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Original poster

Why does God answer some prayers and not others?

566 replies

locationforna · 30/12/2022 20:59

Just this really.

If you are a Christian, please can you tell me why God answers some peoples prayers and not others?

For example, one woman could be praying her baby survives. Baby dies. Another woman with the exact same situation of an unwell baby - Baby lives. Both prayed, they prayed a lot

Why is it you say 'God is good' and 'God does answer, this is a miracle' and 'we are praying for you'

Do you really think that if the first person prayed hard enough, her baby would've survived? Or if not, and it's just chance, why pray?

I believe in God by the way. I have been studying for a while and seem to lean towards Judaism but notice a lot of 'God is good, he answered my prayers. It's a miracle'

Why some prayers and not others? Why do people think He's helped you get a job offer you really wanted but not answered a woman across the road's prayer not to be raped?

There is suffering throughout the Bible. Jesus himself suffered according to the Bible. That's not what I mean - I mean specially, why some prayers can be answered and not others that are equally in need?

OP posts:
Fleurdaisy · 31/12/2022 09:49

Because one baby will have a condition or illness that is not survivable with modern medical interventions.
The second child has an illness that responds positively to medical intervention.
It’s down to science, not an old man in the sky.

MrsSkylerWhite · 31/12/2022 09:49

Not confused about anything, 2pence.

There is no unknown. Life on earth emerged because of circumstances, not planning. God is a story that was told to keep the masses in place.

Fleurdaisy · 31/12/2022 09:53

Also, religions were a really effective way of controlling people. Instilling just enough fear while offering rewards for complying with sets of rules.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

Philosophy & religion
Parker231 · 31/12/2022 09:57

cherry2727 · 31/12/2022 09:20

@Parker231 You can’t pray to something which doesn’t exist. There is no God. Religion is a cult - dangerous but zero benefit to any believers.

Yes you can pray to something which doesn't exist. Praying is an action done by you ! How is religion dangerous- please explain. Also if you're not a believer how do you know that it's zero benefit to believers ? Surely you'd have to be a believer to assume this? Who are you to judge that it's zero benefit when you dont believe in god ??! There are a few non believer posters who have responded with their views which makes me understand, though I don't agree , their reason for not believing in god . You can't just throw wild accusations around !

The quote from the physicist, Steven Weinberg sums up my opinion

Why does God answer some prayers and not others?
MrsSkylerWhite · 31/12/2022 10:02

“The quote from the physicist, Steven Weinberg sums up my opinion”

^ Amen to that

AlwaysGinPlease · 31/12/2022 10:03

Hedjwitch · 30/12/2022 21:02

Because God doesnt exist. If he did,and he was all merciful, the situations given above wouldn't arise.
I was raised Christian,and raised my children as churchgoing Christians until I realised what a con it all is.

This. Exactly this.

XDownwiththissortofthingX · 31/12/2022 10:04

The vast bulk of religions are cults, that's the reality, only people don't take kindly to it being said because the word 'cult' conjures up images of Jim Jones, David Koresh, ritual sacrifice, devil worshipping etc etc, mostly negative things, but they absolutely do fit the dictionary definition.

Soproudoflionesses · 31/12/2022 10:06

The holocaust was way before my time as were many other man made tragedies.

My parents always made me go to church and l never thought to question it until Dunblane when l was a teenager and actually able to decide for myself so thanks for your sarcastic reply but there really is no need.

Movinghouseatlast · 31/12/2022 10:40

Because God doesn't exist and ALL religion is a con, invented to control the masses and keep.us in our place. Life was brutal.and unfair and people were desperate to find meaning.

I simply cannot understand why anyone believes this rubbish, all based on mythology that would be rejected in itself.

Letitrainletitrainletitrain · 31/12/2022 10:45

cherry2727 · 31/12/2022 09:20

@Parker231 You can’t pray to something which doesn’t exist. There is no God. Religion is a cult - dangerous but zero benefit to any believers.

