God, Prayer and Divine Intervention- Part 1

The Mystery of Prayer

Of all the enigmatic topics concerning religious beliefs there is none more perplexing that the subject of prayer. While prayer may be responsible for enhancing the faith of many it is also responsible for its destruction, depending on the prayer’s outcome. It also depends upon a person’s concept of God. Two key reasons that are often cited for believers abandoning their faith deal with suffering and prayer. Why does God allow people to suffer and why didn’t God answer my prayers? This discussion will focus on prayer.

The word prayer is defined by Webster as: 1. The act of praying 2. An entreaty {appeal, plea}; supplication {petition} 3. A humble request, as to God or any set formula for this 4. A devotional service chiefly of prayers 5. Something prayed for. 

Prayers of gratitude and thanks directed to God are not generally problematic because they don’t require a response and represent a one-way communication however when a petition to God becomes a specific request for something that God is expected to deliver, such as a cure for cancer and doesn’t, then faith is often compromised and sometimes lost.

Why Didn’t God Answer My Prayer?

I once read a non-believer’s satirical cliché that said,” Nothing fails to work better than prayer.” When prayers are not answered most believers rationalize that God must not think the request was warranted or in their best interest or they were not worthy.

One of the most troubling questions regarding unanswered prayers is revealed from the Holocaust and the Nazi extermination of over six million Jews. A Jewish prayer was found in one of the Nazi concentration camps that read, ”I believe in the sun even when it is not shining. I believe in love even when not feeling it. I believe in God even when He is silent.” The story of Exodus in the Bible tells us that God delivered the Israelites His chosen people, out of bondage from Egypt, why didn’t God deliver His people from the Holocaust?

I think there are at least two fundamental factors that influence people’s belief and understanding of prayer. The first is based upon one’s concept or definition of God. Most perceive God as a being in anthropomorphic form; a wise old man and a father figure referred to as God the Father. As a father figure, God looks after His children in a fashion similar to human fathers. Most Christians believe that almighty God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. Most Christians believe in a theistic God that is supernatural, dwells outside this world (generally in heaven) yet sometimes intervenes in the world and the affairs of humanity to accomplish His divine will. Most believe he controls the weather and sometimes uses it along with other catastrophic means such as plagues, droughts, earthquakes, etc. to punishment humanity when God’s will and moral codes are broken. Most believe God influences the outcomes of wars and that God performs miracles. To put it in broad terms, God is the creator, has a plan for humanity and controls everything. All of these beliefs and more are supported by an interpretation of Holy scriptures and religious indoctrination.

The Bible Tells Me So: When Faith Meets Reason

There are multiple scriptures that sponsor beliefs about prayer such as, 1 Thess. 5:17 when Paul directs his readers to “pray without ceasing” and Matt. 7:7 when Jesus says “Ask and it will be given to you” or Mark 9:23 when he says, “all things are possible” and also Mark 11:23 and Matt. 17:20 when Jesus says that prayer can produce miracles and if necessary move mountains and so on. Because these are God’s words and God doesn’t lie, prayers…will be answered in one form or another. To a large degree this also assumes a ‘literal’ reading of scriptures. However, for a moment let’s focus on one hypothetical example of prayer and its outcome from a rational perspective . Let’s say a person is praying for a loved one who has cancer and he or she prays that God spares the life of the victim. Since death is inevitable for every person alive it isn’t a matter of “if” a person dies but rather “when” ...so the key question is how long should God allow the person to live? If the prayer is not answered was it somehow inadequate or perhaps the victim was not worthy? If God’s directs all life and death then is the prayer an attempt to change the will of God? Millions of people die each year of cancer; is God supposed to honor one person’s request and ignore the rest? This example presents just one of many dilemmas that perplex people on the subject of prayer. There are countless questions about prayer that bewilder people, for example if one supposes that God controls the world and pulls all the strings, is it God’s will when men and women are killed in war? What about the survivors, does God decide who lives and who dies?

One can also reason that perhaps God uses these situations for a grander purpose. For example, a person can lose his or her eyesight in a tragic accident and as the result of losing their sight they are capable of strengthening new levels of sensory and intuitive awareness or in the case of a person losing a leg, teaching them the value of rising above their handicap. Life is filled with all kinds of tragedies and misfortunes and when people rise above them they set a positive example for countless others. I suppose reasons can be found to justify anything but for most believers, when it comes to the will of God, it should not be questioned.

The Mystery of God’s Will

When personal tragedies happen and loved ones are lost the families of victims are devastated. Unable to comprehend why these calamities occur people often turn to their clergy for comfort. Often the key question is, how could God possibly allow this to happen? The usual response is, while it is an unknown mystery it is the will of God and then scriptures are read or quoted to comfort the grieving. It is also recommended that the family “keep the faith” and God will comfort them in time. Did God will this tragedy to happen? Perhaps, but I don’t think so. If God did not will it to happen then there is only one rational explanation and that is fate; these particular victims were in the wrong place at the right time. This rational explanation implies that God does not control, manipulate or intervene in human affairs and that this ‘theistic’ concept of God no longer makes sense. Neither does using prayer to influence the outcome of life. Accidents, sickness, war and tragedy are simply facts of existence and their cause and effect are not directed by a theistic God. God does not cause or prevent blood vessels to wear out or tumors to grow or innocent people to be killed by drunk drivers or children to be killed when playing with a loaded gun. Nor does God save one innocent child over another in a terrible accident. Does it sound reasonable that it takes a prayer for God to act and that God wouldn’t act on His own volition otherwise? I think it may be helpful for everyone to ask themselves the following question: Can prayer control the will of God or somehow change God’s mind? I often think that many people see God as a benevolent Santa Claus who rewards good behavior and punishes bad and that letters to him in the form of (prayers) are contingent upon Santa’s grace and forgiveness.

Theism sees God as both transcendent (outside the world) and immanent (active in His creation) whereas Deism does not see God immanent in the world in any way. It proposes that when God created the Universe He essentially made it operate automatically not requiring any divine intervention discounting prayer entirely. The universe and world is governed by God’s natural and cosmic laws. Bottom line climate changes, volcano's erupt, the earth sometimes quakes, meteors strike the earth and other cataclysms like floods, droughts, etc. happen, and without exception. Everything evolves and without exception all living things die.

If a blind person suddenly steps in front of a speeding vehicle the law of cause and effect applies and he or she will certainly be injured and probably killed; was this the will of God? In an oblique way in may be argued that it was God’s will because God created the law. Is it the will of God when a person dies who did not take good care of themselves by over eating, drinking, smoking and taking drugs or was it the will of the person themselves? It makes sense that there must be a life-cycle of birth and death to insure against over population and the ultimate survival of the planet. If you belonged to an ancient civilization who built their city at the bottom of an active volcano and it erupted destroying everything in its path was it the will of God that caused these people to die or was it they themselves responsible for their own misfortune? I sincerely believe that God mourns the suffering and death of every living thing regardless of who they are or what they did. Yet, God is also aware of what is beyond death and the potential for a good ending for all of His creation. Some may reason that since God is all-knowing He knows when something is going to happen before it happens so therefore could somehow intervene and save the blind person from stepping out in front of the car or could have somehow warned the people dwelling at the foot of the volcano before it erupted. That is possible but it doesn’t explain why many thousands of innocent people die each year from disasters and are not saved. To simply reason or assume that since God controls everything He personally decides who lives and dies does not make rational sense.

Another Side of Prayer

So, am I suggesting that prayer doesn’t work? The answer is yes and no and I will explain in a moment. In any event there is a multitude of people who would disagree with the proposition that prayer doesn’t work because it has worked for them. However, I do think it depends upon a person’s concept of God, the prayer itself, one’s attitude and one’s ultimate expectation as to the outcome of the prayer. I think many people confuse prayer with ‘saying prayers’ although it is technically one of the five definitions above but I believe there is a difference. Saying a pray is akin to the ridiculous rote ‘Now I lay me down to sleep’ prayer I was taught as a child, it is a terrible prayer because it is about the fear of death and a petition to God to save the child’s soul in case they die in their sleep. This prayer was born out of the same ancient and ignorant mentality of what happens to children if they die before being baptized. What kind of God would require that kind of prayer. No child should have to worry about dying in their sleep.

