prayer posibilities

Wondering if I could get some insight.

I had a good friend that I grew up with, neither of us were walking with the lord, and as we grew up we moved on.

Lets say for the years following when I came to Christ I prayed for his salvation. Anyway years pass an I prayed for him even though we had lost contact since we were kids.

Turns out through a friend that he passed on years back and I didn't know, would God still honor those prayers even though the friend had died and I didn't know and prayed for him?

Or can you pray for the salvation of someone even when you know they have died like, Lord I hope and Pray That he knew you, and your salvation?

Thanks and blessings Tomo07.

Hello Tomo07-

What exactly do you mean when you ask whether God will "honor those prayers?"

I certainly think He would honor the fact that you prayed, but obviously that doesn't mean He can answer the prayer.

Sometimes I have similar thoughts when someone has had a medical test done and they are awaiting the outcome. Someone might pray "for a good result" of the test. Well, the test has already been done. Unless God will change what appears on the x-ray scan, or what is in the petri dish, the outcome is a done deal. Of course a healing would require a healing of the body AND a negative test, but if the test has already been done not sure how that would work.

If your friend had died, not sure how God could answer prayers regarding his spiritual health; at least that is the traditional answer.

Frank wrote:

"God knew and heard your prayers before you prayed them and I have no doubt that opportunities were presented to your friend for salvation because of them."

If this is true, then we should all be praying for our unsaved dead friends and family, because God could "hear" these prayers long before they were ever dead use them. I do not believe scripture teaches this.

There is a mystery regarding God and time, but we will never comprehend exactly what this means. What I DON'T think it means is that God has set up as system where He know just exactly everything that will ever happen in advance, like watching a movie over and over again that He made in the first place. No, I believe that God has actual emotions about what occurs. Not sure if this is possible if God is simply watching something play out that He created down to the minutest detail and put into motion in the eternal past.

Thankyou all.

It is just a general question, I did have a friend when we were teen ages growing up. Neither of us were walking right although I was brought up in a christian home, he however was not, and we were both unsaved.

We did part ways,never to meet again and over the years he became sick and I prayed for his salvation and witnessed to him. I do believe He was saved and I will see him again. Although this contact and witnessing was only over mail & phone, I never did meet up with him again. But I do believe he is in Heaven. call it hope or faith.

But my actually question was this.-

If you knew someone that wasn't saved, and you yourself also were not. and you parted ways, shortly later you came to the Lord.
Years rolled by say, ten years and you prayed for their salvation. But they died years ago and you however didn't know. Would or could God still answer those prayers, because you were sincere and did not know that they had died, even though they had.

I would like to think so, was just hoping their might be some scriptures regarding things along these lines, that I have not seen.

Indeed God is not restricted by time, he is the Beginning and the end, Alpha & Omega. I believe he is both with us here in the now, but also at the end at the same time, just an idea not saying it's right just where I am at the moment with my thinking.
An interesting question all the same, that has always been there in the back of my mind, just curious as to the thoughts of others regarding this.

Love & Blessing Tomo07.

Tomo-

It seems as if you are asking whether our prayers **today** can affect things that happened **yesterday**.

For a clear example, let's say a car accident occured yesterday. Can I pray today that the accident yesterday never have happened and expect it to make a difference?

Along the lines of your exampple, let's say an unsaved friend died ten years ago. I am ignorant of this fact and I pray for his salvation today.

Once again, as I stated in my prior post, it seems like you are asking whether my prayer today for my friend's salvation can have any effect, even though he died 10 years ago unsaved.

Frank suggested that this prayer may have effect, because God is "outside time." I take this to mean that God can "move" my prayer to a time before my friend's death.

There is no scriptural support for any such thing. What's past is past. If there is any scriptural support for the idea that God has changed the past due to a prayer offered in the present, I would like someone to quote it, because if it is there it has been ignored by evangelical Christians for a couple of thousand years.

Quote.-

'It seems as if you are asking whether our prayers **today** can affect things that happened **yesterday**'.

Nice easy way of putting it. yeah I guess that's what I am asking.

Interesting answers, I guess there are many things that we just cannot explain or understand. This for me is just one of many things I often wonder about.

I just thought not under normal circumstances, but when the person is both ignorant of the fact & genuinely sincere, that the Lord may answer or know of the prayers ahead of time, as he says.

Matt 6:8

'Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Heavenly Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him'. (KJV)

This seems to indicate that he is not restricted by time, and knows beforehand anyway, so prahaps he may answer to a point & under certain circumstances. just a thought.

thanks for your feedback TMK & bless you, much appreciated. Tomo07

Tomo-

It is an interesting topic- I am glad you brought it up because I had not thought about it before.

Regarding God knowing what we need before we ask-- the fact is that so do we, or we wouldn't be asking :) In other words, the need precedes the asking.

I am not sure if Mt 6:8 can be used as a proof text that God is not restricted by time; to me Jesus was telling his listeners that God knows what is going on.