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Original poster

A question for all religions really - what makes you think there IS a God watching over you?

59 replies

allgonebellyup · 20/04/2008 19:08

Just out of curiosity really...
Were you brought up in this religion and dont know any different?
Have you ever felt the presence of anything?
Have any of your prayers been answered?

OP posts:
MaryBS · 20/04/2008 19:10

I was brought up a Christian, but left and came back, so I guess I do know differently.

Yes I have felt the presence of God in my life many times, and some very strange things have happened because of it.

Yes, I have had prayers answered, including some really specific ones where I asked for something to happen so that I'd "know"... and they did (scared the hell out of me, literally! )

NorthernLurker · 20/04/2008 19:12

My prayers are answered and I believe Jesus Christ died for me and I feel His love in my life.

SaintGeorge · 20/04/2008 19:17

I don't think there is a God, at least not in the same sense that a Christian (for example) does.

I was raised to be open minded and with no set religion (although I was Christened, but that was more so to do with the attitudes at the time).

Yes, I feel a presence in my life all of the time which can be exceptionally strong in my times of need. I would feel lost without it.

I don't pray, again at least not in the accepted sense. I have had answers and things have happened in my life that I am grateful for that I don't think would have happened without my faith.

beansmum · 20/04/2008 19:20

I've only been a Christian for about 3yrs.
I have felt the presence of God especially when I have been miserable or unsure of something. Often when I pray about something I don't get a specific answer but I do get a feeling of peace, and a feeling that God has got the situation under control. And even if I don't know the reason for what is going on in my life I get the feeling that God knows what he is doing and wants what is best for me.

ScienceTeacher · 20/04/2008 19:26

yes, yes, yes to the questions.

How do I know there is a God watching over me - because he said so and also sent the Holy Spirit to be alongside me.

AMumInScotland · 20/04/2008 19:29

I was brought up in the church to some extent (Sunday school), lapsed for many years, and came back to it as an adult, so I had many years of talking to people of all faiths and none, and had plenty of chances to decide I believed something else.

As a teenager I very much "felt the presence" of something, and invited it into my life (on a trial basis only to start with!). I later (after a lot of thought and discussion) realised that the "something" was the Holy Spirit, and that my beliefs were actually Cristianity.

I still feel that presence, and that is what makes me sure that God exists.

I believe that some of my prayers have been answered, but there is nothing I could point to and say "that wouldn't have happened if I hadn't prayed" so it certainly wouldn't count as proof. I very rarely pray for things to happen, much more often praying for a change in my own attitude, strength, patience etc.

Original poster
allgonebellyup · 20/04/2008 20:30

thanks for all your answers, really interesting..i too sometimes feel like there is some kind of presence in my life, yet when i am really low i feel doubtful of this.

Anyone else?

OP posts:
AMumInScotland · 20/04/2008 20:49

Have you tried "talking to" the presence? That's what I started doing, when I realised there was something there which wasn't just me. At first I thought maybe it was my "conscience" or something that was a part of myself, but I gradually came to the decision that it was something quite separate. I found that by developing a relationship with it, I could tell much more easily that it was there, because I recognised the difference between the presence and my own thoughts. I was also conscious that I could choose whether to accept it, or tell it to go away, and to start with I made it quite clear that it was on probation and I would not hesitate to throw it out if it did anything I was uncomfortable with. (As I say, to start with I was not at all clear what it was, and didn't want to give just anything house-room!)

Original poster
allgonebellyup · 20/04/2008 21:06

yes i have- sort of - but it makes me feel a little self conscious, and i never get an immediate response, it is always delayed, or doesnt happen at all!
sometimes i think it is all just my own imagination.

but after a truly horrible year, i stared up at the sky at my dd's gym regional gym competition and prayed silently for something happy to happen for her - and ten mins later she came 1st place out of 75 other girls.
I think that wasnt just her having a good day, as she normally doesnt win anything, i think my prayer was actually answered that day, just for my dd.

