If religion is supposedly so liberating then why so many strict rules?
36-40, F
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SW-User
There are no strict rules in Christianity for Jesus fulfilled the Law. We have freedom!
But we are called to pray, and align our will with the will of God. The Holy Spirit helps us, and our Lord too intercedes on our behave.
Prayer is hard, and we are told to be persistent in prayer.
And God is no genie, there to do our will. Like a wish list to father Xmas. It is His will that is done, on Earth as in Heaven, not ours.
But we are called to pray, and align our will with the will of God. The Holy Spirit helps us, and our Lord too intercedes on our behave.
Prayer is hard, and we are told to be persistent in prayer.
And God is no genie, there to do our will. Like a wish list to father Xmas. It is His will that is done, on Earth as in Heaven, not ours.
Graylight · 51-55, F
@SW-User Really good description of mainstream Christianity.
Diotrephes · 70-79, M
@SW-User [quote]There are no strict rules in Christianity for Jesus fulfilled the Law. We have freedom!
But we are called to pray, and align our will with the will of God. The Holy Spirit helps us, and our Lord too intercedes on our behave.
Prayer is hard, and we are told to be persistent in prayer.
And God is no genie, there to do our will. Like a wish list to father Xmas. It is His will that is done, on Earth as in Heaven, not ours.[/quote]
It's nice of you to disagree with John 15:7 (NKJV) =If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, [b][i][c=BF0000]you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.[/c][/i][/b]
Matthew 7:7 (NKJV) = [b][i][c=BF0000]“Ask, and it will be given to you[/c][/i][/b]; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you."
But we are called to pray, and align our will with the will of God. The Holy Spirit helps us, and our Lord too intercedes on our behave.
Prayer is hard, and we are told to be persistent in prayer.
And God is no genie, there to do our will. Like a wish list to father Xmas. It is His will that is done, on Earth as in Heaven, not ours.[/quote]
It's nice of you to disagree with John 15:7 (NKJV) =If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, [b][i][c=BF0000]you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.[/c][/i][/b]
Matthew 7:7 (NKJV) = [b][i][c=BF0000]“Ask, and it will be given to you[/c][/i][/b]; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you."
SW-User
@Diotrephes What have those verses got to do with prayer?
Diotrephes · 70-79, M
@SW-User You wrote = [quote]And God is no genie, there to do our will. Like a wish list to father Xmas. It is His will that is done, on Earth as in Heaven, not ours.[/quote]
Matthew 7:7 & John 15: 7 depict God as a genie who will give you whatever you ask for simply by asking for it. We know that doesn't happen. Do you think the storytellers copied that idea from the genie in the bottle story?
[quote]What have those verses got to do with prayer?[/quote]
If you want the prayer angle then what about these?
Matthew 21:22 (ERV) = If you believe, you will get anything you ask for in prayer.”
Mark 11:24 (ERV) =So I tell you to ask for what you want in prayer. And if you believe that you have received those things, then they will be yours.
Ephesians 6:18 (ERV) =Pray in the Spirit at all times. Pray with all kinds of prayers, and ask for everything you need. To do this you must always be ready. Never give up. Always pray for all of God’s people.
Matthew 7:7 & John 15: 7 depict God as a genie who will give you whatever you ask for simply by asking for it. We know that doesn't happen. Do you think the storytellers copied that idea from the genie in the bottle story?
[quote]What have those verses got to do with prayer?[/quote]
If you want the prayer angle then what about these?
Matthew 21:22 (ERV) = If you believe, you will get anything you ask for in prayer.”
Mark 11:24 (ERV) =So I tell you to ask for what you want in prayer. And if you believe that you have received those things, then they will be yours.
Ephesians 6:18 (ERV) =Pray in the Spirit at all times. Pray with all kinds of prayers, and ask for everything you need. To do this you must always be ready. Never give up. Always pray for all of God’s people.
Diotrephes · 70-79, M
@SW-User Have you ever considered that the ritual of praying and prayers are like the act of rubbing the magic lamp so that the genie will appear and grant you your wishes? When people pray they are really asking for God, the ultimate magic genie, to fulfill their wishes and desires, just like the guy who is asking the genie to fulfill his wishes and desires for letting the genie out of his lamp prison. There really isn't any difference between those two acts. The person doing either of them is asking an imaginary character to do what only the real person can do but is reluctant to do it because he wants to believe in a magical being so that he won't have to do the hard work of achieving his wishes and desires.
Sure, we all have lucky breaks once in a while but everything we have, we have because we, real people, have made it happen through our own hard work. You can pray every waking minute of your life but if you don't get off of your lazy ass and do the work necessary to achieve your wishes and desires, nothing will happen.
Sure, we all have lucky breaks once in a while but everything we have, we have because we, real people, have made it happen through our own hard work. You can pray every waking minute of your life but if you don't get off of your lazy ass and do the work necessary to achieve your wishes and desires, nothing will happen.
SW-User
@Diotrephes Prayer has nothing to do with wishes. It is about aligning our will with that of God.
Look at The Collects of Thomas Cranmer by C Frederick Barbiie.
See how Christians dwell on one aspect of Gods being.
The petition may be simple, give comfort to someone bereaved, which incidentally I must do now.
And persistence is important, see the parable in Luke 18.
To find out more, meditate on the Psalms. I suggest Timothy Keller, My God, My Refuge. At least dip into it.
I hope this helps.
Look at The Collects of Thomas Cranmer by C Frederick Barbiie.
See how Christians dwell on one aspect of Gods being.
The petition may be simple, give comfort to someone bereaved, which incidentally I must do now.
And persistence is important, see the parable in Luke 18.
To find out more, meditate on the Psalms. I suggest Timothy Keller, My God, My Refuge. At least dip into it.
I hope this helps.
Diotrephes · 70-79, M
@SW-User It doesn't help one bit. What do you pray for? Whatever it is, you could get it yourself if you are willing to personally work for it and do what is necssary to get it done. It is exactly the same thing as asking the genie to grant you your wishes, but in the case of praying, you substitute the imaginary genie for the imaginary character called "God" (which is just a title and not a specific name).
SW-User
@Diotrephes I appreciate your comments, they help me sharpen up my faith.
I’ll have another look at Johns first epistle before Xmas. The author has a lot of good information on prayer.
I know there are a few like you on site who are searching for God. And yes I get rudeness and mocking. But does that really matter.
With best wishes.
I’ll have another look at Johns first epistle before Xmas. The author has a lot of good information on prayer.
I know there are a few like you on site who are searching for God. And yes I get rudeness and mocking. But does that really matter.
With best wishes.