What do you think: if someone prays to, for example, the sun or the moon, does God acknowledge such a prayer, thinking that the prayer was meant for Him, although the person may never have heard of Him, or if having heard of Him, the person rejected His existence?

What say the scriptures, surahs, etc.? The following may be helpful to get your thinking started. James 4.3 covers when we "ask amiss": "Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts."

(This topic was inspired by a post by Elexina in the "Prayers & Prayer Requests" forum.)
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08-03-05, 08:42 AM
shelster
I don't really have an opinion on whether God acknowledges prayers to 'other beings' such as the sun and moon. I just don't know.

But I always felt that the scripture in James was related to asking for things that are bad for you. Like "Let me win the lottery Lord" when God knows it will just make you focus on worldly lusts for materials.

I think its about motives, are your motives for what you are praying for true, or selfish?

08-03-05, 09:16 AM
newnickname
Alternatively, if someone prays to God, do you think the sun doesn't mind, and keeps on shining, anyway? I get the impression that inanimate objects are a lot less childish than Gods with their petty rules and jealousies.

08-03-05, 09:56 AM
aminator2002
How could anyone's opinion actually matter? Nobody could ever know.

08-03-05, 09:59 AM
Elexina

quote:
This topic was inspired by a post by Elexina in the "Prayers & Prayer Requests" forum.

I am so honored to be an inspiration for something! I find I just cannot help but post an answer!

This question is difficult as it places human attributes on a deity that is certainly not human. Who are we to know what a god might think or say or do or feel? If it were up to me (that is, if I were the One True Goddess), I would have to take it on a case-by-case basis.

First of all, is the prayer worthy of being answered? Is it about a genuine need?
Have I given the prayor ample evidence of my existence and yet she refuses to accept that I am the One True Goddess? Do I care that she does not believe in me? Am I that petty?
Who is this person? Is she a good person? Does she desire good things and do good things for others? Is she worthy of having her prayers answered?
...And so on.

I would hope that a supposedly all-powerful deity would be able to see beyond religion into the true heart and nature of a person and make a determination that way.

"Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts."
I would have to agree with Shelster. This sounds more like a condemnation of the type of prayer rather than who the prayor is praying to. Of course, the phrase is out of context and I am not all that up on my Bible studies. I recently got as far as Lot offering his virgin daughters to the mob as a substitute for the visiting angels, and I had to put it aside.

I think what really matters is whether the person doing the praying is content with the results. If she feels her prayers have been answered by God, by the Moon, by Bast or Kali or Cernunnos, or perhaps even by herself, and she is content and satisfied with that, does it matter so much? Perhaps if Bast had been doing a better job to convince the prayor of Her existence, she wouldn't be praying to God.

After all, wasn't it Dolly Parton who said "oh honey, God don't care what church you go to, long's you show up!" Perhaps the same holds true for prayer.

08-03-05, 10:48 AM
shelster

quote:
Originally posted by aminator2002:
How could anyone's opinion actually matter? Nobody could ever know.



There are lots of things we will never know, but its still interesting to discuss

08-04-05, 05:28 AM
tsaeb
Elexina posed the question of whether God is petty. I think not. The first commandment came to my mind--"You shall not have any other gods before me"--and I realized that, of course, since God knows what anyone thinks, He is first to hear and know our prayers. So the first commandment is also a mere statement of fact--that God is first to hear and know our prayers.

Elexina adds that there may be other entities who/which hear. Well, at least a few angels are listening to each individual's prayers. As for a Goddess, etc., it does now appear to me that, as I frequently post, God is an inescapable God. I do not know who/what other than angels are listening.

The Bible states that we are to be prayerful. So I think that good intentions count, although to be praying without focusing on God is to be praying not in His Holy Spirit, which is supposed to be the best way to pray.

08-04-05, 08:31 AM
Elexina
Tsaeb, certainly you realize that I am not a Christian and do not believe in your god or angels at all. When I speak of them, I am speaking hypothetically. I was not using "Goddess" as a euphemism, but rather was referring specifically to female deities, deities other than your God.

quote:
So the first commandment is also a mere statement of fact--that God is first to hear and know our prayers.


Only a fact if you believe in the validity of the Bible and the commandments within.

quote:
The Bible states that we are to be prayerful. So I think that good intentions count, although to be praying without focusing on God is to be praying not in His Holy Spirit, which is supposed to be the best way to pray.

Sure, but again this is according to Christianity. The best way to pray to the Goddess is to focus on Her. Big Grin

BB.

08-04-05, 12:45 PM
farmboy
I think if someone is praying, they must believe in some sort of Diety. If God is truly the one and only God as the Bible says, then it is my belief that he would acknowlege a prayer but may not answer a prayer because he would not want that individual to continue praying to someone or something other than him and continue to get the needed help. Wouldn't that just make someone continue to believe in a false God? That is of course if you only believe that there is one true God.

08-05-05, 10:16 AM
Elexina

quote:
Originally posted by farmboy: ...but may not answer a prayer because he would not want that individual to continue praying to someone or something other than him and continue to get the needed help.

That is a great point, Farmboy. It makes sense. Along the same lines, I would hope that the One True Deity would make some attempt at showing the misinformed prayor that she is praying to the wrong entity... But then that would require the prayor to acknowledge this attempt as divine, and round we go again. Big Grin

08-07-05, 03:42 AM
tsaeb
It is written that if you draw unto God, He will draw unto you. As for whether He gives some hint to those who are praying to the Goddess that she is not God (this being what Elexina wondered), an individual's prayer not directed at God but, nevertheless, in His plan for the individual will soon be answered affirmatively, if God agrees with the timing of the prayer. We cannot assume, as does farmboy, that God does not answer an individual's prayer not directed at Him. What dominates is God's plan for that individual. In contrast, if an individual directs a prayer at God, He will not answer it affirmatively (God does answer, even if negatively, all prayer directed at Him) if it contradicts His plan for that individual.

I never prayed to nor heard from any Goddess at all. So if she does exist, I know that she did not inform me that there is she and no other God/god.

08-07-05, 03:52 PM
Elexina

quote:
Originally posted by tsaeb:
It is written that if you draw unto God, He will draw unto you.

Sure, but the validity of that statement requires that you believe the writings to be infalliable. I do not.

As for me, I never prayed to nor heard from any God at all. So if he does exist, I know that he did not inform me that there is he and no other Goddess.

But maybe we don't listen to what we don't want to hear. And maybe that's not such a bad thing.

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