A genuine prayer is one of thanks and gratitude that is both positive and unselfish like thanking God for life itself or for the end of violence, war, hunger, bigotry, justice and so on. I think prayers for material things like wealth, power and prestige fall on deaf ears. One can certainly pray for the poor and sick, for the forgiveness and welfare of others less fortunate, for better understanding and how to be a better person. One can pray for peace, the non-destruction of the planet and for the welfare of all living things. Foremost, for the perpetuation of love for all things. These kinds of prayers honor God and His creation. Selfish prayers that serve to disadvantage others do not honor God and His creation like senseless prayers for one football team to win over another. I agree with the wisdom of Harry Emerson Fosdick who said, “God is not a cosmic bell-boy whom we can press a button to get things done.” I cannot speak for God but if I were God I don’t think I’d like nightly repetitious prayer for forgiveness and the hope for everlasting life which suggests you must grovel and pray your way to heaven as a useless pathetic sinner. Is it not enough that you ask for forgiveness and hopefully turn from your sins?

Most religious traditions believe in the “The Spirit of God” and each has their own interpretation of what that means. To speculate as to what this might mean from a modern scientific perspective is beyond the scope of this discussion and even falls in the domain of quantum physics. It is founded on the theory that everything in God’s creation is an energy form sometimes described as consciousness. It may someday explain how this energy force may be God’s physical connection to every living thing in the universe. In many ways it is analogous to the unseen transmission and reception of television or radio waves. It supposes that if you think and act in positive ways you emanate (send/transmit) positive energy and equally important you are also able to draw (receive) positive energy to yourself. The same is true with negative thinking and actions. I personally believe that prayer falls into this category. It not so much that God physically answers your prayers but rather influences your thinking, attitude and actions in many unseen ways and your attitude does in fact influence you in positive or negative ways. If you are a kind, considerate and loving person you attract people to you by example and your influence on them can be extraordinary. If you want to be rich and prosperous then use this energy to attract what you desire. God doesn’t deliver to you physical riches you attract prosperity to yourself by thoughts and actions. I think the same is true if you desire good health or whatever but it’s all about you and it’s up to you…you are God’s miracle.

Coincidence and Nuance

While I believe God created the universe (s) with order and to physically operate on its own without divine interference, I also believe that God does intervene spiritually in human affairs. I do not believe in coincidence and when coincidences happen I think God is sending us a message. For whatever reason…the confluences of divine energy, intuition, inspiration is revealing a form of communication. I believe there is a wide-open channel with God. I think God openly communicates with every person who is open to the possibility. I don’t think God tells you what to do or goes against your free-will but answers all prayers in His own way and in His own time if requests are genuine and sincere and you believe He will respond. Your questions may be answered in a poem, song, movie, book or other writings or in any number of other nuance ways. For me, simply talking to God is a credible form of prayer. You can call it meditation, contemplation or simply having a casual conversation with God…or whatever. I do not believe in the type of miracles in which God must supernaturally violate His own universal laws to give you what you want. He may provide a spiritual means to lesson your pain, grief, and suffering but I don’t believe he cures people from fatal diseases or provides you with physical material possessions or saves people from accidents or natural disasters. That does not mean that you don’t have incredible natural powers to manifest healing or whatever you want.

In the long history of humanity God has been imagined in many forms (theism, monotheism, polytheism, henotheism, pantheism, etc.). One ancient polytheistic belief was that there were two Gods that ruled the universe. One was thought to be good and the other not so good. The Holy Bible portrays God in similar fashion with conflicting natures. One is jealous, judgmental, condemning and angry and the other is peaceful, trusting, loving, and forgiving. While it may be true that God manifests all of the above traits I choose to believe in a good God. A God who does not require me to abandon reason in order to believe in Him or Her or whatever God is.

TJA