pancreatic cancer and prayer

by nowisee 28 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  Mrs Smith

  Hi Now I See

  I too believe in the power of prayer and thank the Lord for your friends recovery.

  I personally would prefer not to use someone else's personal problems as an excuse to promote my own (religious or anti-religious) agenda.

  Madame, I fully agree with you! A little respect for other people's beliefs please! Why do non believers always have to turn every single post into a platform for their personal beliefs. I think this message was posted for a bit of support not as a bible bashing thread.
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  nowisee

  thanks all for your answers.
  
  i really don't think i was trying to promote any particular agenda, just presenting some facts and wondering what you all thought about them. i suppose i knew i would get mixed answers before i even posted.
  
  i do think it is food for thought.
  
  i have been attending a bible study group ("where two or three are gathered.....", etc.)to build my own knowledge, to have the association of very wonderful people (non-judgemental, loving, accepting), to see if i could get some answers.
  
  the idea of taking prayer requests in the way described was alien as a jw, and i have participated largely as an observer. since attending this non-denominational group i have seen that many specific prayers have been answered, but it was with some hesitation that i presented my prayer request to the group.
  
  there is a lot that none of us can know. when i left jws many years ago i put everything on the shelf and turned away from God. now in my life, many things are still on the shelf and questions are still there (i find myself disagreeing with some things in every denomination - including the athiest one!). now the difference is that i find myself turning toward God.
  
  best wishes, nowisee
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  nowisee

  lovesdubs -- i am so sorry for the loss of your sister, my sincere condolences to you.
  
  sad emo -- i tend to take a philosophical outlook. if there is a God, then there is some kind of plan and things happen the way they are supposed to. if not, then of course, everything is random and chaotic.
  
  odrade - my friend, as i mentioned is a non-believer, and she was unaware that i was going to a bible study group, much less praying for her. as a non-jw i do not believe in trying to impose my views on others.
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  Sad emo

  nowisee

  It just kinda sucks when we don't get the outcome we want sometimes doesn't it?! That's when, if you believe there's a God, you have to have faith enough that he knows what he's doing.
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  UnConfused

  I have to say "good for her!"
  
  But to think that the prayer worked for her and not others....???? Hard to swallow that.
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  nowisee

  well..... there have been times in my life when i prayed for various things and i did not receive the answers i wanted. at the time it was hard to swallow, but often in hindsight, the things i thought i wanted would not have been for my ultimate good. actually....this issue puzzles me slightly. i often think if Christians really believed what they preach they would all be praying to die -- to be at home with the Lord!
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  parakeet

  nowisee wrote: "what say you about this?"
  
  
  
  
  
  Second, I say how many times have prayer groups prayed for a miracle and the person died? Unfortunately, the cause (prayer) does not necessarily correlate with an effect (remission).
  
  Example: I wore a red shirt today, and my day was just great. Did the red shirt cause the great day? If I wear the red shirt every day, will every day be just great?
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  bebu

  I think the last, best prayer is "Thy will be done." You can't miss with that.

  Jesus prayed like that and still was crucified. I dislike the comments I hear when someone says "prayer works! God did such and so after I prayed." As mentioned above, what about the times prayer did NOT work? So I think prayer "works" not in our 'getting our way' so much as connecting us to be united with God's purpose(s), whatever they are, and our resting in that union.

  And if things don't go the way I request, I remind myself that God has no difficulty in raising the dead... that thought cuts thru the disappointment and gives me hope.

  bebu
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  Double Edge

  hmmm, all of the negative pooh poohing sounds like "analogical" reasoning of a "digital" concept..... i.e. apples, oranges, etc.

  I believe in the power of prayer because of my experiences and the experiences of others.

  Electricity is a power that is unseen (outside of thunderstorms), never-the-less, although it is not throughly understood it can be "tapped" using proper procedures. I'm not here to answer why so-and-so gets their prayers answered and yet others are denied..... I can only vouch for my own experiences - some profound, some so matter-of-fact, others not answered for years and yes, even some denied. I've lived too long to start living in some lah-lah-land of fantasy - God does live and answers prayers. If your life and experiences tell you different, so be it.
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  greendawn

  In this case it was human intervention that did it, and luckily the cancer didn't spread out into the lymphatic system. Deep down we all know that nowadays miracles don't happen though all Christian religions claim they do.