Do you believe in God and prayers?

No problem spiderman, everybody is different.The Holy Book which I follow says very clearly that God has given us freedom to choose life or death, it is upto us to choose what we want ..I choose life...(eternal life, there are people who don't believe in eternal life/bliss but that is not my problem I am putting forth my beliefs, no offense)

Well you may not understand this, anyways, after reading some posts in this thread I really feel blessed that God chose me to know Him,to love Him and to serve Him, I am glad that He chose me to give me the problems, trials and tribulations that I had and I have to go through..It is during these times that I seek after Him and He is able to show His mighty deeds,He is still seated on the throne.I am the chosen one you see :thumbsup..as the saying goes "many are called but few are chosen"... Thanks for allowing me to share my thoughts/views/beliefs. :cheers

 

Fiona, I've a question. Should God choose someone only to give troubles and aches? Is it like the ones that are comfortable aren't chosen but the ones that are persistently in problems are chosen? Isn't God cruel here, by making the mortal suffer, so the mortal can seek refuge in Him? Why cannot he be compasionate and offer a helping hand and fulfill all the rightful desires of the mortal? Won't the mortal still look upon Him?

 

Dear Spidersir,
If you are inclined please read my posts
What do we ask God ?
Ten Rules for getting Effective Results from Prayers
Definition of God in Hindu Religion
The Law of Karma - Part 1
The Law of Karma - Part 2
These are a few of my threads in
Chitvish on Hindu Culture & Vedanta - IndusLadies

Well, Sir, with the recent trend in some of our threads, I do not wish to be drawn into any controversy nor want to thrust my belief on others.

I personally feel such believes inculcate self-discipline in our daily lives.
If at all, you can continue to discuss with me by PM.
Regards,
Chithra.

 

Hi canwait,
I believe that everyone has their own share of problems/troubles but it is important for us to seek God's help rather than depending on our own understanding. If we depend on God during our times of difficulties than He will bring us out of that particular problem victoriously whereas if we donot involve Him in our difficult tmes we will just keep trying harder and harder without much good result .
I never meant that God chooses only particular person, as I already said everybody has problems, but I am able to say that it is God who always answers my prayers whenever I call to Him, I know that He is almighty, powerful God, whereas many others are confused and some donot even know Him.
Well God is not a cruel God but He is a jealous God, He revealed this to many prophets of old, at the same time He is a compasionate, faithful, caring God. (I too don't want to draw any controversy here as chitvish ma'm said.)
He does lend a helping hand only if you ask Him to help you and you need to recognise that it was He who helped you and give Him the credit..
Do you think if everybody in this world had everything they desired and were happy in every way, they would still seek Him? No my dear...

Adam chose, by sinning, to turn away from God. The rest of mankind has taken the same path: "Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, ... death spread to all men, because all sinned" (Romans 5:12).

Why Does God not Intervene?
The God of Israel is not a remote, impassive First Cause: His Holy Spirit can be grieved, He can be moved with yearning compassion. He can love with an everlasting love. All these are Scriptural expressions, and they reveal God as the supreme Personality who can from His holy transcendence enter into the lives of the men and women He has created.
People often ask: Why does God not intervene to stop suffering, to halt war, to prevent disease, etc.? God does, of course, intervene in human affairs; He has shown His power at many times in history. But there is a limit to this intervention: He has allowed man freewill, and He allows man to use that freewill -- for good or ill.
God intervened in the history of His chosen people Israel and gave them special opportunities to worship Him and be His witnesses. He entrusted them with His revelation and with the promises and prophecies of a coming Messiah.
Thank you ..

 

I would like to share this story which i heard few days back.



Here's the story to make my point:
A minister and an atheist barber were walking through the seedy part of their city. As they saw the suffering around them, the barber said "This is why I could never believe in a God of love. If he is as kind as they say, why doesn't he do something about all this crime, disease, poverty, drug-dealing and vandalism?"