Yes you can pray to something which doesn't exist. Praying is an action done by you ! How is religion dangerous- please explain. Also if you're not a believer how do you know that it's zero benefit to believers ? Surely you'd have to be a believer to assume this? Who are you to judge that it's zero benefit when you dont believe in god ??! There are a few non believer posters who have responded with their views which makes me understand, though I don't agree , their reason for not believing in god . You can't just throw wild accusations around !

Of course religion can be dangerous, if you need a current example just look at Afghanistan, but there have been other examples, from other religions over time as well

It's not like saying God is dangerous, but religion totally can be

on the other hand you have Quakers, pacifists, who believe in the equality of everyone, if I were religious I would be a Quaker.

So I don't believe all religion is always dangerous, but is fairly obvious all religions are not good for all people all the time

Tulipomania · 31/12/2022 10:46

because he's not real.

BinturongsSmellOfPopcorn · 31/12/2022 10:50

In my case I don't believe in Gods because I've never seen had reason to. There is no tangible evidence at all that they exist, and the universe appears to function perfectly ably without the concept of deities, so I see no reason to ponder all the irreconcilable and contradictory problems that comes along with introducing deities when there are no such problems posed by the concept of a universe without them.

Agreed, XDown. If I were making a list of pros and cons then, like David Attenborough, I'd definitely put 'parasitic worms that live in children's eyes and blind them' in the 'con' list. But my primary reason is the absence of anything in the 'pro' side.

In Christian belief:The world was not supposed to contain sickness and death and bad things happening/buggered up creation/nature..it was supposed to be people created to be in perfect relationship with God

The 'God fucked up' argument for bad things can be squared with some religions, but in monotheistic religions with an omniscient, omnipotent god it is rather a flaw. As Epicurus allegedly pointed out.

Ofwarren, my guesses would be (1) statistical fluke - even with a good sample size statistically significant results can still sometimes occur by chance (unwavering faith in the p value can let you down, just as any other religion can), or (2) nocebo - if people react to being told they are being prayed for by thinking 'Oh shit - things must be bad then'.

Don't test God.

Convenient, no?

there has to be some explanation to why we're here.

Physics. And some maths.

God can focus on us all at the same time, seems to be the general idea from religions

The Abrahamic ones, certainly. There are others that suffer a little less from 'the pomposity of humanity' (excellent way of putting it, XDown).

Tulipomania · 31/12/2022 10:50

Who's to say that of all the gods people in the world believe in, the Christian one is the 'right' one?

Inspecto · 31/12/2022 10:51

Hedjwitch · 30/12/2022 21:02

Because God doesnt exist. If he did,and he was all merciful, the situations given above wouldn't arise.
I was raised Christian,and raised my children as churchgoing Christians until I realised what a con it all is.

Maybe God just doesn’t exist how you expect and imagine? That’s different to God not existing at all. It’s more like, manage your expectations.

I was told: “Be careful, the devil can hear your prayers too.”

SnoozyLucy7 · 31/12/2022 10:51

Tulipomania · 31/12/2022 10:50

Who's to say that of all the gods people in the world believe in, the Christian one is the 'right' one?

Clearly the Christians

WeepingSomnambulist · 31/12/2022 10:53

Swimswam · 30/12/2022 21:09

Hi @locationforna I’m Catholic. Maybe this article helps to answer your question
www.catholicdigest.com/amp/faith/200809-01why-doesnrsquot-god-answer-my-prayers/
I don’t think it’s about praying hard enough. I don’t know if I have the answer.
I have seen miraculous answer to prayer - the recovery of a relative for example. And I have seen examples where prayers are not answered- the death of the child. However some consolation does seem to come too in these tragic situations - it can take different forms.
God does exist - of course I cannot prove this in human terms. Look into Eucharistic miracles and also incorruptible bodies, the miracle of the sun at Fatima. All really interesting and unique to Catholicism.

Some people survive things and other people die. That had nothing to do with prayer.
The same thing happens to those who dont believe in an imaginary man. Some people survive and some people die. No prayer necessary.

Tulipomania · 31/12/2022 10:54

Well exactly. But a lot of mainstream religions believe there is only one god, so does that deny the existence of everyone else's gods?

God is a concept that is a function of culture and tradition and geography, that's all.

