Not as different as you might think.
When we "pray" we ask for mercy.
Trust me, a good share of my prayers are asking for same. He may have it all under control, but that doesn't mean that we've been clued in. Since my cancer was diagnosed, I've asked Him to take me gently if that is His will, but if I must suffer & He wants to use me, I ask Him to give me strength to withstand the test.
When the priest sings "Let us pray" the people respond "Lord have mercy" or "Grant it O Lord." In Orthodoxy, prayers involve giving thanks and asking for mercy. In either case we expect results.
Thy will be done. ;o)
We hope our prayers are pure enough for God to hear them
I don't think that there is anything that I can do that will make me pure enough to be deserving without His help.
and we expect that despite our sinful ways God will be merciful with our repentant hearts.
Do you think that people bring all of their suffering on to themselves, always? Is it about what happens to us or is it about our ability to handle what happens to us?
It's work, alright, it's actually beggings either bowed down or kneeling.
I've done plenty of that too. Like I said, He may have it all under control, but that doesn't mean that we've been clued in. Father, I feel lost & alone, I need Your comfort. Oh yeah, I beg, oft times while sobbing.
I start thinking that I have free will, that I'm in control, bad stuff happens. I have to say though, I have also been truly blessed & have much to be thankful about.
Not as different as you might think.
Oh, trust me, the Orthodox mindset is very different from anything in the West.
I've asked Him to take me gently if that is His will, but if I must suffer & He wants to use me, I ask Him to give me strength to withstand the test.
God does not delight in suffering of his creatures. The suffering is caused by the sinful and unrepentant world, and not by God.
Thy will be done. ;o)
And mean it! We who believe know that He is a merciful and just God; therefore whatever we receive will be merciful and just.
I don't think that there is anything that I can do that will make me pure enough to be deserving without His help.
No there isn't, but He doesn't expect it either -- not instantly at least. The reason there is no redemption for satan and his angles is because there is not a trace of godliness left in them. He cannot see that which is pure evil; nor can He save it.
In us, there is a spark of godliness. Believe me, if your prayers have but a spark of purity in them, He will hear them. He may not fulfill them, but He is likely to lead you to more pure and holier motives, and then grant them.
Do you think that people bring all of their suffering on to themselves, always?
We were born in a fallen world, even if we were not instrumental in its fall. A drug-addicted infant is an addict of no fault of his own; yet his addiction is is also his fall.
I start thinking that I have free will, that I'm in control, bad stuff happens.
We do have free will, albeit its freedom is limited; we are not free to sin. When we sin we are no longer free.
I have to say though, I have also been truly blessed & have much to be thankful about
Amen.