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Edited by Mad Max:
7/20/2016 6:00:44 AM
45
I have a question about the Christian faith
I'm curious about how prayer works within the realm of free will. To me, these concepts seem to be at odds.
For example, let's set this simple scene: I am walking down the street, and you see me. You and I went to school together a long time ago, but we don't really talk now. Let's assume I don't play on saying hi.
In this example, let's say you pray for me to see you and say hello.
If prayer works, that means God heard your prayer and took action based on your prayer, overpowering my free will to just keep on walking and not notice you.
How do these two elements coexist?
English
#Offtopic
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1 ReplyI've always felt like I have been given small pushes in certain directions, whether through someone's prayer or not, but ultimately the choice is up to me.
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Praying really doesn't do ANYTHING. God has already decided what He wants to do. However Christians are commanded to pray for a good reason. It's to talk with God, and show that you trust Him. It is NEVER supposed to replace doing good things and helping others.
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6 RepliesIt says somewhere that God can influence the hearts of men. As we know back then heart was used to signify emotions and thought to a degree. So there is free will, but your actions can be influenced by God. This is actually a common and recurring theme in the bible.
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2 RepliesPrayer isn't some mystic thing where God's our magic genie and does what we want lol. We can pray for something but ultimately God makes the choice. God will either say yes, no, or soon. None of these answers are uncommon. Another thing, prayer isn't simply asking for things. I think the public believes that prayer consists of christians asking God for stuff. But its much more than that. When we pray we build a relationship with God. Its very difficult to explain with words, maybe one day I'll find the right ones. The way I see it is this; prayer is how we talk to God. And what do people do when they talk? They get to know each other and draw closer together. Thus, prayer is how we learn about God and develop a closer friendship with him.
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God can say "no".
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You have to work in harmony with your prayers. Its still your free will to do what you want. God gave us free will because he wants us to love him, appreciate him and rely upon him to get us through our tribulations in life and give thanks when everything is going good. Not a bunch of robots walking around all saying " I serve god" in a heartless tone.
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2 RepliesPrayer is asking the Father for something. He will do according to His will. Free will and prayer co-exist. Example: I pray for you to say "Hi". If the Father wants that, then He will put the desire of saying "Hi" in your heart. Then it's up to you to do it or not.
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Each person has their own consciousness; God can listen to you, he hears you, but he can't forcefully command you to do something.
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the element is not as simple as you describe it...his answer may be to tell you to go over and talk to him.
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Free will is an illusion
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1 Reply[quote]How do these two elements coexist?[/quote] >implying either element actually exists
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I'm nihilist. Everything makes way more sense.
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Well you're here asking the question aren't you? You took time out of your life to ask about free will, so it does exist. Just as I'm scrolling through the forums and saying random meaningless shit. Prayer probably exists as some sort of bonus. Something to help you during the journey.
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From my understanding prayer it letting God know you want something directly. When pray you are asking for him to influence something to happen. He has the ability to make things happen whenever he wants but doesn't use that ability because he would take away from free will. Something like that.
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4 RepliesI don't think free will truly exists for any of us, just the illusion of it. From that perspective, co-existence of those two concepts is easily possible. However, I'm not a Christian, and this perspective may not match up with that of most Christians. Just putting in my two cents.
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He doesn't make you do it it is just an incentive to do it.
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I can pray to God for him to get me a new PS4 but that doesn't mean it will happen. God doesn't give "things or items" just so you can believe in him.
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2 RepliesYou can't force God to do something just by praying.
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1 Reply[b][i]Vape.[/i][/b]
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Both prayer and free will exist?
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I got ambushed one time by a couple dudes wanting to talk about faith. They had the decency to ask me if it was ok to offer up a prayer on my behalf. Thought it was an interesting encounter. In regarss to the question in the OP, I don't even have an opinion.
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Edited by BrayerIncognito: 7/20/2016 4:04:42 PMFree will is also at odds with the concepts of "God knowing everything" and "god creates life" Edit: Just to expand on this... If the other 2 facts are correct then "free will" is simply an illusion at best or just doesn't exist. Example: For God to know everything, he would be aware of all possible outcomes. Life would be similar to a maze. You feel you get to choose which way to turn at each junction, but really every path is already laid out. It's an illusion of free will. You could argue that you could simply stand still, but you can't, time drives us forward. You see if God created us/life and God knows all, then he is the one who puts us in the maze which he designed.
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6 RepliesI would assume if god gives a single damn about our species he'd only answer the more serious of prayers, e.g. "let this kid survive cancer"
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1 ReplyPraying is bs Religion is bs
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1 ReplyUp in heaven God is probably facepalming saying "Out of eveything you could pray for, you pray for Mad Max to say hello? This is why I dont answer as much prayers as I did two millenia ago" [spoiler]Anyways I am pretty sure prayer works as an opportunity, I pray for you to say "hello" then the idea COULD happen in your mind, them it is your choice to decide whether or not to say "hello"[/spoiler]
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Praying is dumb. Better to simply meditate and leave the ghost god out of it. Or pray to dragonite.
