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Hi Scott,
You asked "What is the purpose of prayer if it IS in harmony with Gods will. If Gods will is Gods will then why the need for prayer. Does prayer change Gods will?"
Actually we can't change God's will and the purpose of prayer is communication with God, sort of like when we talk to our friends. Sometimes our friends do favors for us when we ask them if it seems okay with them and sometimes they don't. God's the same way.
You also wrote " I wonder if starving people in third world countries think the same way. I guess it is Gods will for them to lead a miserable existence while we sit here and ponder the metaphysical realities of our universe. I suppose God feels like it is all part of the plan for the US to use up 2/3 of the worlds resources while other countries struggle to eat a meal once a week. I guess it is Gods will for our pets to eat better than the majority of the population of the rest of the world. Beautiful moments and joyful occasions have to be rationalized against the backdrop of the trajedy that is our existence.
I think that any rational person that believes in a God that cares about us puny humans will agree that people starving in poor countries could not possibly be part of God's will. It should come as no surprise then that even God is disappointed when things don't work out. Now, I know what some people are thinking, if God is all powerful how come God's will is not accomplished? On the television set, images are beamed back to us of wanton destruction, starvation, disease ,etc. as constant reminders that God's will of peace among humans is not being done. Well, it's because God gave humans the capacity of free will and sad to say, many humans use it to do bad things. And God sometimes lets us suffer the consequences of our bad decisions, learning things the hard way.
Chuck |
