Praying for others - manipulative ?

[terter]

Recently read a post - her son had started drinking alcohol and she prayed that the Lord would make him sick when he drinks - please don't turn this into a thread on whether to drink alcohol or not. IMHO, that seems very manipulative even though she was looking out for his best interest due to his age, past behaviors, social atmosphere, etc. Or what if the prayer had not consisted of - making him sick, just asking the Lord to make him stop drinking? Just wondering what you think - of course very interested in scripture basis for intercession & prayer. Thanks.

[Prodigalson123]

as is often the case I believe, the right intentions and the wrong methods. We are supposed to pray for people, but not their harm. Asking the Lord to make it clear to the person that getting drunk is wrong is the right thing to do, but being so specific might be taking it a bit far IMHO

[terter]

I agree - right intentions & we're definitely suppose to pray for people.

(AS a side note, white magic is done for people's good according to witches and some believe their Christian).

Anyway, for regular Christians, (not including prayers for someone to get sick or something - from original post info), I just wonder sometimes if some of our prayers would be considered wanting God to manipulative someone.

[LadyRaven]

I agree - right intentions & we're definitely suppose to pray for people.

(AS a side note, white magic is done for people's good according to witches and some believe their Christian).

Anyway, for regular Christians, (not including prayers for someone to get sick or something - from original post info), I just wonder sometimes if some of our prayers would be considered wanting God to manipulative someone.

White witches are in no wise christian though some would like us to think they are. Paganism can embrace Christianity with no problem, but Christianity can never embrace paganism in any form.

Prayer can sometimes be used as gossip "PLease pray for susan, she's out ratting around late at night and..."

Prayer can be used as emotional manipulation to get people to feel sorry for you and your troubles.

We're human, and humans will always pervert something. I still pray when asked though.

[terter]

LadyRaven said, "White witches are in no wise christian though some would like us to think they are. Paganism can embrace Christianity with no problem, but Christianity can never embrace paganism in any form."

I know.

[Northern lass]

Some of the Psalms also seem to be praying for someone's harm eg Psalm 35. verses 7 & 8 say "Since they hid their net for me without cause and without cause dug a pit for me, may ruin overtake them by surprise, may the net they hid entangle them, may they fall into the pit, to their ruin" Not saying that it is right to pray like this - just agreeing with Lady Raven that we are only human and need to keep a guard on how we pray. The Psalms are comforting because we can find all our emotions there. Maybe it's more important to be honest before God and pour out what is in our hearts, even when what is in our hearts is wrong!

[heartofstone]

I bet it's ok to want to pray to God what's truly in our hearts, I mean even if it's not malicious sometimes it can be about us asking for or desiring the wrong things too, right? But good thing is, like truster mentioned, at least God doesn't bend to our will and doesn't do things like that for the ill of the ones prayed for. He would turn a situation around for the good and for the best of all involved. Good thing that He's unchangable and doesn't have a capricous nature, basically isn't like humans and wouldn't harm someone for stupid or shallow reasons. Good thing then that humans don't have real powers, we do enough with what is given us.

Anyway, that's an interesting mention of the Psalms, Northern Lass. If it's ok to say, I like to think well of those too despite the um darker nature of some of them. The Scriptures do say that David was a man after God's own heart, right? (hope I didn't mix the wording of that up too much). Maybe it's just about punishing David's evil enemies...kind of in the way that he was a chosen man of God and loved and worshipped God so it wasn't a good thing for those people to attack David, maybe? And, in a way, it could be kind of comforting because maybe it shows that God won't always allow those wishing to do malicious and wrongly inspired harm (not that plotting against people for evil is ever ok) to get away with whatever they're doing, to go unpunished?

Edited October 25, 2006 by heartofstone

[Guest LadyC]

i don't think it is manipulative. praying that alcohol will make the abuser physically ill is not praying for their harm, nor is it malicious. i have a feeling i'll be bashed no end for this, given the previous responses here. but i've prayed that my husband would become physically ill when he gets high. i don't think it is necessarily wrong to pray for such. doesn't mean God will answer the way you want Him to, because God is already in control and sees the eventual outcome.

alcohol and drugs cause harm. in fact, they cause far more harm than asking God to make them puke their guts up. alcohol abuse DOES cause illness. devastating illness. not by God's hand, but by the abusers own hand. illnesses which will inevitably kill them. chirrosis of the liver is one example. ever see anyone die of that disease? it's not pleasant.

is it wrong to ask God to make the person become nauseated at the taste of alcohol when continued abuse of it can cause them to hemmorage out of every orifice of their body? i don't think it's wrong, nor manipulative.

that being said, i think it's a self-defeating attitude to try and tell God how to handle a person's addiction. by doing this, you're still trying to maintain control rather than allow God to work according to His plan. if God doesn't answer by doing it your way, then you're likely to experience doubt that God hears your prayer, or that God cares for the individual.

for the record, since i brought up how i've prayed for my husband, he has been clean for seven days today. praise God!

[tah]

I will ask the Lord to "do whatever it takes"...

And I trust He will do just that ..

Something to consider...

1Co 5:4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,

1Co 5:5 To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

[terter]

'tah's posted: "I will ask the Lord to "do whatever it takes"...

And I trust He will do just that ..

tah, all jokes aside, please don't pray for me.