their health. I either wait for them to offer how they are doing, or assume they don't care to publicize it, because how someone is doing physically is often a private and personal matter. Something youd assume they may not share with a stranger.

This has no bearing on whether or not I'm praying for them, however. It's simply because I wouldn't feel close enough to get so personal with someone I don't know well.

I don't even tell my husband how I'm doing physically most of the time, and we are married, nor does he inquire. He'll know when I'm dead.. lol.. But it doesn't stop him praying for me, and having concern as to my health issues. I don't expect people to talk about it all the time, I'm a person beyond my health and that is what I want people to see, not my disability or illness.

So it just may be the Christians in your life don't feel especially close to you, while the non-Christians do.. and that may be how you seem to be holding one group closer to your bosum than another.

Just a thought..

W2L · Jul 6, 2019

Monk Brendan said:
So are altar calls, invitation hymns, and revivals.

Hymns are not unbiblical, neither is an invitation.

Monk Brendan · Jul 6, 2019

W2L said:
Hymns are not unbiblical, neither is an invitation.

I didn't say hymns were unbiblical. I said that INVITATION hymns were.

Please show ONE invitation or altar call at a public gathering in the Scripture, please.

W2L · Jul 6, 2019

Monk Brendan said:
I didn't say hymns were unbiblical. I said that INVITATION hymns were.

Please show ONE invitation or altar call at a public gathering in the Scripture, please.

Your reply strains gnats but swallows a camel.

Monk Brendan · Jul 6, 2019

W2L said:
Your reply strains gnats but swallows a camel.

Are you saying that your own unbiblical practices are gnats?

W2L · Jul 6, 2019

Monk Brendan said:
Are you saying that your own unbiblical practices are gnats?

Those are not my practices.

Monk Brendan · Jul 6, 2019

W2L said:
Those are not my practices.

Oh?

Are you saying that you and/or your church observes the unbiblical practices of altar, invitation hymns, and revivals?

And just WHERE are invitation in the NT?

After all, Sola Scriptura is your rule, not mine.

Therefore, it's up to YOU to provide Biblical warrant for them.

FireDragon76 · Jul 7, 2019

☦Marius☦ said:
I wouldn't ask for it, but I believe it would come off as rude if you ask them not to.
As for God answering prayers I'd say its a lot more likely for the first two groups mentioned then the latter two. Wiccans pray to a goddess and hindus pray to pretty much everything. At least with Muslims and Jews they pray to the Abrahamic God

If God is omniscent, then God would hear all prayers.

Apparently, at least some non-Christians do think their prayers are answered, at least sometimes. I read about the Ven. Cheng Yen, a leader in a major religious organization in Taiwan (and the founder of Tzu Chi, one of the world's largest charitable organizations) and part of the story about how she became a devout Buddhist was due to answered prayer. Her mother had a perforated stomach and was going to need surgery, but due to her prayers, her stomach healed without the need for surgery. In gratitude, Cheng Yen became a vegetarian and took an active interest in the religious life as a Buddhist.

Peter J Barban · Jul 7, 2019

Yes, of course. It's just that when most people ask for someone's thoughts they listen respectfully and don't try to pick those contributions apart. The questioner is expected to take a humble stance.

You seem to have a different response.

marineimaging · Jul 7, 2019

Archivist said:
Once again, just to be clear, I am not specifically soliciting prayers from those who do not believe in the Holy Spirit or Jesus or God the Father. I posted on Facebook that I was in the hospital undergoing treatment for a severe infection. That post went out to all my FB friends. Among them are non-Christians who wrote to tell me that they were praying for my recovery, just as many Christians let me know that they were praying for me.

I do understand you were not specifically soliciting prayers from non-believers. I too had a severe post-op infection after heart surgery and the surgeon scraped half of my chest out due to it. It was a year long ordeal and I had a lot of people say they were praying for me. I also just yesterday posted that my sister-in-law is in a hospital dying from cancer and was given Last Rights. I am not Catholic (far from it) but a lot of folks from different walks of spiritual life stated they were praying for us as they understood what Last Rights meant. I accept and do appreciate their warm thoughts and desires for peace and understanding in the family. But, what I was trying to say was that we get our understanding of healing from the Bible and it reads just the opposite therein. God does hear different denominational prayers where Christ is the center, but that God does not hear prayers from those who deny Christ as Lord and Savior. If I am wrong I would sincerely appreciate being shown where God hears and honors the frivolous prayers of a last chance effort made to an icon of a man-made god built by those who know, but reject Jesus Christ?

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