There are many reasons that people can turn away from faith in God. The top three reasons I hear most are the following:
- The assumption that science disproves God…
- The problem of evil and suffering…
- And unanswered prayers
I have spoken on all three of these issues in previous written and video posts (which you can check out on my blog), but today I would like to revisit the third one. The problem of unanswered prayers.
Courtesy of Unsplash.com by Ben White
What I Used To Assume About Prayer
As a former atheist one of the issues, amongst an plethora of issues, that deviated me away from belief in God is the problem of unanswered prayers. Here are the things I would generally pray for:
I would pray for good marks on tests, money, a girlfriend, that I would receive a specific gift, and as I got older I prayed for the absence of suffering in my broken family.
Were my prayers answered as I believed they ought to be answered based on my conception of God? No!
So if God is real, what went wrong? Did I not pray in a specific posture that is pleasing in the eyes of God? Did I not say the right prayers? Did I not take part in the correct rituals?
In my journey of exploring the Christian faith I came to three conclusions regarding prayer:
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God Is Not a Vending Machine
I had the tendency to treat God like a vending machine. Whenever I wanted God to do something for me I believed that as long as I “press the right buttons” my prayers will be answered. As long as I show up at church a few Sundays in a row, repeat a host of formal prayers, perhaps on my knees for added effect I should have no problems having my prayers answered.
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God Is Not a Magic Genie
I also had the tendency to think that God somehow worked for me. I was the boss and he was my servant. If God has all this infinite power why doesn’t he prove it me by giving me what I desire? You know…kind of like the magical genie for the Disney Cartoon Aladdin.
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God Is Not an App
I don’t know about you, but one of my biggest flaws is patience. As soon as I’m faced with a question I want the answer right away. As soon as I want or need to buy something I want it ASAP. Luckily for us we can just pull out our fancy gadgets and with a swipe of a finger we find a goldmine of answers to our questions, along with purchasing the latest items we desire. The answer to many of our material desires is literally at our fingertips.
Conclusion: So What is God Like?
God on the other hand is neither like a vending machine, nor a magical genie, nor like an app on our phones.
It is very clear what the Bible says about God’s nature. And it turns out that it isn’t that complicated. God is like a loving father. In Luke’s account of Jesus teaching his apostles the famous “Our Father” prayer Jesus instructs them to start the prayer by addressing God as “Our Father” (Luke 11:2): “Our Father, who is in heaven, holy is your name…”.
God is our heavenly Father.
I have been a father for close to a year now and there is one important thing that every new father will learn rather quickly. You don’t give your children exactly what they want, even if they kick and scream because as earthly fathers we know what is best for them (hopefully). Similarly, our heavenly Father who is the embodiment of perfect love (1 John 4:8) know exactly what is best for us. …Even if we kick and scream when we don’t get things our way.
Question: What is your opinion about prayer? Have you ever tried praying? What happened?
