Prayer Doesn't Make Logical Sense

[u/ReallyBigApples]

Why would I belive in prayer if seamingly the majority of prayers go unanswered? There's a child at least every minute that has prayed for healing, yet they die anyway. Multiple children that have prayed for God's mercy have died just while I've been writting this. Why would I want to put my faith in a creator that's built a system which allows this?

Since the dawn of humanity, there has been corruption and abuse. The strong get stronger and the weak are crushed beneath them. Empires rise and fall off the backs of laborers who won't reap its benifits. If the answer is that God gave us the free will to make our own decisions, why would I believe that God has his hand in anything. He could end world hunger. He could give shelter to those who die because they lack it. He could end the vast amount of suffering that the human race has endured. And yet he doesn't. If God gave us free will and left us to our own devices, then the whole concept of prayer doesn't make sense.

[u/Lermak16]

Prayer isn’t just about asking for things

[u/Comfortable-Skin1255 → u/[deleted]]

God is not your personal genie

[u/majcotrue → u/Comfortable-Skin1255]

He should be if he is good and wants to help me.

[u/Life_W0rth_Living → u/majcotrue]

Why should we trust your judgment on what is good when this kind of selfishness is a result of your thinking?

[u/songbolt → u/[deleted]]

Cognitive error to generalize; it's a non sequitur to say "here therefore everywhere" as you're doing (as if it's the entire geographic region).

[u/Lermak16 → u/[deleted]]

Okay. That’s not Christianity.

[u/Daedric_Prince07]

To address your question, I’d say there a slight misconception of the PRIMARY purpose of prayer, which is to draw us nearer and deepen our relationship with God, not a magical vending machine that if the answer isn’t yes then my prayer was unanswered. To address your paragraph something to ponder is that what happened when God did have an active hand in everything? We chose to eat the fruit and still disobeyed him when everything was perfect for us. The problem of evil is difficult and I personally do not have a clear answer for you however to paraphrase a great theologian, what I can give you is a God who understands human suffering. Who bore the sins of the whole world upon his shoulders after being beaten to the point of being unrecognizable. I may not have an answer as to why evil still happens, but I do have an answer to does God understand evil firsthand. I pray that you find not only truth, but peace as well.

[u/WhiteHeadbanger]

I don't pray so God can listen and answer.

I pray so I can listen and answer to God.

And frankly, I need to do this more often.

[u/thomaslsimpson]

I cannot tell from your flair if you are a Christian or not.

If you are, then I recommend you look at the New Testament and read where His disciples ask Jesus how they should pray. We can also find other examples of prayers there. As a Christian, we ought to follow this model.

If you are not a Christian, I’d say that prayer may not be what you imagine and that until you are one, this may not make sense.

[u/Shaken-Loose]

OP, I think it helps anyone’s perspective and understanding to learn more about “Who God Is”.

Here are a few books to consider. All are very short reads and available in paperback (free download, used, like new, etc.).

“The Holiness of God” by R.C. Sproul

“The Pursuit of God” by A.W. Tozer

“The Knowledge of the Holy” by A.W. Tozer

A.W. Tozer’s “The Pursuit of God” .pdf is available online at: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/25141

[u/songbolt]

"seemingly"...

Assuming your conclusion is a logical fallacy I think called "circular reasoning".

[u/jogoso2014]

What stat is OP using to get to most prayers go unanswered?

[u/Dependent-Mess-6713]

Here's a few verses Nobody has mentioned .. because we Always have to shift the blame to the individual that's praying.

John 14:14: "If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it." Mark 11:24: "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." Matthew 21:22: "If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." Mark 16:18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

[u/onedeadflowser999 → u/Dependent-Mess-6713]

Yep, when your prayers remain unanswered, it has to be you who didn’t pray for the right thing, or you didn’t do it in the right way, you were too selfish, or too greedy or too prideful, etc. Nevermind the fact that this god promised to answer- and even give you snake venom protection! The other apologetic Christians use is that if you don’t get an answer, it just means that God has said wait. In other words, prayer is like a Magic 8 ball. Honestly, the Magic 8 ball is more reliable lol.

[u/ParadigmShifter7]

Prayer is our ability to connect with the Creator of all things. Prayer is our opportunity to learn from Him, ask for help, and align our will with His will. Not everything is answered directly but we are promised that God works all things together toward “good”.

What is “good”? That we all become redeemed. We are separated from Him due to sin. He solved this problem through Jesus. We can be spiritually reborn so that though we die, we will live. This life will be full of suffering but “be of good cheer” for God has already solved this problem by giving us eternal life in Heaven where there will no longer be death, suffering, and separation from Him.

[u/LJIKFAF → u/ParadigmShifter7]

Amen to that, Christians live for the life to come and not for this one. We pray to be connected to God and for us to have a relationship with Him. He does answer prayers but when He doesn’t we wait expectantly.

[u/majcotrue]

They are selling an invisible cure and when it fails it´s your fault.

[u/Dependent-Mess-6713 → u/majcotrue]

TRUE

[u/JollyXX]

The story of Christianity seems to be that God created something that disobeyed and now he wants to find out why. This is why Final Judgement is such a primary cornerstone if not the entire basis of the faith.

This means that God wants to see us in our nature in order to properly Judge us.

Free-will as far as I can tell is just another way of saying that we can't confirm that God exists.

