The Answerer

This is how I put a variation on this statement: "I prayed to God but he didn’t answer my prayer so I don’t believe in him anymore.’ That statement is a question and a child’s belief.

In my first book: 100 QUESTIONS Asked by Year Seven students, Q.49 asked: ’When I pray to God why doesn’t he answer back?’ and Q.99: ’I talk to God sometimes, but usually nothing changes. Why is this so?’

All three questions are very reasonable thoughts from a child who is growing up. (Please note that many grown-ups feel the same but never bother to think it through.)

God’s way, is not our way and I’ll try to explain. Jesus said to his 12 disciples: ’Ask anything in my name and it shall be done.’ Phew! Can he really mean that? Anything? Jesus then likened their faith as being very small indeed. We all find it very hard to believe because our faith in Jesus is small.

Those disciples also said to Jesus: ’Lord-teach us how to pray.’ So He did. Jesus said: ’When you pray do not be like the heathen who hope to be heard by their much speaking, for your heavenly Father knows what you have need of before you pray. Pray like this: ’Our Father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom , the power and the glory forever and ever, Amen.’ Please note that the Lord’s Prayer is very good in that it can be used anywhere and in any situation where God’s help would be a good thing.

It sure must be confusing for a child. The bit most of us don’t get is ’…your heavenly father knows what you need before you ask.’ It takes years to truly believe that. Some learn it fast, others take longer and some very much longer! I guess that’s our problem!! He knows what we need – but many of us ask too often for what we want or think we need. Please try to understand those few lines because that’s the secret. (Matt.6:5-15) please note; The 12 disciples were ’slow to learn and understand’ too. Jesus told them several times: ’Do you still not believe me?’ And ’Why are you so slow to understand?’ (see Mark Chapter 17 and verses 17 to 18, and Mark Chapter 8 verses 17 to 21)

I know people here in Western Australia who have had urgent prayers answered, for food when the pantry was empty, missionaries needing money for a plane ticket, or train fare and have had their needs met – just in time.

I am now 79 years old and I looked and found that most of my prayer was about other people- : family, lots of missionaries in places like Africa, Indonesia, Australia, USA, South America and the Middle East. These people need our prayers to keep them from harm and danger in many places. As an ’oldie’ I don’t ask for much for me.

Please know that this statement says a lot about God and his answering our prayers: “It takes but a moment to become a Christian but a lifetime to know God and his ways.”

So knowing about prayer does take time. We all must learn from it as we know more of the Bible and learn from our mistakes.

These two questions are in 100 QUESTIONS Vol.1: Q.55 and Q.87.

I add this now because it will maybe shed a little light on unknown sickness and cancers. I heard on the news last week that kids in Japan around the four damaged nuclear power plants in 2011 must now wear radiation monitors so they do not get atomic radiation poisoning. ’YUK!’ What are they supposed to do if there is radiation? run 200 miles away?

In 1945 and up to 1965 the USA, France, Russia, Britain, (Britain tested several in Australia) and maybe a few other countries set off thousands of atomic bombs to learn more about them. Two atom bombs were dropped on cities in Japan to end six years of World War II. The poisonous bits (microscopic size poisons) fell all around the world and are still there – in food, water and the air, but invisible, odourless and tasteless.

Nuclear waste, radiation and other such ’nasties’…this world can do without!! Some of it causes cancers (one of my children died of cancer at age 4) so this writer will never trust nuclear energy in any form to be safe because many who want it make money from it! The waste must be stored for many thousands of years – hundreds of tonnes of it. And my grandkids and future generations will carry the burden of the cost and the danger from this highly poisonous radioactive ’stuff’.

Recently I saw a TV programme about Hiroshima victims. That city was the first to have an atomic bomb dropped on it. It was a year, (or years) after the bomb fell. Quite a few were still alive. The natural, long term decay of nuclear particles is a bit like a lottery. Nobody can tell just when a microscopic poisonous bit will decay (a bit like a tree trunk rotting over years in a forest) in your kidney, liver, leg, arm, etc. When the particle decays a nearby cell in your body will be damaged by its decaying. When a cell is damaged it cannot make new cells so a cancer might develop, or it may not develop! A real ’Lottery’ inside the body of the ’victim’.

If you, a family member or friend has cancer there is a very helpful website in Australia by CanTeen. It is www.whatnow.org.au . A very helpful mob.

A very reasonable expectation that it is time for a break from wars.

Why does it not happen? Well, we humans are really slow learners. We do not, and never have, learnt that war really solves nothing – only makes money for the arms makers (ships, planes, submarines, trucks, tanks and so on).

One wise, former ’great’ in fighting wars said; ’What must be held by force cannot last.’ Meaning that eventually ordinary people will rise up and throw the oppressor out!

It is happening in the Middle East today, now, in June, July and August 2011 (Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Syria, Iraq, and Bahrain and yes Afghanistan). What will replace them? Only time will tell – but some people seem urged to dominate and rule other people and you will see what happens over there in the next few years as history is made there. An elected democracy? Another dictator? Who knows? I do not.

In the Bible it says: ’The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it.’(Jeremiah chapter 17 in verse 9)

The very thought of power over people and lots of money ’hooks’ some people, but they find out later that power and money can be deceitful and does not always make you happy and with a great family when that person is old. Do remember God gave people guidelines and rules for happy living – with a free will to choose what to do – but so many get to love power and money over goodness and a happy family. Bit sad really that humans do not seem to learn very quickly.

In another way, each day in Australia about four people take their own lives, by suicide. I do not know but maybe this is what you may be asking about. Depression, or mental illness is something you cannot see mostly, but it is quite common. Some of the best and nicest people suicide. It is very painful for everyone and many people cannot talk about childhood abuse and so do not get help. Help is more available these days.

It seems to me – an old bloke – that big cities help, produce the conditions for loneliness, depression and thoughts of death and that nobody cares, or can help. And walls…walls that separate us from our neighbours are really not helpful at all.

To a child, death (in my country, Australia) is far, far away and not thought of too often. Australia has a good health system and help is mostly there if we need it. Yes, in ’the Outback’ where there are very few people, ’The Flying Doctor’ aeroplanes fly out to bring in sick people hundreds, even thousands of kilometres to hospital. Millions of children in other countries do not have this security and see death from poverty and sickness all too often. My Mum lived to be 100 years old – yes she did, 1893 to 1993, and her seven children were very proud of her. She told me around her last year: ’Oh Peter, I am so tired, I would like to just go to sleep and not wake up. ’She was a Christian and looking forward to heaven. I am now nearly eighty years old and starting to feel the same way as my Mum. It is God’s plan that our time on earth is a sort of school of learning, to get us ready for heaven. (A sign outside an American church says: ’Planning to go to heaven? Get your flight training here.’)

Youth just thinks that we will live forever because, in my country, mostly, life is good.

Enjoy your life now…but be ready at all times to meet God. OK?

Well, millions are born in countries where English is not the local language.

Russian kids speak Russian, Japanese kids speak Japanese, French kids speak French. I know that millions of people want to speak English and spend a lot of money learning it. It is very hard to learn it as a second language.

BUT it is a beautiful language with many shades of meaning to better describe what you want to say. In a little dictionary and thesaurus I have the word nice has 23 other words to describe something that is nice. (i.e. attractive, likeable, pleasant and many others).

I think English is the only language with a thesaurus.