The minister said nothing until they came across an unkempt and filthy man with hair down his back and far too much stubble on his face. The minister said to the atheist: "You can't be a very good barber, or you wouldn't let people live around here without a haircut and a shave."

More than a little offended, the barber answered: "Why blame me for that man's condition? I can't help it if he's like that! He's never given me a chance! If he'd only come to my shop, I could fix him up and make him look respectable."

The minister replied: "Then don't blame God for the condition of these people. They've never given God a chance. If they would only come to him, he would fix them up and turn their lives around."
Even though God is completely powerful, he has not yet removed suffering and evil from the picture. He's waiting...waiting for as long as possible, to give as many people as possible the opportunity to make their peace with him.


God is waiting for you with open arms, He just wants you to repent of all your sins and come to Him.

 

The only super power is "God".He can do anything what He wants and He is independent.

 

I try to recite the Vishnu Sahasranamam everyday, if not at least a little slokam when I light the lamp every evening. Now I do not know whether my reciting the slokam is really helping me with anything because I face my fair share of problems in life, but as Chitra ma'am has pointed out, I find that I feel and am much more disciplined in whatever I do with prayer involved. When I know that 6.00, the lamp has to be lit and the slokam recited, I find that I am able to plan out all my other work to be able to accommodate this! And of course, it may just be my psychology at work, but I do feel better equipped to face my trials when I just do a simple namaskaram!

But I do believe in the existence of some power that is beyond human understanding and reason, and the belief just gets reiterated when I see all the wonderful things in nature. Yes, there is science to explain most of the things, but what is the beginning of science is a question that often pops up in my mind. And the answer I believe is God! I feel all the more strongly now with the experience of bearing a child, the wonder that started with something that looked like a 'rajma' seed in the first ultrasound and has developed almost into a human being :bowdown And I find it much easier to relate to the superpower in the only form that I have been exposed to - as Pillayar/Vishnu/Shiva etc.

So I guess I could conclude that while I am confused by prayer, I am a very firm believer in the existence of God.

(Ms.True.... my humble contribution to the confusion :thumbsup )

 

Amen to this

That said, I trust in God, I pray to God.. This doesn't mean I chant daily mantras, read my prayer book every nights or offer poojas or participate in the mass on daily basis. NO

I pray to God.. Means I talk with god.. an open talk from the bottom of my heart. I beg for his pardon for all my mistakes, I cry sometimes while seeking his forgiveness. I thank him for all the blessings in my life, and I ask his helps when and where I face problems. I know God never gives us troubles beyound our tolerant level. And he will definitely take care of us during our dark days. All what we need is to ask his forgiveness and support as appropriate.

I too have faced so much problems in my life.. Specially in my married life. But I have/will never blame God for my problems. I am aware of the root causes of my problems, it is not my God, but my innability, the human nature (weakness) of my self, my husband and others. God only helped me to overcome my problems.. And now I am safe and happy Thank God.

I believe in one God...I know there is only one God, but we people give different names to the God and have different set ups/prayers to reach him. So, I just don't want to put my legs and hands in all the boats to reach my destinantion. I trust in one God and I follow him as per my religious rules without harming anyone. This is my faith and the way of reaching God.

I don't jump from one God to other just because 1) my prayer wasn't answered 2) I am in a deep trouble 3) need some extra blessings or do not want to worship multiple forms of the God. As I beleive in one God philosophy.

Also, I don't believe in spending dollars on poojas, remedies, rituals and prayers.
I don't think God will give you a special care if you spend XYZ dollars for a colourful pooja in a certain place or if you do a remedy in a certain way. NO

Also I don't think God will punish you or turn a cold face if you fail to do a luxary pooja or remedy as you simply can not.

It is not business... I am sure God is really a nice being than we humans.. So, he should obviously understand your status and support you when you really need him. Just because you fail to do certain ritual due to some unavoidable reasons, the God shouldn't punish you.. Its rediculous for me.

JMO though