Prayers ,are they answered ? or is it just self delusion ?
by smiddy3 26 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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deegee
God didn't even answer his own prayer (if Jesus is God) or the prayer of his perfect son (if Jesus is just God's son) with whom he has a special relationship.
Shortly before his death, Jesus prayed:
John 17:20-21:
“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me."
Yet there are approximately 47,000 Christian denominations with different beliefs as of 2017 according to the Center for the study of Global Christianity (http://www.gordonconwell.edu/ockenga/research/documents/StatusofGlobalChristianity2017.pdf).
If Jesus' prayer has not been answered then why should anyone believe Jesus' promises about prayer when he said:
"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it shall be opened........"(Luke 11).
Or, "Whatsoever you shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the father may be glorified in the son. If you shall ask anything in my name, I will do it (John 14)"?
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pontoon
Here's some JW logic I remember. Your "enduring" severe persecution. Praying fervently for it to stop. Now your enemies kill you. PRESTO!!! Jeh answered your prayer!!! He "allowed you to die" affording you a "way out" of the persecution. Wow, what a great powerful god.
When I think about crap like this I understand why I was never 100% in.
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Phoebe
I always hated it when someone would say they'd prayed for a job or a house and hey presto! they got it.
Or what about the Watchtower who wanted that equipment (cameras?) for the JW Broadcast and the company didn't have any available and so the brothers went out to the car and prayed and hey presto! A man from the company came running out to the car and said a company in south Africa (?) had gone bankrupt and didn't need their order so the brothers could have it...and cheaper, too. The GB said it was Jehovah answering their prayers because he was backing the broadcast.
How does that make sense compared to the child praying for angels to be around her bed to protect her from her JW dad abusing her?
No, I don't believe prayers are answered. It's just coincidences.
I would worry that my prayers were never answered and others seemed to be. I thought it meant Jehovah didn't like me.
There's a sister in my congregation who actually put up her hand and said her family think she has her own angel as ALL her prayers get answered, so if you want something just ask her. How utterly stupid is that??
Or the sister who constantly puts on social media the phrase 'tick...another prayer answered by Jah'
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deegee
Sincere and devout people equally seek God's will and pray to God for guidance, wisdom and understanding yet they come up with different beliefs.
If one God with one viewpoint existed, we would expect that he would answer their prayers by communicating the same ideas, beliefs, and practices to all so that they would all believe the same thing.
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never a jw
Not just prayers are answered. Curses too are answered.
You see, almost everyday for some years I had described God as an asshole or a son of bitch and told him to go to hell. Guess what happened?
- Seven years ago I ended up in a hospital and came out with 80 centimeters of small intestine removed.
- About a year ago I had a motorcycle accident.
- Yesterday I had a bicycle accident.
No broken bones or any handicap from any of these incidents, just bruises and scars. In fact I am quite healthy, physically, emotionally and financially. But don't get too comfy, all these are warnings from God....Oh what the hell, I will continue taunting the son of a bitch.