Problems with Prayer

[Sackcloth]

I have met many people who have prayed and not received and answer

Many times people will say after they finished praying, "i hope God heard me," guess what, He didn't.
His word says "If youbelieveyou shall receive." not "If you hopeyou shall receive."
Of course that isn't the only problem in prayer, another is: Praying to the Father in the Name of Jesus.Now before i got saved, i would pray to God and end with Amen. I continued doing that until i read John 16:23,24 " In that day you will no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name, ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete."
when Jesus spoke these words he was here on earth, talking about the day in which we live.
Before i was saved I would pray saying "if it is God's will." But I soon came to realize that it is his will because of John16:24"... your joy will be complete." Our joy can't be complete if we are out of work and our children are hungry. Our joy can't be complete if our bodies are racked with pain. Out joy can't be complete if there are problems in our homes. Jesus said the Father would give us "whatsoever" we ask so our "joy may be full."

Another Problem is: Believing you Receive
MARK 11:24 "Therefore I say unto you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours."
Most people want to receive first and then they'll believe. But it's the other way around, the believing part comes first. I am convinced that if people would quit praying repeatedly about some of the things they pray about and begin thanking God for the answer, the answer would come right away. My pastor once said "when you pray don't believe it to come the next day or a week from now or months or years, believe it to come IMMEDIATLEY!" Some of you pray for the same thing again, that means you don't believe you received it the first time you asked. If your believed you received it, you would be thanking God for it, and it would be made manifest.
Our Heavenly Father works by faith, not by sight, we are you believe in our heart that we receive what we are praying for, even though we don't see the answer with our physical eyes, same thing with physical healing. But it seems more difficult to practice faith for physical healing than for anything else, because we have the body, with all its feelings and symptoms, to contend with.
Most people will believe God had healed them when they can see their condition has grown better, or when the symptoms are gone. Anyone can believe what he can see. What Jesus was teaching is that we should believe when we pray and then we will receive.

Another problem with prayer: Forgiveness in Prayer
MARK 11:25,26 "And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him , so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins."
Yet another problem i had before i was saved, i would pray and expect an answer even though i didn't forgive any who may have wronged me. We cannot hold a grudge-we cannot keep and unforgiving spirit-if we want our prayers to reach God.

A young man once wanted our pastor to pray that he never would have any more trouble with the devil. Pastor told him " I don't know anyone who is free from trouble with the devil, least of all me." We cant pray that we won't have any more trouble with satan, but we can learn to take authority over him: "Resist the devil and he will flee from you"(James 4:7
I am sure there is more to say about this matter, but for now i will stop here and pick up later. Many blessings to all who have accepted Christ as savior!

 

[Elijah2]

Keep praying and you never know your prayer will be answered, but not in the way that you expect.

Blessings.

 

[drich0150]

If prayers are just away to make religious wishes come true, if the correct formula is used. Then why did Jesus model the Lords prayer in such a way as to actually "praise" God? rather than make the most perfect model of prayer reflect a wishing theology?

Why does he have us submit to "Your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven?" rather than my will be done, if I pray in Jesus's name?

Some of you pray for the same thing again, that means you don't believe you received it the first time you asked. If your believed you received it, you would be thanking God for it, and it would be made manifest.

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The parable of the persistent neighbor found in Luke 11 tells us we should ask, seek and knock.. Knocking as modeled by the parable is repetitive in it's nature, and in the parable we are told to be persistent in our pursuits.. I guess my question is: is there any scripture that tells us we should simply pray and forget? I get praying and believing.. One could argue that you could pray and believe in a repetitive nature as modeled in Luke 11 by Jesus.. I just don't know of any scripture that tells us to pray, believe and walk away..

Our Heavenly Father works by faith, not by sight, we are to believe in our heart that we receive what we are praying for, even though we don't see the answer with our physical eyes, same thing with physical healing. But it seems more difficult to practice faith for physical healing than for anything else, because we have the body, with all its feelings and symptoms, to contend with.
Most people will believe God had healed them when they can see their condition has grown better, or when the symptoms are gone. Anyone can believe what he can see. What Jesus was teaching is that we should believe when we pray and then we will receive.
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The problem with trying to put God in a box, is that we don't have one big enough to contain him.. Meaning when someone says things like: "this is how God operates" or if we say "God is a God of.. and he will always... So do this a certain way or..."
In most cases (unless scripture has made the statement) we can find evidence to the contrary in scripture..

For instance The story Thomas, the doubting disciple places God in a position working with those limited by site, and then helping that person develop a strong faith..
Even to the point of martyrdom, far from his home.

The truth is, God is a loving God and wants people to find Him, He does not hide himself in scripture for those who truly seek him. There aren't any special chants or special church approved prayers that we have to use to access him.. Prayer, true prayer is about building a relationship with him. Not away of making wishes nor a way of exhibiting our own brand of righteousness through the observances of our religious practices..

There is truth in your words, in so far as you have found your way to worship God with all of your being. But this truth, your truth can not hold true to those who have more to offer God, or less to offer God than you or those who subscribe to your religious practices..

We are each Given according to our talents for some that means an abundance of faith and the power to believe at a word. for others (like Thomas) it takes a little more substance to trigger true belief.. Does that mean God finds your version of true belief, the only acceptable form of belief.

Our shared command is to love the Lord with all of our being.. That will look different for each of us, because we are all different members of the same body, and because we are all different we will rejoice, pray, praise, work, and believe differently.. You as a hand should not look to your brother the ear and expect him to function as you do in the body of Christ. He has his own Job, and a different set of expectations thrust upon him. Which will make his form of true belief and worship look foreign to a hand...
Hands are typically about action, while ears do there job simply by listening.. Now because a hand can labor is it any more or less valuable than an ear or eye?