Christians: Do prayers work for you?

[Teutone]

Asking Christians only

[Teutone]

I had this many time, when I prayed from the bottom of my heart and the request wasnt materialistic or selfish I often had a totally life change and turnout after some time

Events like this never make my question our lord jesus christ

[Loki]

Yes, my prayers are always answered.

I don't ask for silly things, just the necessary, and God hears me. It is wonderful.

[Larali]

God's plans are bigger than we can comprehend, and He always has our best interest in mind, even if we can't see that from our perspective. In my experience, prayers are heard and answered, but sometimes not in the way I hope or expect. Oftentimes it's only in retrospect that I can see the whole picture and understand that what happened was the best thing for me at the time, even though I didn't see it that way. A lot of times it's a lesson, or something that was intended to make me a better person in the end. I don't know if that makes sense.

But occasionally there are the little Easter eggs that God throws in there. Sometimes I'll pray for a small silly thing, like a certain song to come on the radio, and it happens. Not all the time. Because if it worked all the time, then that would mean I was the one controlling it- not a gift from God.

[Thanas Django]

Pragmatically speaking, the benefit of prayer comes down to the possibility to sit down yourself - and God - and sort out patiently what exactly you want from the world.

Once you have a goal, you also gain a direction and subconsciously you move towards that direction.

[ChristianMed]

Yes, always work but I try not to pray for anything not necessary.

[Thordis]

Yes, prayers have always worked for me. I've asked God for both big and small things. The most important prayer I've said was literally life-changing. But God has also granted me smaller requests. I pray not only to ask him for specific things, but also because I want to maintain a personal relationship with him. There are many other reasons to pray, such as confessing our sins and seeking forgiveness, relieving our anxiety, voicing our thoughts, seeking guidance, encouragement or inner peace, thanking him for answering our prayers, and so on. A prayer is essentially a conversation we have with God. And this is the heart of the matter, regardless what we pray for, it is about seeking him out and, as David put it in Psalm 17:13-15, enjoying "sweet communion with him".

About praying for little things, I've heard many people, including some clericals saying we shouldn't "bother" God with small or trivial things. Some people even feel guilty or selfish when they ask God for things. While I agree that treating God like Santa Claus or a genie in the bottle can be counterproductive to one's spiritual growth, so can seeking him out only occasionally, when we happen to need something important - especially as new believers (those who have walked longer in their faith have developed more confidence in themselves and their prayer). The Bible encourages us to "ask, seek, knock", as well as to trust in him to listen attentively to our prayers. "Ask" is actually a word mentioned often in the Bible.

"And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened." (Luke 11:9–10)

"And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive." (Matthew 21:22)

"Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son." (John 14:13-14)

"If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you." (John 15:7)

"Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full." (John 16:24)

"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him." (James 1:5)

"If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" (Luke 11:13)

"And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him." (1 John 5:14–15)

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." (1 Thessalonians 5:16–18)

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." (Philippians 4:6 )

Asking for things, big or small, is a step towards forming and maintaing a relationship with him, getting acquainted to coming before him and trusting that he will hear us. The Bible often speaks of God as a spiritual parental figure - just like a child would bring his concerns to a parent (both big and small), we can and should also bring ours before God. He wants us to have a dynamic relationship, where we are actively involved. "You do not have, because you do not ask God" (James 4:2). Often, people don't come to God for the wrong reasons (e.g. they think they can handle it themselves, or they fear he might say no, so their prayers are rendered pointless). While God may sometimes say "no" (or "wait"), our prayer, as well as his answer are processes that feed our spiritual growth. Asking is a humble expression of dependence: when we ask, we rely on God and recognize his fatherly role in our life, willing to give us the things we desire. And ultimately, God cares about both the small and the grand details. He is more generous than a human being could and loves it when we turn to him for things, for this draws us nearer to him: "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!" (Matthew 7:11).

Now where some people stumble is assuming that God's main purpose is to ensure our pleasure and give us only the most trivial and superficial things. As long as our comfort and material things are the sole focus of our prayers, we risk to remain in a dangerous place spiritually speaking. We should understand prayer as a process that has the power to change us, rather than only ensure our happiness. And ultimately, material things are ephemeral - we will not be taking them with us when we leave this world behind. Another way that people stumble when praying is by being too self-centered. They pray for themselves, but omit others. Or, they pray for the entirely wrong reasons. If we pray for sinful things, for instance - for ourselves or for others - God is unlikely to grant us our wish. The apostle James writes, "When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives" (James 4:3). We have the story of the mother of Zebedee's sons in Matthew 20:20-34 as an example, who was over-ambitious and pushy, asking Jesus to grant each of her sons a place at his right and left in his kingdom. Jesus told her, "You don't know what you are asking". Her desire was for personal greatness, power, fame and material wealth, while Jesus pointed out that true greatness comes from serving others. As we grow spiritually, our prayers become bigger, and less about us. Also, God wants us to align our prayers with his will and trust that he will give us according to our best interest and spiritual need. Asking what God wants may seem counterintuitive, because we tend to believe prayer is about getting what we want. Yet what we would ideally like may not always be according to his plan. In the end though, we are human and have human weaknesses and desires and God is well aware of this fact. Even Jesus, who was himself fully human, asked God to "take this cup" of suffering from him when he prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane (but he also adds, "yet not my will, but yours be done"). In the end, God wants us to come to him as we are, trusting that he will always hear us, and answer accordingly. God hasn't failed me, and if you come to him sincerely, he won't fail you either.

[Trentino]

There's only one thing I've consistently prayed my entire life, and it has never been fulfilled. So no, praying has never worked, and I doubt I will, at least in the foreseeable future.

[Trentino]

"And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened." (Luke 11:9–10)

Good post. The "source" is infinite and its power is beyond our intellectual capacity.

[1R0N M4N XL]

of course.. but its usually different from what I expect it..