Q: How do I know if I’m praying according to God’s will? I know God won’t answer me if my prayers aren’t in line with His will, but how do I know if I’m asking for something He isn’t willing to do? — M.McD.
A: This question brings up a contradiction that has always puzzled me. The following are tenets commonly espoused by Christians:
- “God has a plan.” God works in mysterious ways.” These are usually uttered in response to questions of the type, “Why do good things happen to bad people?”.
- “Please pray for such-and-such to happen” The such-and-such could be a safe journey, the recovery of loved one from a sickness, the return of a lost dog, etc.
However, these two concepts are contradictory. If all things happen according to some god’s plan, then it would be irrational to think that this god would change its plan because of someone’s prayer. Conversely, if a god made changes to the physical world based on a prayer, then it would be deviating from its master plan. Both of the above statements cannot be true, but a vast majority of Christians ferverently believe they are. This is just one of many examples that expose the irrationality of Christian beliefs. The obvious way to reconcile this contradiction is to reject belief in the Christian god.
To answer the question: The god you pray to does not exist, and your prayers are futile. You can stop wasting your time praying and worrying if you are doing it right.
This topic reminds me of the following graphic.
Feel free to leave your answer to this question in the comments.
An Atheist's Answer 