I miss believing in God like I used to

[Anonymous]

InquiringMind wrote:

We know that there are some types of prayers that God NEVER answers. Here are a few:

1) God never answers the prayers of amputees to have their lost limbs re-grown.

2) God never answers prayers for world peace.

3) God never answers the prayers of hopelessly infertile couples to have a child of their own.

It’s so funny. I thought of some of these exact examples as well as the gay to straight one. I even brought the amputees one up with someone once. One could also add a bunch of others such as he does not bring people back from the dead. Seems obvious but the concept is the same.

InquiringMind wrote:

I’m not sure that I want to believe in that kind of God, so I continue to puzzle things out.

Yes, yes. If God does indeed not answer prayers for the most part, then why are we commanded to pray so much about all things? They don’t say we should just pray for spiritual growth, for thankfulness and for knowledge on how to serve others. It is ALL things. If it is more or less a fallacy, why is it so very prevalent in our church’s teachings? Why do priesthood leaders who should know better than us all allow the teachings in church on this to be so out of control? Is the first presidency so allowed to look at the world through rose colored glasses that they don’t know this? Is that what it is? I don’t know- just wondering. Just by a natural weeding process I think this might possibly be it. People assume generally that is something worked a certain way for them it will work for others. Men in the first presidency tend to have the most commonly sought blessings. They may have started with hardships of one degree or another but they don’t seem to continue. For example- divorced men get weeded out. Can’t be a bishop without a wife. Unhealthy men tend to get weeded out. You have to be reasonably healthy, at least in the beginning, to have the strength to publicly serve long enough to get “promoted” to the first presidency. You have to live long enough too. You probably won’t have any major addictions or same sex attraction or you wouldn’t make it that far. These days leaders of the church tend to be social, happy, successful businessmen with happy families. So their prayers tend to pan out. Could that be it?

Years ago I realized a truth. No divine effort is ever wasted. God will never do anything for us that we can do ourselves. This was a very valuable lesson for me. It is as it should be. That’s good parenting! But I believed for years and wanted to continue to believe that when it came down to things outside ourselves, things we are powerless to control, that he would be there to step in and help us if we just prayed hard enough. I am struggling much with the father whom I thought I knew. After all he is omnipotent right? How many times does it say that in the scriptures? And how often to we hear “with God nothing is impossible?” I am pondering the concept of the weeping God who has his hands tied so very much. It makes sense. But it really does go against everything I was ever taught about his omnipotence and I really don’t want to think of God as a father who just throws us all down here and leaves us pretty much alone.

I know people will bare testimony after testimony about instances when their prayers were answered. I have too at times. I think of times my prayers seemed to be answered, as I do have many blessings. However, some of the most big, most important, even eternally important ones have not. I wonder if so many people, including me, haven’t simply been taken in by the “fallacy of positive instances.” For those unfamiliar, the theory states that when we want to believe something badly enough, we will tend to forget instances when our beliefs were not backed up and only remember the ones that were. For example, that is why many people tend to believe in psychics who are really just people readers. The “psychic will say, “You will met a man with a black t-shirt. You will have eggs for breakfast. You will be late for work.” And when they are late for work, they suddenly remember the psychic said it would happen, and they conveniently forget about the black shirt and the eggs. I know that is a silly example but the concept is illustrated. What we pray for our wishes. Statistically, almost no one gets 100% of what they wish for. However, statistically most people will get some of what they wish for. This is true whether we pray or not. Some of our wishes will come true, even if small. Could it be that we who give credit for prayers granting our wishes are simply manifesting the fallacy of positive instances? For every LDS family I see that is greatly blessed with health and wealth and happiness I can point out a non Mormon or non christian or even atheist family who also has it. Prayer doesn’t seem to shift the balance, even though I still want it too.

[Anonymous]

This might sound weird but I was always taught by my parents that prayer was really more I opportunity to thank god and ask for forgiveness then about asking him for things. Consequently That’s what about 90% of my prayers have been while asking help for others. Mostly it’s because of the view of “answer” not “grant”. I have gotten many “answers” but I can’t remember a “grant” in my life, at least not for myself. It doesn’t negate the prayer for me because I still see it as about thanking god and forgiveness.

[Author]

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