XDownwiththissortofthingX · 31/12/2022 11:02

Tulipomania · 31/12/2022 10:54

Well exactly. But a lot of mainstream religions believe there is only one god, so does that deny the existence of everyone else's gods?

God is a concept that is a function of culture and tradition and geography, that's all.

There would be a delicious irony at play if it turns out that god does actually exist, but it's one of the ones that some folk in central america worshipped thousands of years back, they completely vanished from the face of the planet, and god has been sitting watching the entirety of the religious cohort on the planet grovel to a bunch of entirely fraudulent impostors ever since.

Tuilpmouse · 31/12/2022 11:07

@locationforna

I would have thought it would make more sense for God not to answer prayers because he knows the bigger picture? So even though he may sympathise, he won't give you what you want because of prayer as that's not what was planned (and if it is what's planned, it isn't the prayer that's got you it. It was his plan anyway)

The "bigger picture" rationalisation only works when the issues are relatively mundane. For instance, if I pray for a new job and don't get it, I can think "well, maybe God has got big plans for me in my current job!"... or if I pray for a bad back to get better and it doesn't I can think "well, maybe God is teaching me patience and helping my emphasise with others who are struggling".

But you can't stretch that to events such as mothers being forced to hang their toddlers in the Rwandan genocide or leaving the girls abducted by Belgian pedophile Dutroux to starve to death alone at his house due to police incompetence.

The "bigger picture" theory is cosseted and naive to the depths of evil in the world. There's no way to rationalise some thing that happen in the interests of a 'bigger picture'. The only valid conclusions to me are that God either, is supremely callous, isn't in full control, or doesn't exist.

Tuilpmouse · 31/12/2022 11:10

@Inspecto

I was told: “Be careful, the devil can hear your prayers too.”

That's really messed up religious quackery.

Inspecto · 31/12/2022 11:11

Movinghouseatlast · 31/12/2022 10:40

Because God doesn't exist and ALL religion is a con, invented to control the masses and keep.us in our place. Life was brutal.and unfair and people were desperate to find meaning.

I simply cannot understand why anyone believes this rubbish, all based on mythology that would be rejected in itself.

What about believing for the sake of the justice system? Otherwise, isn’t justice and civilisation a mythology too?

Symbolism around the justice system is all rooted in the foundations of faith. Swearing an oath has traditionally been about invoking God as witness etc. Do you seriously believe humans in an adversarial legal process will not tell lies to get themselves off the hook?

God acts as a deterrent in the justice system demanding that people tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

The below passage is from the Ten Commandments and it shows that God knows humans are not just creatures. Humans need law and order for a cooperative society - and it comes from faith that God oversees justice and fairness.

Exodus 23:1-9
Justice and Fairness

23 “Do not spread false rumors, and do not help a guilty person by giving false testimony. 2 Do not follow the majority when they do wrong or when they give testimony that perverts justice. 3 Do not show partiality to a poor person at his trial.

4 “If you happen to see your enemy's cow or donkey running loose, take it back to him. 5 If his donkey has fallen under its load, help him get the donkey to its feet again; don't just walk off.

6 “Do not deny justice to a poor person when he appears in court. 7 Do not make false accusations, and do not put an innocent person to death, for I will condemn anyone who does such an evil thing. 8 Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe makes people blind to what is right and ruins the cause of those who are innocent.

9 “Do not mistreat a foreigner; you know how it feels to be a foreigner, because you were foreigners in Egypt.

OverTheHillAndDownTotherSide · 31/12/2022 11:12

You no longer have to swear an oath to god, in any justice system.

zippalippa · 31/12/2022 11:15

Fucks sake, can nobody on Mumsnet ever read the OP.

OP requests answers from Christians, gets endless replies from atheists sticking their nosey beaks in. Nobody asked you, learn to read.

Original poster
locationforna · 31/12/2022 11:16

I don't understand how someone can use a study based on outcomes of prayer vs no prayer.

It doesn't make sense because the Bible says not to do exactly that - 'Do not test God'

Surely by doing that study, you've tested Him?

OP posts: