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Originally Posted by Evangelical
My statement about many instances of praying no more than three times includes Daniel, David, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob praying three times daily.
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And we can see now how far from the actual topic you are going to get your "principle."
Praying three times a day is like saying "take a drive in your car tree times a day." It does not make any reference to where you drive, how far you drive, or how long you take. We are not talking about how often you pray in general, but the number of times that a particular prayer should be uttered before it should never be spoken again (or be guilty of vain repetition). Those are tow completely different topics. But I suspected this was your "many times." You just can't seem to make rational distinctions between vastly different things. You think that the fact that prayer is involved causes points in one discussion (when to pray or how often to pray) to become factors in a completely different discussion (how many times a particular prayer should be uttered before you stop). One gives an example of three 3 a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year, for all the years of your adult life. You have brought that "3" into a discussion that is about a total limit of times to pray for a particular item as if it has any meaning whatsoever.
And if you still think it does, then your status as a reasonable person is in serious risk of being revoked. If that is how you frame your arguments about anything, then you don't understand language, context, syntax, and logic.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Evangelical
The scripture does not record that Jesus received an answer to his prayer after the third time, unlike Paul.
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Do you really think that Jesus did not know the answer before he said the first word the first time? It is more likely that the prayer was spoken for the disciples to hear and eventually come to understand that what was to happen was God's will. The repeating of it 3 times was to emphasize that it was really prayed for to completion and the answer was what they would see over the coming hours.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Evangelical
Therefore we can trust that three times is an appropriate limit to take when we do not receive an answer to prayer. But surely that can extend to 4,5,6 times, probably not 100 or 1000. There is no rule about that, it is a principle.
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Yet you were bold to declare that opposing this "principle" would mean your prayer was in vain. Why? Because the answer was (in your mind) clearly "no" so to continue to pray about it would be (in your opinion) a meaningless prayer? On what basis do you state this? Lots of words but no reasons other than your opinions.
Opinions that do not seek the best for your fellow Christian, but stand as proof that others do not follow your opinions.
Your commentators are clearly just providing ideas, notions, and opinions. They have not found a clear word that what they say is true.
Just because you have not received what you pray for does not mean you should stop praying. Your position infers that the answer must come quickly, or that it must be manifest now, not later. While I am a little put-off by some people's constant references to "God's perfect timing," I do agree that God will do things when he decides to do them, not when we want them. He has his reasons and we may not understand them. But if what you are praying for is ultimately a "yes" but a "no" for right now, on what basis do you stop praying if you have not received some assurance of an answer? If a lack of answer is to be presumed to be "no" then you stop praying understanding your answer to be other than what it actually is. The whole "stop praying and presume your answer" kind of thinking is such a pit of error. It is like just telling someone who has lost a loved one that "God must have needed them in heaven more than we do here on earth." A pretty crappy view and explanation of God. But your "principle" is a backhanded version of just that in some cases. You have a principle that does not take into account God's desire for us to persevere. 3 times is hardly persevering. I could just be warming up on the topic in 3 times.
The person who needs a job. Pray three times and just quit praying about it, even if it takes 6 months to find the job. "I didn't need to talk to God about this more than those 3 times back last year because there is a principle according to this Evangelical fellow on the LCD discussion forum. He seems so smart about these things. Just like Nee and Lee do."
But it is more than evident that the LRC is inundated with "principles" that separate you from others yet cannot be supported as even reasonable side doctrines. This is just one more example. You want so desperately to find fault in the actions of other Christians that you insist on limits to particular prayers.
Then I think that the LRC should stop prying for increase because after this many years it is evident that it is not going to happen. . . . at least as far as your principle for prayer on a topic is concerned.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Evangelical
I think the first approach is one of spiritual maturity, and the second approach is more like a child would do. I don't think God minds if we keep asking 100 times, but if He has not answered by the 100th, it is likely to be a no or a wait answer. In my experience God often answers by the third time, either a passage of scripture to mind, or a sense of peace.
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Very good. Describe those who do not follow your unsupported "principle" as immature.
Well, just running around saying "Oh Lord Jesus" over and over seems to me like crank calling. You dial the number and hang up. Over and over. It is like going to see your earthly father by arriving at the house, knocking on the door, and getting back into your car and driving away. Over and over. All day long, every day. I can hear your Dad now: "I almost made it to the door before they left this time. I really wish they would stay and talk for a while. I guess they think they are getting something out of it. Not sure what it is."