Religious Studies
ANSWERED PRAYER
When people pray, they are attempting to contact God. Many religious people claim that when they pray, they could feel that God is listening to their prayers and they feel happy, therefore they believe in God.
UNANSWERED PRAYER
However, some people never feel the presence of God when they pray. This is likely to make them feel that something is wrong, either they are not prayer correctly, or there is no God listening to them. They may ask others’ advice and even try harder in their prayer but they still have no feeling of the presence of God, they begin to question whether God exist and may lead to AGNOSTICISM and ATHEISM.
( Agonosticism – Not being sure whether God exist ; Atheism – God does not exist)
Christian believe that God is their loving father who will answer their prayers. If prayers continue to be unaswered, especially the person believe that he is praying for good things like the end of war. Then the unanswered prayers become evidence that God does not exist. This can lead a person to become an AGNOSTIC or an ATHEIST.
CATHOLICS RESPOND TO UNANSWERED PRAYERS
Catholics believe that God answers all prayers.
Prayers are not being answered because :-
1. What you pray for is selfish
Eg: Pass the exam
It would be wrong of God to allow you to pass the exam if you had not revised for it.
God is answering your prayer by encouraging you to work hard in order to achieve it.
2. What you pray for is personal
Eg: Cure my grandad from his cancer
God has different plans and may be wanting your grandad to enter heaven.
3. God may answer our prayer by giving us what we NEED rather than what we have asked for.
4.) Bad intention
Eg: Killing others
5. God loves people and catholics trust God’s love to do what is best for them. They believe God’s OMNIPOTENCE and BENEVOLENCE. Therefore, they trust God to answer their prayers in the best possible way, even tough it does not look like a direct answer.
( OMNIPOTENCE – All
When people pray, they are attempting to contact God. Many religious people claim that when they pray, they could feel that God is listening to their prayers and they feel happy, therefore they believe in God.
UNANSWERED PRAYER
However, some people never feel the presence of God when they pray. This is likely to make them feel that something is wrong, either they are not prayer correctly, or there is no God listening to them. They may ask others’ advice and even try harder in their prayer but they still have no feeling of the presence of God, they begin to question whether God exist and may lead to AGNOSTICISM and ATHEISM.
( Agonosticism – Not being sure whether God exist ; Atheism – God does not exist)
Christian believe that God is their loving father who will answer their prayers. If prayers continue to be unaswered, especially the person believe that he is praying for good things like the end of war. Then the unanswered prayers become evidence that God does not exist. This can lead a person to become an AGNOSTIC or an ATHEIST.
CATHOLICS RESPOND TO UNANSWERED PRAYERS
Catholics believe that God answers all prayers.
Prayers are not being answered because :-
1. What you pray for is selfish
Eg: Pass the exam
It would be wrong of God to allow you to pass the exam if you had not revised for it.
God is answering your prayer by encouraging you to work hard in order to achieve it.
2. What you pray for is personal
Eg: Cure my grandad from his cancer
God has different plans and may be wanting your grandad to enter heaven.
3. God may answer our prayer by giving us what we NEED rather than what we have asked for.
4.) Bad intention
Eg: Killing others
5. God loves people and catholics trust God’s love to do what is best for them. They believe God’s OMNIPOTENCE and BENEVOLENCE. Therefore, they trust God to answer their prayers in the best possible way, even tough it does not look like a direct answer.
( OMNIPOTENCE – All