About God and prayer

This is not trolling, though many of you will feel that way.
I honestly ask your advice on prayer.

So here's the story:
>my life turned into shit
>tried everything to turn it around
>I'm unemployed
>can't do physical labor, cause my body is a mess (I'm not fat or something - I'm almost crippled)

So I decided to pray to God.
Not just "oh please, you're my last resort, I'm shit but plz help" - I meant it.
Tried to pray very seriously, even used theological reasoning to ask for forgiveness and help.

So:
1, I was 100% honest, like never before with anyone.
I told God my gravest sins, even the fact that my will is weak now, but I'm dedicated and want to become a better and stronger man.

2, I told God that if he could help just a little bit, then I'd offer my services to him (I'd literally serve him to spread his word, fight for his cause, etc - anything).

3, I told God that one of my greatest desire was to help others.
I only became selfish when literally everything in life turned against me.
And even then I only thought destructive thoughts, but mostly acted nicely towards others.

Basically I asked him to help me so I could help others.
Also prayed for other people, because I didn't want to sound selfish.

4, HERE'S A THEOLOGICALLY IMPORTANT ONE!
I told him that I understand he doesn't interfere in our lives because of free will.
So I offered God to take away my free will, so to speak (temporality or not, it's up to him), because I desperately need his help.

If free will is the only problem, then bypass it in my case.
If he wants to help, I want to accept it.

***

Nothing happened.
Why?

Other urls found in this thread:

youtube.com/watch?v=Kz7E9bktMCs
youtube.com/watch?v=NUh9Bsiee_U
youtube.com/watch?v=7jNX2rS7K4A
youtube.com/watch?v=l9vn5UvsHvM
youtube.com/watch?v=KOUV7mWDI34
youtube.com/watch?v=j9phNEaPrv8
biblegateway.com/
youtube.com/watch?v=S-SzIJngWqE
youtube.com/watch?v=PuTPylRXKd8
twitter.com/AnonBabble

Prayer, ideally, should be a recognition of God's power and authority/kingship and an attempt to do Him homage. Not a request for a favor. You should be praying because prayer itself is meaningful. Nothing happening is the default, and it takes a rare and lucky person to warrant personal intervention from On High. You will likely never get it, and if you're praying in the hope of some quid pro quo reciprocation, you're literally doing it wrong.

cont.

So it's about free will.
I chose God, I asked his help and even told him that I don't mind if he breaks this rule in my case.

I just want to live a good life and help others.
I want to be useful, you know.

So it's possible that God will never help me?
Even if I offered my services, my allegiance?

It's a depressive thought.
Maybe I'll pray for Him, recognize his power and authority 24/7 and he'll let me die in the streets?

Problem is I can't do that.
I desperately need a job.

But trust me, I have to do good deeds even if I wouldn't want it - I serve others so I could have a roof over my head.
It's like living in a cell: doing the chores, being humble, work for my family.

Prayer is an exercise of the Spirit which takes time for results. Show you're committed by continuous prayer and acts of asceticism (you don't need to go crazy). after 30 days repost here and tell us about the results.

Good deeds ≠ asceticism. Get out of that mindset.

>So it's possible that God will never help me? Even if I offered my services, my allegiance?

Not only possible, but quite probable.

>Maybe I'll pray for Him, recognize his power and authority 24/7 and he'll let me die in the streets?

That is indeed a possibility, but a course of action I would not recommend. Withdrawal from the world, except in certain rare circumstances, is not what scripture reveals to us as what God wants. Moses's first recorded act as an adult in the Bible is to kill a man in defense of another.

If you're serious about doing some sort of "God's work", however you're defining that, my recommendation would be to go out and do that. Now. Without waiting for some miracle. Helping others is something you should be doing anyway. And if you get helped in return, great. And if you don't, help others in the capacities you do have at the moment. One step at a time, and focus on the most immediate.

Ok, ok, I understand.
I pray many times.
I've been doing this for a few weeks now, anyway.

Another question: how is it possible that many evil and selfish people are rich, living a comfortable life, while good people are suffering?

I'm kinda afraid that even I pray to God, he won't answer / help...

>Another question: how is it possible that many evil and selfish people are rich, living a comfortable life, while good people are suffering?

The book of Job is for you when you're asking this question, but the answers will probably depress you, especially if you're in a fragile state of mind as it is.

But what's the point of life if we only get "results" in a next life?

I want to help others, but I can't do it alone...

>And if you get helped in return, great.

I don't even get a job, user.
And my family won't feed me forever.
I hate being in this situation.

I want to do good deeds, I want to live a productive life.
If God could fix my health, even a little bit... or could help me to get a job that I'm able to do...

But all I can see is that shitty people have everything, they are wealthy, have their own families, etc.

Is Heaven the only option for people like me?

>But what's the point of life if we only get "results" in a next life?

Woah, who said anything about that? The point of life is to improve the world, to help each other, to fix things in a material universe God deliberately made imperfectly. Rewards in the next life might happen, but that's not the point.

>I want to help others, but I can't do it alone...

Why not? I'm sure there are charities, or soup kitchens, or geriatric homes, or something nearby who can always use an extra volunteer, even one who is himself impaired.

Also, if you're financially impaired and have some sort of disability, can't you apply for social security disability or whatever the equivalent is in your country if you're not in the U.S.? I mean, most countries that have easy internet access to get onto Veeky Forums do have social programs of that sort.

