Answered prayers

by Oldhippie 27 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  patio34

  Comf,

  I wasn't sure what OutnFree meant either by playing into the hands of folks like me.

  OutnFree,

  What did you mean? I'm not being aggressive, just my personal opinion on prayers and God.

  Thanks for telling us about your search for freedom. I got quite a chuckle about your da'ing experience. I bet some people really started thinking about it in a good way.

  I'm just fading into the sunset as far as they're concerned, because of my 2 sons and family. But I miss having 'closure.'

  Lindy,
  Thanks for the explanation. It seems to be pretty well documented that positive attitudes, prayer, etc. help the immune system. And, as you state, that can be achieved in many ways.

  Pat
• 

  Enlighted UK

  If you think God personally answers prays - think about this situation:

  My daughter (2 weeks old) was critically ill after undergoing a cardiac catheter procedure. The medical team said they could give certain medication to ensure saving the limb but would require consent to a blood transfusion because of the effects of the medication. At that point I was still a believing JW. We prayed and worried and prayed and worried!! The Hospital Liaison committee were contacted, but proved a total waste of time. Medical staff realised our position (and also that if push came to shove a court order could take the decision out of our hands and into that of the court and proper treatment could be given), and decided to proceed with medication without our signed consent (thank goodness they did). My daughter survived, with a (still) malformed heart/lungs and all limbs.

  When I returned to the congregation, responses were "it was because you prayed - Jehovah was with you, he made sure (daughter) was alright".

  Now if that was true, and Jehovah was literally helping my daughter and allowing blood to circulate as it should, allowing heart to beat more easily etc, don't you think he would have been in the theatre preventing the problem ocurring in the first place?? Or come to that preventing my daughter, along with millions of others being born with physical defects?? Or is it the fact that he picks and chooses who he wants to save and when (think of all WT articles when children/adults have died because of refusing a transfusion).

  Some people are just too quick to explain all good endings as "Jehovah/Holy Spirit was there etc etc", and dismiss all bad endings.

  At that point I realised that God is not as "involved" in human affairs as the WT like to think - and guess what? They have got it wrong again!!

  I no longer go to the meetings - I can't stand the hypocrisy.
• 

  Amazing

  I can say that before, during, and after I was a JW that some prayers were answered, or at least, I interpret the results of evnts that way. But, if any prayer was ever answered, it was the one where I asked God to help me get my family out of the Watch Tower religion. Not only did they ALL come out, but so did my sin-in-law and a few friends. Compared to what has happened to others, I could not have asked for more. - Amazing
• 

  apostate
• 

  Farkel

  Ask yourselves these questions:

  When you get what you prayed for, was your prayer answered?

  When you get exactly the opposite of you prayed for, did God wisely give not what you wanted, but what you needed at the time?

  If you didn't get anything and prayed for something, was God looking out for you, because it wasn't in your best interests to get what you asked for?

  If you never pray at all and get every thing you wish to have, is Satan seducing you?

  If you never pray at all and get nothing you wish to have, is God punishing you for not praying? Or is Satan screwing up your life just for kicks?

  If you can answer "yes" to all of these questions, you are a Christian and are in serious need of help.

  Farkel
• 

  Oldhippie

  I really appreciate everyones responses. Each of us here seems to have our own perception about what has taken place in our lives and how God may or may not fit into them. I am goin' on 50 years old. My older sister and I were raised in "the truth". After fighting chronic depression for many years my sister committed suicide 3 years ago. I spent a lot of time with her before she died praying and asking God to help her overcome the depression. I find it hard to pray now. Jesus used the illustration about a loving father, saying that if his son asked for a fish, he would not hand him a serpent. I guess that at this point, I need a "burning bush" to really get my attention.
• 

  Mommie Dark

  Old Hippie: I'm so sorry about your sister. Having come really close to doing the deed myself during the worst of my depression, I understand the anguish at least a little.

  You are not alone in needing that burning bush. The following is something I wrote a couple of years ago. I still feel this way:

  ***

  This was actually part of my meltdown. Discovering the extent of the duplicity and deception on the part of the Society was the start of a chain reaction that was entirely, to my dismay, out of conscious control. I lost my faith. The fact that is was a childish and
  wholly unfounded faith is irrelevant: fact is, I thought I was on a rock but I was floating in midair. I thought I was grounded in reality, and I was living in a dream world.

  The realization that I could be so wrong about reality was a real shockeroonie. I found myself, for a while, going around like a shellshocked soldier saying 'What is reality?"
  (Flash to the sixties, wow! Exactly like crazy Dave P. on acid, he used to cry and freak out and ask that question, and I secretly laughed at him, the poor rootless bastard, and now I understand him TOTALLY!)

  Then I realized that nobody has a clue, there IS no secret word to make the Whole Thing Understandable, no Key to the Mystery, no codebreaker. Every paradigm shift I experience is a prelude to another layer. The Universe is an onion; I am way too slow a
  peeler to uncover the heart of the matter, and anyway I have already cried a river: I quit! Let the onion keep its secrets, let other younger sturdier souls peel that root; I am done singing along with Dark Side of the Moon and mourning my lost youth and chances.

  If God has information or work for me It will have to spell it out slowly and clearly, in my ear, in front of two or three witnesses so I know it's real. Otherwise I will continue to live one day at a time, as best I can, and to hell with religion and other philosophies. The rest of my life is for me, and my child, and if God is displeased with this It can bill me for thetime I was supposed to give It, the attention I didn't pay It.
  ******

  The rest of your life is for YOU, friend. Pray if it comforts YOU, otherwise, go find your joy in whatever you like.

  Love
  Mommie Dark
• 

  outnfree

  Boy! I have to be more careful about my choice of words, don't I? Yikes!

  And yet, the HOW of them being answered could play into the "hands" of those here who
  say it's all up to one's self. That is, on reflection, oftentimes when I feel my prayers have
  been answered, I realize I have been careful to work in harmony with my prayers.

  By "play into the 'hands' of" I merely meant to say "could bolster the argument of" those here who say it's all up to one's self. BECAUSE "oftentimes when I feel my prayers have been answered, I realize that I have been careful to work in harmony with my prayers" thus my actions may have led to what I considered the positive outcome or God's favorable reply.

  Comf and Patio,
  I LOVE this board and I know that I can express myself freely (AND carefully! and I respect others' right to do so as well. And, I'm sure there's no sinister plot going on in the minds of those who at times disagree with me. In fact, I don't know if you noticed, but there was some ambivalence in my own response to oldhippie's question.

  I like MommieD's remark that "the rest of your life is for YOU".

  And I'd also like to express my condolences for Old Hippie's loss. My older sister died at 43 under suspicious circumstances and there are many days when I just really wish she were back to talk to.

  Scorpion and Sunbeam,

  Thanks for the tips on reading material.

  and finally,

  Farkel?

  I didn't answer "yes" to all five, so I guess I'm safe for now!!! Phew!!!

  outnfree