Updated Title 6-2-2015
This is the hardest entry to write, and I've saved it until last to comment on. I grew up on prayer that wasn't being answered. I had commented elsewhere in this blog that God doesn't answer prayer. If He did exist as Christians say he did he'd say, "Hi", now and then. Thus, I became a deist: God set the Earth in motion and He sits back. It [the Earth] is up to man at this point.
I reached a stage to make bargains with God. If you have never gotten an answer to prayer maybe you need to bargain with him. I recall I made a bargain when we lost one of our dogs. My wife was pretty distressed. Our beagle-cocker spaniel dog had jumped the fence. I bargained that if our dog came back I'd read the old testament by a certain date. The dog came back in just over 24 hours being missing. Whether God was really behind it or whether the dog came back on her own is still a question. I had the obligation to read the old testament. I started reading, but missed fulfilling my end of the bargain by the deadline. I did finish the old testament of the Bible eventually. The dog would run away again and was gone longer: over 48 hours! I bargained going to church again. The dog returned and I did hold up my part of the bargain - I would attend a church service.
Think what you will, but bargains might work when you don't see results from regular prayer.
This is the hardest entry to write, and I've saved it until last to comment on. I grew up on prayer that wasn't being answered. I had commented elsewhere in this blog that God doesn't answer prayer. If He did exist as Christians say he did he'd say, "Hi", now and then. Thus, I became a deist: God set the Earth in motion and He sits back. It [the Earth] is up to man at this point.
I reached a stage to make bargains with God. If you have never gotten an answer to prayer maybe you need to bargain with him. I recall I made a bargain when we lost one of our dogs. My wife was pretty distressed. Our beagle-cocker spaniel dog had jumped the fence. I bargained that if our dog came back I'd read the old testament by a certain date. The dog came back in just over 24 hours being missing. Whether God was really behind it or whether the dog came back on her own is still a question. I had the obligation to read the old testament. I started reading, but missed fulfilling my end of the bargain by the deadline. I did finish the old testament of the Bible eventually. The dog would run away again and was gone longer: over 48 hours! I bargained going to church again. The dog returned and I did hold up my part of the bargain - I would attend a church service.
Think what you will, but bargains might work when you don't see results from regular prayer.