>Is Heaven the only option for people like me?

While I don't pretend to be an expert on the afterlife, your fixation on material success and lack of it would imply that you're going to have trouble in heaven, a completely non-material experience.

How would one gauge "degeneracy" in the modern world? Should such a concept be taken seriously? Is "degeneracy" caused by capitalistic consumer ideas or the ultimate conclusion of liberal ideals? If one or the other, is the modern era only more "degenerate" because of the increased availability of goods and services?

Discuss.

We're more degenerate because we believe that our ancestors were virtue made flesh, honorabru knights and philosophers only.

>Listening to a Jew about prayer.

OP, if you're still around, ignore this guy. Pray. Pray hard. God will hear and grant you your desires.

Prayer is not just asking for dats. Even sincerely desired and important dats.

Recall there is a key line in the Lord's Prayer -- THY will be done.

Use prayer to seek an understanding of what you can do in your situation to use best the gifts you have been given, and to overcome the challenges you face. Strive to offer your services without the conditional "but only if you give me what I ask for."

Be open to the idea that God may be offering you help that is not the help you asked for.

The nice thing about all that is, it also puts you in a good place to help yourself more. Which may be what God wants for you, after all.

God loves you more than is possible by any human standard.
You are no more or less sinful than anyone else; sin separates us from God.
Please check out these videos. They are more articulate than me.
Here is the context for the Lord's Prayer.
youtube.com/watch?v=Kz7E9bktMCs
youtube.com/watch?v=NUh9Bsiee_U
On allowing evil
youtube.com/watch?v=7jNX2rS7K4A
On Holiness
youtube.com/watch?v=l9vn5UvsHvM
On the relationship between free will and life on earth
youtube.com/watch?v=KOUV7mWDI34
On Psalms
youtube.com/watch?v=j9phNEaPrv8
Here is the whole Bible
biblegateway.com/

No. You cannot force God to do anything. Conversely, you can trust him to fulfill His promises. Read the prophets to learn these.

Shut up, zhid

>bible project
I love that series. I wish there was a download to get all the "read scripture" images.

here are some of my motivational videos:

>The Choice
youtube.com/watch?v=S-SzIJngWqE

>Struggling with Sin
youtube.com/watch?v=PuTPylRXKd8

Then stop claiming heresy as truth.

Nothing happened because you tried to do things your way.

God's way is different from your way.

First you repent, and are saved. Then he begins working in and through you.

Your heart is in the right place; your knee isn't. Bend the knee to the conquering King, confess out loud that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart God raised him from the dead.

Do this, and you will be saved.

Once saved, the Lord will show you the works he has for you to walk through. Not before.

(Romans 10:9-10)

And he'll never take away your free will while you yet live.

If you want to choose God, then choose God the way God told his greatest apostle to choose him:

Romans 10
But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Did God help you to become a living being?
Did God provide for you a planet upon which to live?
Did God provide food on that planet for you to eat?
Water to drink?
Air to breathe?

God knows when a sparrow falls to the earth dead, and he has numbered the hairs on your head.

Do you really think God doesn't care about you?

You read the prophets, and Moses, and realize they were speaking of Jesus, the Messiah.

1. god already knows your sins
2. god doesn't need obligations or promises. ever hear about omnipotence? you should ask for what you want and offer what you have, not attempt bargains.
3. knows about this stuff too
4. meme theology. everything you will ever hear about "free will" is headcanon made up by retards. don't worry about it.

The offering of your service is an interesting proposition.
A good life is never promised to followers of Christ, in fact we are told to expect hardship and persecution. God will provide for our needs, but remember, the apostles --the ones closest to Jesus were imprisoned, owned little in life, and were killed. God's prophets fared no better: Jeremiah lived in a hole in the ground, Ezekiel's wife died as a sign to Judah, Daniel was taken from home as a teenager and had to work for kings who threatened to kill him.
Even Nebuchadnezzar, the most powerful man at the time, God took his sanity from him for a time to save him from his own pride.
As far as works are concerned,
God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

No clue if you're even still in your own thread, but if your life is absolute shit, you get saved, and go to heaven, you are in the absolute win column.

Most people live their own lives the best way they see fit, die, and get thrown into the ever burning trash bin a complete loss.

The goal of this life is to be reconciled with your creator, and transformed into a being who can live with him forever.

You have to opt in.

Yeah, duh. That doesn't mean praying hard enough will get you things you desire.

My mistake; I thought I was addressing an unbelieving Jew. Not many Christians say "go read the prophets".

I was once taking a massive shit one time. It hurt, and burned my asshole with incredibly power.

After 5 minutes of sitting there on the toilet in pain I clamped my hands together and prayed to god.

"God, please relieve my asshole of these other-worldly pains! Please let your love cover my cheeks in righteousness !"

A few minutes later, the pain subsided. I found myself gasping for air as my ass finally felt pure again. I thanked god for his help and left the bathroom.

Why did this work? Checkmate atheists.

Well you did too, so good. We're on the same page.
Personally, reading the history and the prophets in the light of the gospel makes a lot of things more clear.

>If you're serious about doing some sort of "God's work", however you're defining that,

Let's let the bible define that, shall we?

John 6
Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?”

Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”

Probably why Jesus sat down after the resurrection and showed his boys all the places he was written of in the OT.

OP here.

Thanks for all the answers.
I'll consider all the ideas you posted here.

I'll pray on it. ;)