Don Carson - What Is Biblical Prayer And Why Should I Pray If God Know's Everything?

[MsKikilovely]

I wonder why in all of these faith inspiring videos i look up there are always people that do not believe leaving the most comments... Why is it that non-believers have the biggest urge to seek God?

[TheJayfa]

@MsKikilovely Because you converts have become lazy and impious heathens. Obviously.

[womanlybassplayer]

Ok, this man said that god is a person....???

[lovelytrudy]

yes, God knows all we need, before we ask him. So, Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.

[TheJayfa]

@lovelytrudy If that's so, then I shall not want, nor ask, nor pray. Thanks for clearing that up for me :)

[Imaginefree69]

Did you know that if you go to the river and pick up a rock

you can bring that rock home and pray to it every day?

It's true!

And it always answers your prayers!

Mind you, sometimes the answer will be YES,

sometimes it will be NO,

and sometimes it will be WAIT,

but it will always answer your prayer.

Just like God.

Just exactly like God.

[ndanatswa]

but we know that God has our good in mind and works everything out for our GOOD. The rock, not so much...

[robertfreitag]

even if God knows what we want / need, he wants us to pray to him because it is a way that we rely on him. As Don said, 'he's not a mechanical robot', and I think we will never really understand everything about God. But we know it is good to pray to him, and rely on him.

[SHIBBYiPANDA]

@robertfreitag but if God is going to do what he wants anyway why ask him for things?? If He has the best ideas in mind, why bother asking Him for our own stupid ideas?? Whether He does it or not, there's no change in if He was planning on doing it already because He does what He wants and He knows what you want but doesn't do things solely because you want it.. He does it because HE wants it.. So what's the point of asking Him for things??? I'm being sincere I really don't understand that...

[robertfreitag]

@SHIBBYiPANDA

I think it's because God wants us. he wants a personal relationship with us, he want's us to grow, to trust him, rely on him... like a parent, who wants their kids to have a relationship with them and rely on them... its not just about providing your kids with what you know they need....

I dont have it all neatly figured out... but I think it is a matter of holding different, seemingly conflicting truths together at the same time.

[robertfreitag]

things might look they they aren't compatible to us, but that is to be expected since we are finite.

e.g. a triangle is not a circle. we might say they are different, one shape cant be both at once can it...

but what if we were being given 2 different views of a cone... the seemingly incompatible actually does work.

this requires us to trust when things may not seem to work out quite right, after all God is a lot bigger than we can comprehend. that is the nature of God....

[SHIBBYiPANDA]

@robertfreitag But he's not a parent, He's THE god, and He knows everything and is working for our best.. So why not just say "I submit to your will God and thanks for everything!" instead of "Please do this, and this and that.."

I understand that you said it's because He wants us to do it to reinforce a relationship with Him but, due to the true nature of what is going on, doesn't that seem kind of superficial and nonsensical?? What kind of relationship is that??

[SHIBBYiPANDA]

@robertfreitag by superficial, aren't you essentially just "pretending" your prayers matter, and if God actually wants you to pray, then isn't He "pretending" your prayers matter too?? After all God's gonna do what God's gonna do..

It seems like the more logical thing to do is to just get straight to the 'accepting and submitting to God's will' part.. Shouldn't we just trust Him to do what's best instead of wishing for things?

It's not like a miracles would be made any less miraculous by that

[dbi1036]

. Now if he knows it all then by my point of view we have no say ,, Its done like a cd that you play, no matter how time you play it ends the say way and you know whats on it..

[dbi1036]

if he knows what we need why should we have to ask, I think this is all WRONG. If I would to tell you to pray to me or you are going to hel.Then what would say to me ??Thats the same thing with god. See he knows it all ..(OK )then he would know what you are going to do before you do it ???? then he would know if you (at the end ) are going to be saved, or are going to hell.

[sergiomarchelli]

you understand hell in wrong meaning. Hell is not "place", it is place, but in yourself...

[ndanatswa]

ask and you shall be given. if we don't ask God, we are depending on something else. God knows what will happen at the end- hell or heaven- but the choice has always been ours. He wants everyone to go to heaven but most have chosen hell

[portlandraised]

the only "hole" calvinism has is the "whole of scripture"

[SnackManSolid]

just answering the question of the video without taking 4 minutes to do so

[Revinius]

Carson is such a nerd, love him!

[SnackManSolid]

cause calvanism has holes

[RAIDERJO76]

ahahaha thanks i need that :)