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Do you pray for things you know are impossible?

12 replies

belgo · 13/05/2007 11:35

My mother has just emailed me the words of a prayer to pray for something specific.

At the end of the email, she said the prayer hadn't worked when she's used it previously to pray for two terminally ill friends.

I never pray for something that I know to be impossible, but I do pray for help with coping with difficult situations.

What do you think? Do you pray for miracles?

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greenday · 13/05/2007 11:42

I do because I think if I didn't, then that would mean that I don't have the faith in God. Nothing is impossible with God. But what I always try to maintain the attitude of asking for 'God's will' because he knows best rather than what we want.

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greenday · 13/05/2007 11:47

Ooh, one more thing about your mum's disappointment that her prayers didn't work for her 2 friends.
I remembered reading something rather poignant, that 'God answers all prayers but they aren't always 'yes'. They can be 'no' or 'wait'. Again, according to His will.

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belgo · 13/05/2007 11:53

Thank you for taking the time to answer.

'God answers all prayers but they aren't always 'yes'

That's a very interesting viewpoint. I suppose I don't pray for things that I think are impossible, because I don't want to be disappointed in God's response.

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Chandra · 13/05/2007 11:59

I don't, it may be that I have lost hope in the specific problem but if I pray, it's normally about help or strenght to deal with what may come. I just put the things in his hands and accept he will know what's best.

I'm a firm believer that God is hearing the prayers but will do the best for the situation not what I want, which may be something completely different to what I want or expected. Having said that, sometimes I wonder if I am so relaxed about him doing his best that I don't even pray much anymore

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greenday · 13/05/2007 12:02

It's something I feel very strongly about I guess. Only because like you and many others, I have struggled to realise that God knows what's best and sometimes, it's never what we want or need at that time.
Over the years, I've been disappointed by the outcome of my desperate prayers (for important and trivial issues alike) but in time to come, God's decision has always proved far better than mine and definitely not what I could have foreseen. As such, I've learnt to ask for God's will rather than mine.
Hope this isn't coming across as preachy!

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greenday · 13/05/2007 12:04

'Having said that, sometimes I wonder if I am so relaxed about him doing his best that I don't even pray much anymore'

That's soooo me too!!

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belgo · 13/05/2007 12:07

Chandra - I rarely pray for specific things, but do pray for the strength to cope with things.

having said that, if anything ever happened to my children, my prayers would be very specific indeed.

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Chandra · 13/05/2007 12:14

I think that with all DS's problems I have been through a continuos process to loose faith, from loosing the faith in the doctors, the institutions, or in my prayers. I'm just trying to cope the best I can with what is thrown to us

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MaryBS · 13/05/2007 12:35

ITA with greenday on this. I try to pray for God's will to be paramount, that if it is God's will they be spared. Sometimes there are miracles.

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Cazee · 13/05/2007 21:20

Nothing is impossible for God, but we can't presume to know the best answer to our prayers. When I pray for the sick I ALWAYS ask for a miracle (and my sister is v ill, but stable and the doctors don't understand why she is doing so well against all medical expectations!) but I also say "if that is Your will", I also ask for spiritual healing for the sick person, if it is not God's will that they be physically healed.

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matilda57 · 31/05/2007 00:07

I've had some horrendous experiences and wondered where the f* God was in it all. I prayed very specifically at the time (re: HELP) but it appeared that no help was forthcoming. I still pray for the 'impossible' and leave it up to God to sort out what is the best thing for that situation, even though I still regularly get fed up with him LOL. Tbh (and I know this sounds twee) I can see, however many years later, that I learnt a great deal through those horrendous times that I just wouldn't have learnt if he had beamed me out of it. NOt sure that makes a great deal of sense LOL. That said, I have prayed for the 'impossible' and got the answer I wanted - that is, 'yes'. So I always give it a go. A lot of praying is getting to know God anyway, coming before him as if to a parent, or even a counsellor, and pouring out what is in your heart.