Whenever I promise to pray for someone--maybe they have a family problem or illness--I pray to the Living God, the Creator of the universe (His Son is Jesus, the Redeemer). I don't need extra time to sort out whether God's listening or engaged...whether He's out there. In fact, I thought that was kind of self-evident...if I'm praying to Him, I must believe that He exists.
But I'm learning that's not always the case when people say "I prayed to god that wouldn't happen," or "I offered up a prayer right then and there."
There's an interesting verse in the Bible's New Testament--Paul's letter to the Hebrews, Chapter 11:
"And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists..."
Randomly directed prayers to the universe--or even focused prayers directed with laser intensity to "my higher power"--aren't going to get anywhere, or accomplish anything, if we aren't ready to acknowledge and place faith in the existence of God.
Jesus had a conversation with a man after he healed him of blindness:
JN 9:35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?"
JN 9:36 "Who is he, sir?" the man asked. "Tell me so that I may believe in him."
JN 9:37 Jesus said, "You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you."
JN 9:38 Then the man said, "Lord, I believe," and he worshiped him.
Then the man said...Lord, I believe.
What do you believe?
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