For those who pray - others can skip this one

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   Aficionadaposted 13 years ago

   Many times in the past I've had little sympathy when other people have said they had an "unspoken request" for prayer, meaning that they wanted to ask people to pray for them but they didn't want to tell what the problem was.  Right now I find myself in something of a similar position.  I have a request for prayer right now that I can't describe in detail, and I am sorry for that - and also sorry for what seems like hypocrisy!  Maybe a better way of stating my position at this point would be just to say that I understand better now where those other people were coming from.
   
   My family and I are involved in a small local ministry here that is in urgent need of prayer support.  This evening may well be crucial, and I am requesting anyone who will pray for and with us to please focus on the time from 5:30-8:30PM EDT (9:30PM-12:30AM GMT; 7:30AM-10:30AM in Sydney).  Please especially pray that we will have wisdom and awareness of the best path to follow.  I'm confident that God can show us - not quite as confident that we can see.
   
   Good thoughts from others are welcome too!
   
   Thanks everyone.

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      Beelzedadposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Most likely, the tens of thousands of kids who die of starvation every day probably have a greater need than your ministry when it comes to "urgent need of prayer support." 

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         ddsurfscaposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Your comment about prayer, again, the same as always about all the starving kids in the world who need to eat, therefore no prayer is ever relevant or needed in any other place or circumstance, is getting oh so ever old and dusty.  If you feel so urgently about these children why don't you do something to help them instead of being a testy negative addition to everyone's post who has anything to do with prayer.  Do you not have anything better to do with your time?  If you spent 1/10th of the time you spend here searching for a place to leave your "prayer doesn't work, there are hungry kids, bah humbug" posts. You could maybe even come up with a solution WITHOUT any prayer being involved, wouldn't that be a nice thing ??? I bet those kids would thinks so.

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            Beelzedadposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            Why doesn't your god feed them? He answers your prayers, doesn't he? He sends kids to Disneyland, why not feed the starving, too? What's his problem?

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      Dave Mathewsposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I Pray:  Almighty God, Father, Hub Writer Aficionada, ask for a prayer intervention, without expressing his or her needs for the prayer. Father if his or her needs, fall within your will and you are inclined to grant those needs, then please help. AMEN!

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      LeslieAdrienneposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      In Jesus Name' I agree.

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         Woman Of Courageposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Amen!

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   ddsurfscaposted 13 years ago

   I have found that people have a varied and individual belief and opinion when it comes to prayer and praying for others and ourselves for that matter. 
      The thing is, if we look to our Bible, it says things that are very specific and if we study and believe what it says, it really does not matter if we know specifically what we are praying for.
      The Bible says to lay hands on the sick, it says that the Lord loves us so much that He has answered our prayers before we even ask of Him, and it also says to believe and ask in the name of Jesus. 
      I have seen miracles, and I wasn't expecting them, but I was praying for the person.  I believe that prayer is powerful, and I will pray for you all, but I feel led to tell you this. 
      God is going to answer these prayers on your behalf, but do not think that He hasn't heard them just because you are not getting the answer that you are expecting.  God is going to answer your needs in a very different way than you think. 
      In fact, it is done, so smile and do not worry.

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      Aficionadaposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Your message is exactly what I needed to hear!!!
      
      During the time in question this evening, I did feel exactly as you have said - that God had answered the prayer, but in a far different way than I had expected. It was truly an answer nevertheless, and I believe that there will be more to the story that unfolds in days to come.
      
      Thank you so much for your prayers (and for those from any others who did not post a message), and for writing the comments that were exactly what I needed this evening.

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   ddsurfscaposted 13 years ago

   I felt very strongly about this and I also think that the reason this whole thing came about is because you needed to learn regarding this, and you did, just about the unspoken requests. But that is not all.
   I almost told you about a lady who, when pressured to reveal her request, did so in front of a very full church, and she requested prayer for her monthly cramps....lol.  It was the last time our pastor ever asked that question .
      I only can tell you that I felt the stress of this situation very strongly, so you must have really felt it.  Anyway, I just thought I would check back in and see what took place.

