"Prayer works," the preacher says, "so come on up and we'll pray for your needs." (A spiritual vending machine.) The objection I have is that TM works and yoga works, but we don't try them. Just because something works doesn't mean it is true, that is not the criterion. Lee Strobel says that Christianity works because it is true, it is not true because it works. We should pray, even if we don't feel we are getting from God what we want, as it were, our genie giving us our so-called "felt needs" or wants.
"We pray for the sake of praying," says Steven Brown "not for ulterior motives." I've heard it said that prayer is the goal of prayer! Someone has wisely said that we should love God even if there were no heaven and fear God even if there were no hell! Well, we should have the desire to commune with God, even if we don't get our way. God is looking for a relationship, not someone just praying for needs.
The paradigm of prayer (most clearly seen in the so-called Lord's Prayer) should always include the phrase "in Jesus' name" (it is for his sake and will that we really want to pray). Now, some preachers think their prayers are more "effectual" (James. 5:16) than others, but they are not--all Christians are righteous in God's eyes and no believer has a privileged status. Any Christian can pray without giving up and "fervently" to get his will aligned with God's. We don't change God, he changes us. You see, we are all on an equal footing in prayer--that is the beauty--God is no respecter of persons and shows no partiality.
Some say that worry works because 90 percent of what we worry about doesn't happen! Well, with that kind of logic prayer isn't as effective as worry, because I don't think anyone can say that 90 percent of their prayers were answered in the affirmative--if they are, they are not very challenging prayers. God can answer in the affirmative, negative (usually for our own good or He has something better for us) or tell us to wait. But we should never give up hope unless God clearly says "no" like he did to Paul's thorn in the flesh.
But bear this in mind: God has arranged it so that we can explain away answered prayers if we so desire--he doesn't force us to believe, but faith pleases him. Well, prayer does work, but that is not why we pray! Soli Deo Gloria!
"We pray for the sake of praying," says Steven Brown "not for ulterior motives." I've heard it said that prayer is the goal of prayer! Someone has wisely said that we should love God even if there were no heaven and fear God even if there were no hell! Well, we should have the desire to commune with God, even if we don't get our way. God is looking for a relationship, not someone just praying for needs.
The paradigm of prayer (most clearly seen in the so-called Lord's Prayer) should always include the phrase "in Jesus' name" (it is for his sake and will that we really want to pray). Now, some preachers think their prayers are more "effectual" (James. 5:16) than others, but they are not--all Christians are righteous in God's eyes and no believer has a privileged status. Any Christian can pray without giving up and "fervently" to get his will aligned with God's. We don't change God, he changes us. You see, we are all on an equal footing in prayer--that is the beauty--God is no respecter of persons and shows no partiality.
Some say that worry works because 90 percent of what we worry about doesn't happen! Well, with that kind of logic prayer isn't as effective as worry, because I don't think anyone can say that 90 percent of their prayers were answered in the affirmative--if they are, they are not very challenging prayers. God can answer in the affirmative, negative (usually for our own good or He has something better for us) or tell us to wait. But we should never give up hope unless God clearly says "no" like he did to Paul's thorn in the flesh.
But bear this in mind: God has arranged it so that we can explain away answered prayers if we so desire--he doesn't force us to believe, but faith pleases him. Well, prayer does work, but that is not why we pray! Soli Deo Gloria!