I almost hesitate to post this due to some perceiving it as insensitive, which is not the case. But in my recent search for truth I have very few places and people I can share my thoughts without catching a backlash of anger, questioning and resentment. Bottom line, I hope no one suffered from the tornadoes and never does. May they all miss homes, businesses, cars and just pull up grass and trees. I hate them and they are dangerous and scary.
Prayers and tornadoes…we’ve seen a lot of posts on here and you hear it on the radio, T.V. reports, etc. Prayers for recovery…prayer for protection from the tornadoes…and I am sensitive to the nature of the reliance on prayer. For years, I was raised with the same mindset. Possible disaster on its way? Pray for protection. Disaster strikes? Pray for peace and healing. It is something that folks use as a communication device to God. And the nature of this post is based on the audio from the Joplin video of the folks in the convenient store. You could easily hear an woman yelling out, “Heavenly Father! Jesus!” She was calling on the name of God in her time of crisis. Yet I was instantly struck by the thought, “Doesn’t the God you are calling on already know what is happening? Didn’t he design this or, at least, allow it?” If you, your friends, your loved one’s or even a neighbor or enemy have suffered from the tornadoes I am truly sorry and wish you nothing more than a speedy recovery and rebuilding process. None of us are void of tragedy or sadness in this world…so we who haven’t had to deal with that much of it are truly fortunate. Having said that….
One of these things is true…
1. God allowed and ordained the tornado and does each and every one of them as a form of punishment for man’s sins. If these happened in San Francisco or Las Vegas someone in the south would say it is a punishment for what happens in those cities. God has the force and ability to stop it…yet he allowed it. He is so powerful and he knows what it is going to do before it happens and was fine with it happening, no matter what it did to good people who even fear him, worship him, and live lives in accordance with his laws. This includes innocent children like the missing toddler in Piedmont. God is aware, but no respecter of man. So the prayers are all a waste of time cause these vicious acts of nature are all a part of his plan. He has no plan to stop his plan because you are in the way of danger, someone you know or love is in the way of danger, and his plan is too great and advanced for us to understand, so we might as well just accept the luck of avoiding the disasters that strike our world including sickness, disease and natural disasters. Personally, if I knew of impending disaster headed someone’s way and I had the ability to stop it…whether I knew them well or not…I certainly would tell them. For God to know it, have the ability to stop it and do nothing about it…makes him sound…well…you decide. The prayer is not part of the plan.
2. God allows nature to just take its course and the laws of nature are alive and well. God does, in fact, know about the tornadoes and it just so happens that you have chosen to live in an area where tornadoes are more likely due to climate. So while we have to accept that this life and earth is not perfect, the hope is in the perfection of heaven after this life. God could stop it, but he doesn’t. Again, the prayers seem pretty worthless. And this brings about a demented mentality for the person issuing the prayer. If you believe your prayers kept the tornado away from you, you have to also believe that God answered your prayer by dropping the wrath on someone else. For every person dodging the disaster someone is getting nailed by it. So to say that God spared you is to say he did not spare someone who lost their home, business, cars, loved ones or life itself. Almost a calloused mindset. The prayer is selfish.
3. There is no God. These are the laws of nature and there is a reason earthquakes take place where they do, tornadoes take place where they do, extreme heat happens where it does, extreme cold happens where it does and we are all subject to it based on where we choose to live. So if you choose to live in tornado alley you have to realize that in the spring time when the jet stream comes in from the rocky mountains and things heat up in the sky and the dew point is up…they are gonna happen. We all wish no disaster on anyone, but praying about it won’t take it away or help you dodge it. It is the nature of the beast of life in that part of the world. So, in this scenario, the prayer is simply to make you feel better when there is no one listening. The prayer is pointless.
If I have missed an option here that makes the prayers a great and effective idea, let me know. And again, a speedy recovery to all of you who suffered.
Originally Posted by JohnnyMack
