Some days faith is loud—full of confidence and praise. Other days it’s quiet, barely holding on, just choosing to trust God one more time. Both count.

@Adstar Faith is trusting God. But, although God is watching and waiting for us to call on Him (prayer), He is trusting us too - letting us make the right decision, follow the best path, do the best with what we have to offer. AND, MOST IMPORTANT: He listens for our prayers - those requests that say, "Please guide me God, for I have to make this decision and I don't know what is best for myself, for my friends or for what you want." And then: We have to LISTEN very carefully for His guidance does not come in the mail or by email.... it comes into our sub-conscious, a 'key idea' word from a friend, a picture in a dream or an opportunity to help where we've never thought of helping before.
Don't pray to God for 'things' - pray for guidance for He knows then that you want to learn.

@JollyRoger God foreknows us to the finest detail.. God does not need to trust anyone, He already knows what we shall end up accepting or rejecting,,

Yes God helps us and prayer is an essentail part of our relationship with Him.. People can pray for both guidance and things.. We can talk to The LORD about anything that concerns us at the time..

@Adstar I do believe that God knows us, but the point here (my belief) is that He's not about to take us by the hand and lead us (as the Lord's Prayer interpreted says - I refuse to recite that line: Instead I say, "Let us not be led into temptation and help us learn to avoid evil"). My belief in God is that He is a creator and a judge: He created our bodies and gave us souls and gave us Christ and the Holy Spirit as 'guides'. What we do with our souls is 'on us'. If we don't ask for guidance, none will be given.
To me, if you're asking God for 'favours' then you are diminishing your soul - Ask instead for guidance (for yourself and for others) so you can seek and learn and strengthen your soul. God will judge you by your effort to strengthen your soul - even if you fail, your effort is what counts (repentance/forgiveness= learning).

@JollyRoger
Well do you believe the scriptures?

Read the following..

(2 Thessalonians 2:6-12) "And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. {7} For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. {8} And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: {9} Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, {10} And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. {11} And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: {12} That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness."


God can send people strong delusions so that they shall believe in lies, so that they will be damned... So yeah we should pray to God not to lead us into temptation..

Remember Pharoah? God ended up hardening his heart so as to eventually lead him into the sea, to his destruction..

@AdstarYou have your 'interpretation' of Paul's word about The End Times. I am living in the present and am preparing my soul so I'm not one of those who becomes deluded by a false god. My God would not lead me into temptation - so I rest easy and will not petition him not to lead me into temptation.
As for Pharoh.... the Book writes an explanation for the people to explain their escape from slavery. If you take it literally then there are many ungodly things that were perpetrated in the name of following the bidding of the God of Isreal. I have moved past that time and believe in Christ's message for salvation. If I were Jewish I would probably praise Netanyahu for his genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza.... but I see delusion in that belief - it is not Christian.

@JollyRoger So you trust in your own human based moral thinking and read scripture and accept things in it that align with what you think is right and reject things that you think are wrong.. You are not a follower of the LORD, you follow your self..

If anyone wishes the follow the LORD they Must first TRUST Him...

@Adstar Ha Ha! you don't think that you follow your own life the way you think it should be lived?
Of course you do! Without your further interpretation please believe: I live my own life in a way that I feel is just and worthy of why God gave me life AND when I'm in doubt about where I'm going or what I'm going to do, I ASK God (my God) for guidance. I guide myself by principle - principles that Christ taught his disciples and what has been passed on to us as gospel - all of which IS open to interpretation BECAUSE the recorders of it were doing it from hand-me-down verbal quotes - even Paul, who never studied under Jesus.
Now I'm going to try to 'pin' you: Do you just read the Bible or whatever scripture you read and follow along the path that others have told you about without finding a context for those words in your own life?
How do you assess what's right and what's wrong for you and ALSO for the people you influence? Do you just quote the Bible (or other scripture) to them?? You did that to me!

@JollyRoger Yep you follow yourself.. You are your own god.. You just tag onto The LORD because you think your personal opinions align with His will.. But your personal opinion comes from a faulty human base.. Trusting in self is a sure fire way to get you into the fire..

@Adstar OK.... I'm comfortable with that. Perhaps I'll see you there??

@JollyRoger Not a chance at the moment i am saved by the Atonement of the LORD Jesus..

@Adstar Excellent! Me too!