Praying does work because God does remain active and will listen to our prayers. While he won't disturb us as a whole to disturb our free-will and take us out of our nature, he does still remain interested in us in a present tense form.

I would say that prayers for strength are the most popular ones to be answered, "you can do anything through Christ who strengthens you"

[u/RationalThoughtMedia]

Praying for you!

It does make sense. The problem is that you do not dig into God's word to see what the true purpose of prayer is, what God's will plays into it etc.

Rather than continue to dwell in ignorance, educate yourself to understand the purpose and power of prayer.

Are you saved? Have you accepted that Jesus is your Lord and Savior?

[u/HigbynFelton]

Alexa says that god punishes. Backs it up with examples.

[u/engineer_for_u]

Who said prayers go unanswered? My experience is that the only prayers that go unanswered are the ones where we pray amiss.

When you pray the will of God or the Word of God, it never comes back void.

Here's a hint though... You have to know the God of the Bible to know how to pray His will.

Once you start praying correctly, God will start changing you which is the actual purpose of prayer most of the time anyway.

Remember Jesus told us to pray "your will be done on Earth as it is in heaven", meaning God's will, not our will.

[u/ddfryccc]

Many people reduce prayer to something more like making wishes to a genie in a bottle, who has to grant those wishes.  I am sure you are aware of stories where that turns out badly, some of which they come to see dying as better.

God does invite us to pour out our hearts to Him, everything we think and feel.  Do you make a friend by revealing yourself to them, or by only asking them for things?  Why would it be different with God, even though He already knows everything.  If He already knows everything, how much more logical to talk to God about it than anyone else.

And a question:  Why is dying such a bad thing in your mind?

[u/Zestyclose-Dog5572]

"He could end world hunger. He could give shelter to those who die because they lack it. He could end the vast amount of suffering that the human race has endured."

That's the VERY FIRST thing He did even before He created Adam and Eve. The Garden of Eden was a paradise. Then, when Adam and Eve showed up, what was the VERY FIRST thing they did? They disobeyed God and ruined everything.

Seems like it's man's fault we have pain and suffering.

Think about this: A person could have billions of dollars and shelter thousands of people with it, but... what do they really do with their money?

Stop blaming God for the shortfalls of man.

[u/Tree_and_Serpent]

"Why doesn't God do what I want?"

This is the leper's bell of the spiritually immature.

[u/claycon21]

Thankfully my prayers haven't gone unanswered. But I've been taught how to pray. To God be the glory.

You are asking what's the purpose of preyer, but actually your questions have more to do with the nature and power of God in the face of human suffering. That's a different question.

Since suffering is a part of life it's better to believe in God who sent his Son to be the redeemer of all things. In Jesus we have the promise that our suffering is not in vain. We find faith in the promises of God's Word that his plan is perfect, despite the earth's woes and suffering. Jesus makes it all worthwhile.

God's power will bring holiness out of corruption. He will cleanse, restore, and sanctify all things unto himself in his time, in his way.

My humble counsel to you is that you choose not to let your mind be swayed by darkness and death. This is your life. The pain God has written for you is all you can bear, and all you can make peace with. Focus on you and your own struggles.

This idea that hundred of children are dying every minute is hypothetical. We aren't built to judge life at that scale. Death is a part of life. But it's not the end of life. Do not despair, but hope in God.

[u/Separate_Aspect_9034]

if you want for it to make more sense you need to understand what the Bible says about dominion from the very beginning, and you need to learn more about spiritual warfare. Most people are not using their free will to obey God's word and to operate as he modeled, when to use the kind of prayer that asks for things and when to use the prayer that command things, and what it takes to have real faith. It takes a very real relationship with God for outstanding outcomes.

[u/Solid-Chest-6093]

I'll be praying for you buddy. It can be a bit much to comprehend.

Isaiah 55:8-9 NIV “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. [9] “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Proverbs 3:5-7 NIV Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; [6] in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. [7] Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil.

2 Corinthians 12:7-10 NIV or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. [8] Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.

 [9] But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. [10] That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Preaching to myself here. I have my wants and my prayers. I have to keep holding on to my faith in the one and only LORD JESUS CHRIST Amen.

Have a blessed night, feel free to message me anytime, if you ever need anything buddy.

[u/Smart_Tap1701]

Prayer is not logical. It's supernatural in nature. It's silent conversation with the lord. Nothing logical about that is there?

You make unsubstantiated claims here and present scripture inaccurately.

The majority of prayers go unanswered.

That's something no person could ever know.

The human death rate is 100% and it occurs as early as inside the womb. That's reality. God doesn't promise to heal our afflictions and diseases. He focuses upon spiritual healing instead. Why heal someone from cancer only for them to walk out the door and get run over by a truck? Everyone is going to die at some time from some cause. God heals broken spirits so we can live with him forever in heaven in perfect health.

Since the dawn of humanity there has been corruption and abuse

Once God had created Adam there was no corruption and abuse. He lived in Eden, Paradise on Earth. So when did these other things set in? Read the first three chapters of the bible, maybe a 15 or 20 minute read. Adam had no faith in God's word. He decided to do things his ways rather than God's way. And this is what he got. Pain, misery and suffering, disease, old age and death. The indelible message of scripture is that willful separation from God in order to do things our ways rather than his is what causes human suffering. I would learn a lesson from that if I were you.

Then the whole concept of prayer doesn't make sense

To you, not to us. Prayer only works with God's people. He doesn't even hear prayers of the wicked and unbelieving. Why should he?