Does God intercede?

[katholisch]

I heard a statement today that puzzled me. Someone whom I consider very knowledgeable in any area of Catholicism said that
God has given us free will. This I am familiar with and agree with when it comes to choosing God to be in our lives etc. However, they also stated that God does not decide when we will die or what else will happen to us. It happens in it’s own time, however God knows that it will happen. The example of 9/11 was brought up. God knew it was going to happen, but he did not stop it. I see this point as well.
I do though feel that this detaches God from our lives. If he will not intercede on our behalf, why do we pray for help with anything?
Or does he intercede, but only for a few people? On what basis?
How does this all fit together? Can anyone help me understand this viewpoint? Thanks for any (name removed by moderator)ut.

 

[BlestOne]

The problem is that you are not seeing the whole picture. Why would any of us see it? It is of God, he is the designer and his ways are a mystery to us. Why didn’t God prevent 9/11? We will probably never know fully but I would venture the guess that this one event is being used to bring us all closer to him in some way. It is sad but true that humans learn more from trageties than from the good times. We forget that God is the designer of all good too. We take him for granted in good times, we turn to him in bad times typically. We can ask God for intervention but are we allowing him to say no? Most people think that God is not listening if the answer is no. When praying for intervention it is always a good idea to remember Jesus’s words, “If it be thy will oh Father, let this cup pass.”

 

[mhansen]

katholisch:

I heard a statement today that puzzled me. Someone whom I consider very knowledgeable in any area of Catholicism said that
God has given us free will. This I am familiar with and agree with when it comes to choosing God to be in our lives etc. However, they also stated that God does not decide when we will die or what else will happen to us. It happens in it’s own time, however God knows that it will happen. The example of 9/11 was brought up. God knew it was going to happen, but he did not stop it. I see this point as well.
I do though feel that this detaches God from our lives. If he will not intercede on our behalf, why do we pray for help with anything?
Or does he intercede, but only for a few people? On what basis?
How does this all fit together? Can anyone help me understand this viewpoint? Thanks for any (name removed by moderator)ut.

I once had a great discussion with a well-known rabbi concerning the Old Testament. I asked him which OT story he would choose as being the most “profound”, if he could only pick one. He answered, without hesitation, that the most important story in the Old Testament is the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. More specifically, it was Abraham’s intercession on behalf of Sodom and Gomorrah. If you’ll recall, Abraham was told that the cities were to be destroyed. Abraham, in all of his bravery, asked if God would reconsider if there were 50 righteous, then 45, then 40 and so on all the way down to 10. God agreed with Abraham all the way down.

The point of the story? God CAN change His mind. Intercession works…prayer IS effective. It’s not a waste of time to ask God to “change His mind” about something, whether it be a sick and dying relative, a war that looks like it’s about to happen, whatever. God DOES listen and takes our pleas into consideration. The story of Abraham and Sodom and Gomorrah is proof of that.

Mike