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   CASE1WORKERposted 13 years ago

   i was praying for you too!, whatever the reason was,God knew and that was enough for me

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   Aficionadaposted 13 years ago

   Thanks dds, for your response to that post. I've had limited access to my computer recently, but I had started and saved a response to it myself before the computer "roadblocks" arrived, and I'm posting it here now.
   
   
   
   Wow.
   
   That’s a bit of a leap in logic, isn’t it, to jump from “here’s a matter that urgently needs prayer” to your assumption that I’m saying, “This is the most important prayer concern in the universe.”  I should be accustomed to your leaps in logic by now, but they are occasionally breathtaking.
   
   No, of course, my request is not more important than a request to pray for an end to starvation around the world, especially where children are concerned.  I definitely join with you in praying for that very thing, and I will join with you and others in praying that believers of all faiths will contribute just as much – financially and in volunteer work – as Beelzedad does to the goal of ending starvation and all other social ills.  I hope that would not mean a lowering of overall charitable giving.
   
   The prayer for feeding hungry children around the world is also “bigger” and possibly “more important” than many other prayer requests posted in the forums recently - requests concerning family struggles, financial problems, family member's health matters, and others - but I don’t remember seeing you mention the relative insignificance of their prayers to them.  And yet in each of the two threads relating to prayer that I have opened in the eight months I have been on HP, you have made it a point to mention people who are starving.  Should I feel special for being singled out?  Or should I recognize that as a clue to the real identity of Beelzedad?  (It becomes clearer every day.)
   
   Does your outburst mean that you think it would be advisable for me to go back to the people that our little ministry has given money for feeding their hungry children and ask for the money to be returned, so that it can be turned over to an agency that you approve of?  Or that I should go to the young man that we gave gas money on Monday - to get to a job interview so that he can, we hope, land a job and feed his hungry children - and ask for him to return the money? Somehow that doesn’t seem ethical to me, but if it’s what you recommend, maybe I should consider that option.
   
   My belief about prayer is that the Mind and Personality that invented the expanse of a universe full of quarks, black holes, and billions of suns and their planets – as well as the microscopic detail of the genome series, bacteria that “walk,” and viruses that wait patiently for decades before exploding into action – is certainly capable of hearing prayers that are both large and small.  How could that not be possible?
   
   In requesting an “unspoken” prayer for the little ministry, I was requesting prayer for a group that has included a few mainline Christians, but includes even more people with financial problems, mental and social problems, addiction and legal problems.  We have served as a social network for many people who are not in a position to give back to the continuation of the ministry, but a number of these assisted people actually have contributed in various ways, as volunteers in different aspects of the ministry; some have been strengthened by our support and then have gone on to use their skills and insight in other parts of the country – perhaps to help others like themselves, since they know what it’s like to have the specific problems in question.
   
   At this point in the history of this ministry, we are financially solvent, but we are low in terms of volunteer participants.  People have been helped, and many have moved on.  Those who remain are physically weary, and we face the question of whether to continue or not.  As long as we see that our existence is a contribution to people in need, and as long as we see ourselves as viable expressions of the love of God, as we intend to be, we will try to continue.  But we do need more volunteers, and that is a large aspect of the unspoken request that I wrote about on Saturday.  I am very grateful for all who have prayed about this, every one of you, and I hope that you will continue to do so when you feel led to.
   
   And, just to relieve the above-quoted concerns, I am totally confident that God knows how to prioritize everyone’s prayers, even if Beelzedad has assumed that we do not.

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      Beelzedadposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Do you actually believe your god will do anything about it? So far, his track record is abysmal.
      
      
      
      What does contributing financially have to do with god and prayer?
      
      
      
      Yes, I did.
      
      
      
      We are talking about the prayers of the starving going unanswered while the prayers of others get answered.
      
      
      
      Yes, I can see how your god would jump to their needs while others starve to death, is that what you're praying he does?
      
      
      
      And yet, the love of your god does not extend to the starving. Why is that?
      
      
      
      It is quite saddening to hear of such things.
      
      
      
      Yes, he does prioritize. He puts the starving at the bottom of his list while tending to your ministries needs, sending kids to Disneyland, etc. Well done, god!

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