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How the Petitioning Process Works
Basically, Jesus said it all: When you pray, if you have
anything against anyone, FORGIVE them (Mark 11:25),
and then have FAITH that God is granting your
requests. (Forgiving others is actually only one of the
many radical transformations of mind that God
frequently wants us to make before he grants our
petitions.)
anything against anyone, FORGIVE them (Mark 11:25),
and then have FAITH that God is granting your
requests. (Forgiving others is actually only one of the
many radical transformations of mind that God
frequently wants us to make before he grants our
petitions.)
The Catch:
The Simple
Formula:
Formula:
The problem is that both forgiving and having faith are
very hard to do. Forgiving, at least for me, usually
means I have to repeatedly let go of my resentful or
vindictive feelings and then humbly ask God to replace
them with good will. Similarly, keeping the faith means I
have to work continually to cultivate a faithful mood, &
from that mood, ask God--often quite a few times--to do
whatever it is I'm asking.
very hard to do. Forgiving, at least for me, usually
means I have to repeatedly let go of my resentful or
vindictive feelings and then humbly ask God to replace
them with good will. Similarly, keeping the faith means I
have to work continually to cultivate a faithful mood, &
from that mood, ask God--often quite a few times--to do
whatever it is I'm asking.
The Solution
(and the purpose
of life):
(and the purpose
of life):
The solution is based on this truth: that the purpose of
life is to spur us to remake ourselves, especially our
attitudes, in God's image, which means becoming more
loving than we naturally are. (Theologians call it
"sanctification.") I believe God lets bad things happen to
us in order to coax us toward this transformation.
Thus, if we ask God to change something about our
lives, we can greatly increase the chance that God will
make the change we're asking for by undertaking
whatever bit of self-improvement the unwanted thing
was meant to coax us toward. We still have to maintain
our faith, but that's much easier to do when we know
we're doing what God (the God of love) wants,
whether it's truly forgiving others or transforming our
minds in some other manner.
life is to spur us to remake ourselves, especially our
attitudes, in God's image, which means becoming more
loving than we naturally are. (Theologians call it
"sanctification.") I believe God lets bad things happen to
us in order to coax us toward this transformation.
Thus, if we ask God to change something about our
lives, we can greatly increase the chance that God will
make the change we're asking for by undertaking
whatever bit of self-improvement the unwanted thing
was meant to coax us toward. We still have to maintain
our faith, but that's much easier to do when we know
we're doing what God (the God of love) wants,
whether it's truly forgiving others or transforming our
minds in some other manner.
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Overview
Petitioning God: How to Get Your Prayers Answered