Theists Explain: Personal God

[Thoreau]

I will preface this post by stating that I do believe in a high power, aka "God". I do not, however, believe in a personal God that performs any form of divine intervention, nor has any direct responsibility in the daily ongoings of my life, or the universe in general.

My questions are mainly for the theists who believe in a personal God.

1) What makes you believe that God has a personal interest in your life?

2) How has God directly intervened (if at all) in your life?

3) How do you know it was God that intervened in your life and not either a) coincident, b) your own doing, or c) another power not God?

4) Do you believe God has answered your even ONE of your prayers?

5) If you answered yes to Q4, please explain why God would answer YOUR prayer(s), but leave billions of other prayers unanswers (such as the starving child who prays for food but dies hungry, or the sexually abused child who prays for help but never receives it).

 

[jayleew]

I'll put my ex-theist hat on.


1) What makes you believe that God has a personal interest in your life?
Because the scriptures and leaders tells me so.

2) How has God directly intervened (if at all) in your life?
I have a relatively peaceful life. I am blessed beyond measure. I've always made it through extremely difficult times ok.

3) How do you know it was God that intervened in your life and not either a) coincident, b) your own doing, or c) another power not God?
I have faith that it is God. I believe.

4) Do you believe God has answered your even ONE of your prayers?
God answers prayers in his own time. Yes, all of them, maybe not the way I like. I always understand the how and why he answers the way he does with hindsight.

5) If you answered yes to Q4, please explain why God would answer YOUR prayer(s), but leave billions of other prayers unanswers (such as the starving child who prays for food but dies hungry, or the sexually abused child who prays for help but never receives it).

A few of several reasons:
God gives us freewill to choose to do evil, so some choose to do evil and not feed or abuse.
God gives us opportunities to do combat evil and do something about the children and help out. If everyone were a God follower, there would be no starving or abused, but that will not be until he comes again.
God strengthens us through adversity. By relying on his strength we are stronger after the trial is done and we are tempered.

God works in mysterious ways. Even Jesus cried out, "Father, why have you forsaken me?" before he died.
Job was tortured by the devil with calamities and Joseph was nearly killed by his brothers and left for dead, sold as a slave, and sent to prison before he was made the hand of the Pharaoh.

 

[arauca]

I will preface this post by stating that I do believe in a high power, aka "God". I do not, however, believe in a personal God that performs any form of divine intervention, nor has any direct responsibility in the daily ongoings of my life, or the universe in general.

My questions are mainly for the theists who believe in a personal God.

1) What makes you believe that God has a personal interest in your life?

God have interest in everybody's life specially in the life of those who seek Him


2) How has God directly intervened (if at all) in your life?

Yes and many ways and many times


3) How do you know it was God that intervened in your life and not either a) coincident, b) your own doing, or c) another power not God?

He speaks through people who have the gift of Holy Spirit and they prophesy the forthcoming.


4) Do you believe God has answered your even ONE of your prayers?

Yes he answered many prayers in my life , and I ask for His blessing every day.


5) If you answered yes to Q4, please explain why God would answer YOUR prayer(s), but leave billions of other prayers unanswers (such as the starving child who prays for food but dies
hungry, or the sexually abused child who prays for help but never receives it).

Very simply, You talk to Him as to a father and He knows my needs, not necessary my wants.
Question : do they seek Him with all their soul all the time ? We went through war and its misery and prayed . The parents have to seek God and he will provide , parents are responsible for their children so they don't starve . The parents who bring children into the world , do they introduce their children to God , if they would they would not sexually abuse their children.
You say they never receive help. I am sure you can not speak for all of them.

 

[spidergoat]

You know what? Starving people need a food, something their farming parents can't give them if there isn't a rain. God doesn't provide shit sometimes except a painful death and funeral by vultures.

 

[Magical Realist]

1) What makes you believe that God has a personal interest in your life?

Because I'm a miserable failure in life who has to compensate by feeling I'm special enough to be facinating to a God.

2) How has God directly intervened (if at all) in your life?

By blowing off both my legs in Vietnam.

3) How do you know it was God that intervened in your life and not either a) coincident, b) your own doing, or c) another power not God?

Because God is all powerful but let it happen anyway.

4) Do you believe God has answered your even ONE of your prayers?

Yes..my prayer to get out Vietnam.

5) If you answered yes to Q4, please explain why God would answer YOUR prayer(s), but leave billions of other prayers unanswers (such as the starving child who prays for food but dies hungry, or the sexually abused child who prays for help but never receives it).

Because I'm special to God and he loves me best of all.

 

[786]

1) What makes you believe that God has a personal interest in your life?

Faith.

2) How has God directly intervened (if at all) in your life?

Don't know. There is no reason for him to intervene in the first place.

3) How do you know it was God that intervened in your life and not either a) coincident, b) your own doing, or c) another power not God?

Faith

4) Do you believe God has answered your even ONE of your prayers?

Probably, but it doesn't matter.

5) If you answered yes to Q4, please explain why God would answer YOUR prayer(s), but leave billions of other prayers unanswers (such as the starving child who prays for food but dies hungry, or the sexually abused child who prays for help but never receives it).

None of that really matters. You're stuck on the fact as if 'death' really means something at the end of it all. You think bacterias give a crap or even know that someone is dying or to think that dying is somehow bad? The only reason we give a 2 cent is because we have emotions. So in fact there is nothing inherently wrong with children dying or for any of that to have any real meaning. The meaning of death is ascribed to by species who have emotions. Nothing more. For those who believe death isn't the end but only a natural process everyone has to go through, why would this matter? The only reason any of this matters from a religious point of view is that God wants you to fight against this, help others, and so forth, but at the end of it all its just a 'act'.