God surely answer prayers- fully convinced or only hope?

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This is what we hear from every preacher every time.I really doubt where the preachers themselves are fully and genuinely convinced about this or they are only hoping so and consoling the audience who nevertheless
feel happy inspite of knowing that it may not happen.Moreover if it really happens often, what is the need to stress this aspect everytime?Example - no need to repeat and convince anybody that if you boil water it will turn to steam.
 
God answers all prayers.

Sometimes the answer comes quickly.

Sometimes the answer comes quickly, but not as presumed.

Sometimes the answer is “not now”.

Sometimes the anwer is “no”.

Why is it often spoke of? Because people pray, and when they don’t get the answer, or not the one they want, they have questions - Does God even hear me? Does God even care?
 
Some times,yes.Sometimes,No.Sometimes quickly,sometimes slowly.Sometimes not the way we wanted… Exactly as would happen even if one don’t pray,is it not?
 
I have had a number of profound experiences with prayer, even though I regard my faith as being weak.

The first time was when my mum went into a coma and was rushed to hospital, her breathing was a horrible gurgling sound. The doctors said she had days to live and there was nothing they could do for her. We called a priest, although none of us had a faith at the time, we just thought it was what you should do as mum was bought up a Catholic.

As the priest prayed my mums gasping for air seemed to change, she seemed to relax and she started to breathe more normally. About ten minutes after the priest walked out the door, mum came round and started to speak, she had no recollection of anything that happened in hospital, or that the priest had said prayers over her. We thought it might have just been a temporary reprieve, the doctors were surprised, and she lived another ten years.

Having our mum back was a mixed blessing, because she had suffered with multiple sclerosis for about twenty years prior to the coma, and she had gradually lost the use of both her arms and legs. Before the coma, there were times she said she wanted to die. But after the coma my mum regarded her healing as a blessing, despite her paralysed body, and she said she was not ready to die at the time of the coma.

I really could not understand how she seemed to just accept being paralysed from the neck down, she rarely complained and often seemed more worried and concerned about our problems than her own. She had a faith in God and she sometimes used to say that she is ready to meet Jesus now. People might have said that it would have been kinder for her to have passed away in hospital. But somehow through my mum’s faith in God, I went from being agnostic to finding a faith myself.

I can only say that I will never meet a stronger person than my mum, and she was so kind and caring too. Faith is only faith when it is tested; sometimes it seems that God tests us in extreme ways. We all die; but faith and trust in God helps us to look forwards to a greater good life after death.
 
Quite heartening to hear your mom’s story and about your faith.Let Jesus show kindness towards us and consider our prayers as deemed fit.God bless.
 
God answers prayers with his presence, which should be enough. But because I am a flawed human being I usually see God’s presence as less than enough.

Should power be used according to our wishes? No, that makes us tyrants. Even if our hope is oriented toward something generally perceived as good, to demand that God’s power be used according to our wishes tends toward tyranny.
 
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No. You are presuming that prayer has no impact on what may happen.
 
My doubt was only whether those who are preaching incessantly that your prayers will be answered by God are themselves full convinced about that.Also if it is true ,why at all the need to preach so because people would be already knowing that from their experience.
 
joseie said:
My doubt was only whether those who are preaching incessantly that your prayers will be answered by God are themselves full convinced about that.Also if it is true ,why at all the need to preach so because people would be already knowing that from their experience.
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No one has this kind of knowledge.
 
joseie said:
My doubt was only whether those who are preaching incessantly that your prayers will be answered by God are themselves full convinced about that.
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You don’t know that. Perhaps it’s your own doubt.
joseie said:
Also if it is true ,why at all the need to preach so because people would be already knowing that from their experience.
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When people are going through a hard time, with struggle, with pain, with no light at the end of the tunnel, the words that God is with us, he hears us, he loves us, is an encouragement that is needed. The world has a different message. Where else but church will we be encouraged that God is with us?
 
The main issue is the results of prayer cannot really be measured in this life. God promises that prayer is always answered in a way that is best for our salvation. As Jesus says, prayer is always answered “that your joy may be full” (John 16:24)–full joy is salvation.

Because of that, we cannot really empirically test the efficacy of prayer until the Final Judgment, when the whole picture is revealed so to speak.

Our belief in the efficacy of prayer then is a quintessential example of faith. We believe in it, not because we can sensorily test it, but based solely on the promises of God, who is omnipotent, omniscient, and neither deceives nor can be deceived.
 
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I guess you could ask them; I suspect they will tell you they believe.

Then it would be up to you to believe then or not.
 
Prayer works. Period. If you have not experienced its effects, then you need to work on your faith and humility and align your will with God’s. God grants us what he wills, as much as he wills, when he wills.
 
There was a priest from Ireland who has said masses in a church I sometimes go to. Anyway, when he was a little boy, he was hit by a car. He was in serious condition in the hospital and the doctors told his mum that he would very likely die. His mother said something along the lines of: That may be what you say, but God knows better. He started recovering from that day forward.
Anyway, I always thought that that story was an amazing example of God answering a prayer. (Of course, God always answers our prayers, even if it is not in a way we expect)

Also, once when this priest was saying Mass, a bird flew in from an open door in the church and landed on him.
 
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FCS said:
Also, once when this priest was saying Mass, a bird flew in from an open door in the church and landed on him.
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A bird landed on someone and this is supposed to be meaningful?
 
Agree with your view that the result of prayer can’t be fully measured in this life.We may get the reward later if not immediately especially in the case of an ideal prayer which will have the main three components-adoration, thanksgiving and request for favours.But in practice since prayers are now mainly for some favours in this world ,people feel dejected if it is not received.
So the correct approach should be that even when you are praying for getting some favours,include liberally the words of adoration,glory and thanksgiving so that even if your particular favours are not received in the manner you want,you should have the satisfaction that the other two aspects of the prayer have been complied with and God will take not of it and reward suitably…
 
From a non-believer standpoint, I have no problem being open to the possibility that God answers prayers. The problem that I have is that the answer tends not to be objective. People usually attribute things to God when there’s really no way of differentiating it with natural occurrence or coincidence.

The best way of knowing that God answers is if God makes it known via revelation or some other clear sign. Perhaps Christians should make their prayers more specific or ask for a clear response. There are many examples in the Bible of God answering people in a clear way, and I mean something much more than just interpreting some event as being a response from God.
 
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