Posted on 09/21/2014 1:58:23 PM PDT by NYer
Ping!
MOTHER THERESA had something to do with that.
She must have some POWERFUL pull in heaven. :o)
When the Pope visits Algoria, THAT will be a miracle...
OK, a serious question to my fellow Christians: if a Muslim prays for the Pope’s protection, does God hear and answer the prayer because it is His will that His servants be protected, or does God not hear nor answer the prayer because it is misdirected towards Allah, who either doesn’t exist (Isaiah 40), or exists but is demonic (I Corinthians 10) and therefore does not desire the protection of the Pope?
Also, because of the 40+ years of Communist rule, it pretty much destroyed a lot of Islam’s hold in Albania.
Algoria, isn't that the place where people have "head" trouble? That is, they have their head:
in the clouds
buried in the sand
OR
up their butts?
bump
How on EARTH are we to know God's plans, what He hears/doesn't hear and what His opinion is about Allah and/or the Pope?
Since we are NOT privy to our good God's mind, perhaps you only meant it rhetorically.
If a Muslim publically states that he is praying for the Pope’s protection, he is likely employing Taqiyya.
“also noting that Muslims gathered in an important Tirana mosque to pray for the pontiff’s visit.”
I find this rather hard to believe. I think it’s made up.
God, of course, does something we will never be able to do: he sees into people's hearts and minds, and He knows their thoughts and their motivations even better than they do, themselves.
So it seems to me there is not just a blanket "yes" or "no" answer to the question, "Does God hear the prayers of Muslims, even or especially when they are praying for the safety of a Christian?"
He knows when their intention is, "I am praying to the One God, the Creator of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible, Whoever He may be" --- and that is perfectly plausible even if they say "Allah," since Allah is merely the Arabic word of "God" --- Arabic-speaking Christians were using this word for God for 500+ years before Mohammad was even born. He also knows when their intention is, "I am praying to the 'god' who demands the slaughter of infidels."
He will judge accordingly. With perfect fairness and perfect accuracy. So perfect, that when all things come to light, every good-hearted and fair-minded person on earth will be punching the air and cheering and saying, "He got that exactly right!"
Well, if by Allah you mean Islam, I think it's pretty clear what God thinks about any false doctrine that denies His Son.
http://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/saints/ns_lit_doc_20031019_madre-teresa_en.html
“By blood, I am Albanian. By citizenship, an Indian. By faith, I am a Catholic nun. As to my calling, I belong to the world. As to my heart, I belong entirely to the Heart of Jesus. ”Small of stature, rocklike in faith, Mother Teresa of Calcutta was entrusted with the mission of proclaiming God’s thirsting love for humanity, especially for the poorest of the poor. “God still loves the world and He sends you and me to be His love and His compassion to the poor.” She was a soul filled with the light of Christ, on fire with love for Him and burning with one desire: “to quench His thirst for love and for souls.”
So it seems to me there is not just a blanket "yes" or "no" answer to the question, "Does God hear the prayers of Muslims, even or especially when they are praying for the safety of a Christian?"
And yet MORE reason.
He knows when their intention is, "I am praying to the One God, the Creator of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible, Whoever He may be" --- and that is perfectly plausible even if they say "Allah," since Allah is merely the Arabic word of "God" --- Arabic-speaking Christians were using this word for God for 500+ years before Mohammad was even born. He also knows when their intention is, "I am praying to the 'god' who demands the slaughter of infidels."
You are AMAZING, Mrs. Don-o.
He will judge accordingly. With perfect fairness and perfect accuracy. So perfect, that when all things come to light, every good-hearted and fair-minded person on earth will be punching the air and cheering and saying, "He got that exactly right!"
All I can say is BRAVO!
Imagine, she went to India to give the dying some dignity.
She searched the foul streets of India JUST to bring in those DISCARDED men, women, children and BABIES, DISCARDED, THROWN AWAY by their own families and gave them food, clothes, some medicine (if she had it), a bed in which to die...and LOVE, the love of God from her heart.
She was a MOST unusual women...a true saint in our day!
Thanks for this! Mother Teresa’s words are always like water in the desert.
“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. “You shall have no other gods before me. “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me..."
But that's just the point; nobody can know WHAT 'god' another person is truly adhering to in his or her heart. If they think and believe that they are adhering to the Creator of Heaven and Earth, of all things Visible and Invisible, and pray to Him, the God of Abraham, and Moses, and Jesus, then so it is: He is not slow to hear the prayers of those who call upon Him.
If they know and intend to dedicate themselves to the 'god' who decrees evil, then so it is as well.
We are authorized and capable of judging things we can outwardly know: words and deeds. We can judge words as true or false, as cruel or kind. We can judge deeds as wrong or right, good or evil.
But we cannot judge interior dispositions and motivations. Only God can do that. And it is iniquitous for us to judge things we cannot know.
"Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment. " John 7:24
Here is a video of a man, named by his parents "Muhammad" but now known by his Baptismal name, Mario Joseph, who was initially influenced by the Koran to consider in his mind whether Jesus might be actually greater than Mohammad! (LINK)
This was when he was 18, and things were mixed and confused in his mind (as they so often are with us fallible human beings in this world of error.) But he finally came to seek and find the Lord Jesus and to reject Mohammad's claims.
He s now a full-time Christian evangelist!
It's worth a watch.
My point is, we can be confused but the Lord can be calling us to a fuller vision of Himself and the Truths we hold in the Christian Faith.
So if some Muslim prays, "True God, Whoever you are, please protect the Christians and lead me to all Truth" --- Who do you suppose is inspiring this good prayer? Is it not the Holy Spirit, who through Grace can lead him step-by-step to Christ and to all Truth?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.