OP posts:
DutchOma · 20/04/2008 21:17

It always worries me a bit when people treat God as some sort of benign presence who watches over you/grants requests/etc.
It reminds me a bit of the children in Narnia who get told that Aslan is 'not a tame lion'.
I believe in God as the Creator of the world, as a Saviour,(I can't get anywhere without Him) a Father (and yes He watches over me).
"Ask anything in my name", Jesus says, but what does that actually mean? I have periods when I cannot ask for anything, and have to rely on praise alone, because 'He is worth it'
Someone once said "beware of wanting a bit of God in a brown paper bag".
Having said that, yes, I have had prayer answered

AMumInScotland · 20/04/2008 21:20

Do you have any kind of religious background? If there is something spiritual which is familiar to you, it might get you "in the mood" to hear it better - I always feel closer to God in churches (generally empty ones ) probably because I started to go into them in my late teens/early twenties to get somewhere peaceful when life was hectic, so it helps me to feel peaceful and receptive.

Also, when I say "talk to", it doesn't have to be in words, just feelings can work too.

madamez · 20/04/2008 21:21

Well there aren't any supernatural beings: the feelings of 'presence' etc are due to a particular type of electrical activity in the brain (apparently this feeling can be induced by means of electrical stimulation though I doubt it's very good for you). As to the 'answered prayers' thing, those are coincidence: statistically it's not unlikeley that you will get the things you want some of the time and most people either forget or disregard the times they asked Great Doodleflop for something or other and didn't get it. Same as with clairvoyants, horoscopes etc, people get all excited about the random times they are roughly accurate and forget all the times they are not accurate at all.

Original poster
allgonebellyup · 20/04/2008 21:26

madamez, i am half on your side here too!!
How do people who have prayed for things know that their prayers were answered? maybe the good thing they prayed for was going to happen anyway..

oh, i am more confused than ever now!

OP posts:
Greyriverside · 20/04/2008 21:33

Well as for prayers christians should worry if they were ever answered since the justification for all the suffering in the world is that God can't interfere without breaking his own rules. If he does requests at all then the whole thing falls down doesn't it.

Original poster
allgonebellyup · 20/04/2008 21:37

so if christians know that God cant interfere without breaking his own rules, why do they pray????

OP posts:
MaryBS · 20/04/2008 21:38

Oh Good! Someone knows what God's rules are - pray tell?

AMumInScotland · 20/04/2008 21:40

Well, I generally get round it by praying for a change in my own attitude, rather than for God to intervene in a "going against the laws of physics" way.

Greyriverside · 20/04/2008 21:59

MaryBS, I'm only going by what christians say. Something really bad happens and christians say that if god acted to prevent it then it would interfere with free will etc.

tiredlady · 20/04/2008 22:07

Yes, I have a problem with God answering prayers. Why would he answer someone's prayer for their daughter to win a gym competition, but ignore somone's prayer asking for a sick baby to live. And don't even get me started on the tsunami....

OverMyDeadBody · 20/04/2008 22:10

I have come to the same conclusions as madamez on all of this.

Every religion known to man has prayer, and people of all of these different religions will sometimes have their prayers answered, just like there are incedences of 'miracles' happening all over the world that 'prove' that (insert religion here) is right.

A theory that proves everything proves nothing.

NorthernLurker · 20/04/2008 22:21

I believe that we all can have a personal relationship with God. Therefore when I pray - I'm not trying to get further up the prayer queue than my neighbour - it's not his prayer or mine situation iyswim. It's me talking to God - and He is listening. Answers to prayer come over years, decades - we may never know what the answer if - although sometimes it's jolly clear very quickly. Praying doesn't remove sin from the world. We are a fallen world - that's why we need Jesus.

PaninoPan · 20/04/2008 22:22

I do think the crucial bit is being missed. To pray to God for something should be interpreted as praying to yourself, that you have the strength to overcome the difficulty that you are/will be facing. eg, if you replace the words "God" or "The Lord", with 'me' or 'I', then the Bible and acts of worship makes so much more sense.

OverMyDeadBody · 20/04/2008 22:24

replace prayer with meditation. Works just as well.

We don't live in a fallen world, we live in a world, that's it. We don't need saving. What's to save us from?

PaninoPan · 20/04/2008 22:28

agree OMDB

eg - "never take the name of the Lord in vain" = 'have self respect.

lots of other examples when you think about it, even a little bit.

MaryBS · 21/04/2008 07:50

Greyriverside - you'll find that people, whether they are Christians or not, feel they have to give some explanation. The truth is, no-one can know for certain the mind of God. People too easily try to ascribe human characteristics to Him. Whether or not we believe we are made in his image, this doesn't mean we know how he thinks.

You may consider it a cop-out, but it all comes down to trust, whether we "trust" God to do the "right" thing, whatever that right thing is.