Example of answered prayer in my life not due to coincidence

[Scepcop]

Since my deconversion from Christian Fundamentalism, I have changed my mind that the Bible is inerrant and that Jesus is the only way to God and that all other religions lead to hell and damnation.

My story here: http://www.debunkingskeptics.com/Christian_Story.htm

But I still know that there is some kind of "power" in Christianity and other religions, a real power that answers prayers and changes lives, that goes beyond coincidences and placebos. I've experienced it and seen it in the lives of others.

But of course, just because there is some real power behind Christianity, does not mean that all Christian doctrine is true and infallible and the only way. Power and miracles exists in other religions too, not just Christianity.

I've had prayers answered by very improbable coincidences for instance. When I became born again at 14 and was fanatically reading the Bible and listening to radio Bible teachers, I soon felt lonely and deprived that I had no church to go to. My parents were not Christians, and I didn't have that many friends that kept in touch. So one day I prayed about it, asked God to give me someChristian friends and a church to go to. After I prayed, I felt a yes answer in my heart. Then two days later, I got a call from a friend in 6th grade whom I hadn't seen in over a year. After a little conversation, I mentioned the Bible and he asked me if I was aChristian . He was surprised and didn't know that I was. Then he told me about his youth group and how fun it was and invited me to a hay ride with them.

The thing is, that old friend does not know why he all of a sudden decided to call me after a whole year of no contact. I asked him about it, and he said he just had an urge to call me, without knowing why. So, this does not seem like a coincidence at all, but an answered prayer, since it came two days after I prayed for it and felt a yes answer in my heart.

After that, for a year I had a church youth group to hang out with, which were the only friendly teens in my life. They were like an oasis from all the kids persecuting me with venom in high school, whom I was forced to endure everyday due to the system, which was a psychological nightmare, torture and hell.

The youth group was fun and just the thing I wanted. That lasted for a year before things went downhill at that church and in my life.

But anyway, that's an example of answered prayer.

A Bible professor once told me that he prayed to God once that whoever was destined to be his wife would utter a certain unusual phrase. Years later he met his future wife, and during dinner she uttered that exact phrase. Right then he knew that she was the one. And he was right. They become happily married.

There are many cases like that, some more incredible than these examples. What these cases tell me is that even though Christian doctrine may not be all true or infallible, there definitely is some kind of POWER behind it.

Atheists, and people like momopi, who are sure that there is no supernatural world, cannot explain such cases except to say that they must be coincidence, in order to make sense in their paradigm. But I don't buy that. That's simply a copout to say that everything you can't explain must be coincidence.

Anyone else have similar stories?

[ProfWag]

Consider this, an event that happens to but one in a billion people in a day happens 2000 times a year. A day when nothing weird happened would actually be the weirdest day of all.
"In reality, the most astonishingly incredible coincidence imaginable would be the complete absence of all coincidences."
- Mathematician John Allen Paulos

[ciscop]

Coincidences!!???? thats the best you got???
you damn skeptics with your infallible logic !!
I DAMN YOU VULCANS!!!....
(just saw star trek for the first time and loveeeeeeeeeeeeeee it)

but going back to the topic
i doubt thats the power Winston ¨knows¨ it exists
i remember one time i prayed for my soccer team and they won the cup
i was a child and i believed that sort of stuff
but i also remember a bunch of times i prayed and nothing happened
it would be dumb to not count the times nothing happens
as always, believers just want to talk about hits and not about the times it didnt work
you have to look at the big picture. otherwise is just meaningless what you are talking about

[NinjaPuppy]

As far as prayer goes I always apply this saying:

"Be careful in what you ask for. You might just get it."

[Nostradamus]

The belief that answered prayer exists has led to scientific fraud. In 2001 the J of Reproductive Medicine reported a study in which they claimed that praying doubled the pregnancy rate. This was an astounding finding. It was shown to be a fraud.

It turns out that prayer is considered the number 1 CAM, complementary and alternative medicine.

Studies of the efficacy of prayer are few and far between. It seems that most are small and poorly done studies. A few have been well done and did not report significance for the original intent of the studies. They find possible areas of further research while reviewing the data that had been collected.

[Scepcop]

[ciscop]

hahahahahaha
was it a loud ¨yes¨?
so right now you are admiting to hearing voices in your head

i wonder what psychologists think about that... oh wait
i am one



i am actually not impressed to know that you hear voices

[Nostradamus]

[ProfWag]

[stevetrueblue]

[Scepcop]

[Scepcop]

[ProfWag]

[Indigo Child]

Winston is right. The power of your prayer depends on how well you are aligned to the divine will,
the people who have their prayers answered, are people who are in a relationship with the divine,
such that their prayers have the power to reach the divine and they themselves have the power to
receive the answer from the divine.

If your prayer does not work there are several reasons why they did not work. Your prayer is not
powerful enough, you are not in a relationship with the divine, your prayer cannot be answered for
that time due many reasons. For example you pray with absolute devotion to save a loved one from
passing over, but it is their time to go, so your prayer will not save them. Nor can you pray and stop
an earthquake from happening. There are many things that are outside of our control, such as karma
we have to pay. Sometimes we might have to go through painful experiences, despite being god loving
people, such as Jesus did, because these painful experiences are blessings in disguise.

Intention works in mysterious ways. The so-called law of attraction has some truth to it, but it is highly
simplified. As I say, even positive people can get hit by buses.

[ProfWag]

What the hell is wrong with you people? Do you not read or are you just too anxious to "bash the skeptic?"