Less than half of U.S. adults believe in God without a doubt, but majority still pray: study

[quietthinker]

You don't think it's arrogant to think the Lord does not go by what He has already said in His Word???
That would be claiming God is a liar.

Unless one is born again having turned away from the devil they are still in fact a child of the devil walking in agreement with darkness so they have zero relationship with the Lord and this is also true for those that got born again and decided to turn away from the Lord and engage in sinful behavior.

God is not mocked, what we sow is what we reap so if we sow to the flesh (sin) we reap CORRUPTION so to be in right standing with the Lord one must confess their sin and forsake their sin turning away from darkness back unto walking in agreement with the Lord abiding IN Christ.

To say one can walk in darkness and be right with the Lord is mocking God and claiming we don't reap what we sown as the Lord clearly teaches us in Gal 6:7,8

This is so simple and easy to understand one has to listen to the devil to misunderstand it.

I think you have misunderstood God.
Don't you recall how God related to Cain after he had murdered Able?.....or Adam and Eve after they had sinned?
Don't you recall how God related to King David after he had murdered his tens of thousands?
and don't you recall how the Father looked out daily for his prodigal son?

Misunderstanding and twisting the character of God so that it is presented as an extension of the fallen human nature is what evil does.

 

[Pancho Frijoles]

And those that do not believe in God are refusing to humble themselves before Him.

So, any prayer a person prays is not heard at all unless it's a prayer of submission as they turn from darkness unto the Lord.

In the scripture quote you provided, the sinner did in fact believe in the Lord.

Both the Pharisee and the tax collector had an intellectual belief in the Lord.
Indeed, it is very likely that the Pharisee had a better understanding of the Law, the Scriptures, the doctrine.
If we were asked to guess which one was more likely to have had any wrong interpretation about a prophecy or a law, it would be the tax collector.

However, the tax collector had the true faith that pleases the Lord.
That's the focus of my post. True faith in God is expressed in the attitude of humbleness.

 

[Dan Clarkston]

I think you have misunderstood God.

No, the misunderstanding is not on my end...

God is not mocked, what we sow is what we reap and when we sin we reap CORRUPTION meaning we must repent and forsake our sin in order to be right with the Lord once again.

You are mistaking the Lord's patience in trying to lead people to repent as meaning their sins are automatically forgiven before they ever sinned which is false doctrine. All these folks you mentioned all turned from their sin and quit doing sinful behavior unlike people today (except Cain who was severely punished)

All our future sins are not automatically forgiven as their false teachers and false believers claim

True faith in God is expressed in the attitude of humbleness.

And if it's true faith they are led by the Holy Spirit to turn away from sin and cease sinful behavior in their lives which is true humility.

Acknowledging one's sin... and then continuing in sin, if NOT being humble before the Lord.

 

[Dan Clarkston]

True faith in God is expressed in the attitude of humbleness.

And if it's true faith they are led by the Holy Spirit to turn away from sin and cease sinful behavior in their lives which is true humility.

Acknowledging one's sin... and then continuing in sin, if NOT being humble before the Lord.

 

[Wrangler]

Less than half of U.S. adults believe in God without a doubt, but majority still pray: study​

Wording of ’study’ suspicious.

 

[Dan Clarkston]

Wording of ’study’ suspicious.

Maybe it's another "word salad" from camala harris

 

[Pancho Frijoles]

And if it's true faith they are led by the Holy Spirit to turn away from sin and cease sinful behavior in their lives which is true humility.

Acknowledging one's sin... and then continuing in sin, if NOT being humble before the Lord.

I agree 100%.

 

[Riven]

Less than half of US adults believe in God without a doubt, but majority still pray: study

While less than half of adults in the U S believe in God without a doubt or attend religious services frequently, the majority, almost 80 , say they still pray, a new study from NORC at the

www.christianpost.com

Why do you think they still pray?

 

[Matthias]

Why do you think they still pray?

I don’t know, but habit, superstition, fear, hope and peer pressure would all seem to be plausible explanations.

Why do you think they do?

 

[Riven]

I don’t know, but habit, superstition, fear, hope and peer pressure would all seem to be plausible explanations.

Why do you think they do?

Hedging their bets, maybe? If God does exist, maybe he'll answer your prayers. See, I don't know if God exists. But when I'm sick, I sometimes say a prayer in the hopes that God will have pity on me and make me feel better.

 

[Matthias]

Hedging their bets, maybe? If God does exist, maybe he'll answer your prayers. See, I don't know if God exists. But when I'm sick, I sometimes say a prayer in the hopes that God will have pity on me and make me feel better.

I wouldn’t discourage anyone from praying to God but I would be remiss if I didn’t bring Hebrews 11:6 to your attention:

”Now without faith it is impossible to please him, for the one who approaches God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”

 

[Riven]

I wouldn’t discourage anyone from praying to God but I would be remiss if I didn’t bring Hebrews 11:6 to your attention:

”Now without faith it is impossible to please him, for the one who approaches God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”

Bah. If I were God, I would ignore Riven when he prays because he's only doing it because he's suffering and he wants a quick and easy solution. Besides, it never works anyway. When I'm feeling healthy, I rarely ever pray because I don't think it works.

Its a curious thing though. After praying, I have what I would describe as a warm feeling. I feel more content and I fall asleep easier. Placebo effect? Or is it something more? I honestly don't know.

 

[Matthias]

Bah. If I were God, I would ignore Riven when he prays because he's only doing it because he's suffering and he wants a quick and easy solution. Besides, it never works anyway. When I'm feeling healthy, I rarely ever pray because I don't think it works.

Its a curious thing though. After praying, I have what I would describe as a warm feeling. I feel more content and I fall asleep easier. Placebo effect? Or is it something more? I honestly don't know.

You’ve offered another plausible explanation of why people who don’t believe in God still pray.

 

[Dan Clarkston]

You’ve offered another plausible explanation of why people who don’t believe in God still pray.

Are they praying to themselves? To each other?

They definitely be wasting their time.

 

[Matthias]

Are they praying to themselves? To each other?

They are praying to God.

They definitely be wasting their time.

 

[Dan Clarkston]

They are praying to God.

Sounds like something liberals would say

People that do not believe in God... don't turn around and pray to Someone they do not believe exists

 

[Riven]

Sounds like something liberals would say

People that do not believe in God... don't turn around and pray to Someone they do not believe exists

Why not? You hedge your bets when you're down and out. Might as well pray. It's free.

 

[Matthias]

Sounds like something liberals would say

People that do not believe in God... don't turn around and pray to Someone they do not believe exists

I’m not a liberal and, if the survey data is accurate, some people do.

 

[Dan Clarkston]

Well, they can pray all they want... it's a waste of time unless they accept Jesus as Lord and get born again first.

 

[Riven]

Well, they can pray all they want... it's a waste of time unless they accept Jesus as Lord and get born again first.

Don't you have to pray in order to become a Christian?