I don't understand how god allows good people to suffer; especially at the hands of evil people. You can read your bible everyday and then pray and then all of a sudden someone who you know who you know doesn't do any of that gets all the luck. Like when you are competing for a job. You could need that job really bad and yet someone who you know who doesn't even read the bible or pray gets that job. Or you could be dependent on others to help you during your time of financial straits and instead of God giving you a job, he lets you take money from your family instead and in doing so you take a lot of grief as well. What is the answer?

All I can say is God helps those who helps themselves. I have never read the bible though I was raised a catholic and went to a catholic school and even thought I was an atheist at one point and my mother always told me that one day I would find God but it's not what you would think. Refer to the poem "footsteps" where God is always with us and when times seem the worst he carries us. There will always be things that happen in life that we don't think are exactly fair or just but it's during those times that God is with us the most. He (*she) cannot prevent bad things from happening but he is always there to guide us through them and we must fine the higher power within ourselves to persevere. I don't want to get all preachy on you but I believe I have found my place with God and though bad things may happen in my life I believe he is always there to guide me. I hope this brings you faith.

I agree with midnight_Angel that God help those who help themselves. Reading holy book or praying doesn't mean now you have the right to get anything you want. When u don't get something what u need maybe then God tests you how much faith do u have on him when you are in a need of something and it's out of your hands, what way you choose to get it, right path or follow the wrong direction (could be a short step for while but in the long run it has it's concequences).

Or maybe it depeds on the interest of the person who reads the holy book and pray, does she/he praying to make God happy or entice God to get what he/she wishes for.

If the person who's bad gets the job, maybe he/she is more qualified for the position then the one who do the praying.

We human beings wishes for things with out knowing if they are good or bad for us, God only knows what's best for us, if we want or need something really badly but we don't get it and get disappointed but after a while we figure out it was not good or us, or maybe we get a much better what we've wished for, then we learn it was God's plan for us.

It's a short life, we better spend it with honesty, happily and with out jealousy, nobody knows what will happen to him/her tomorrow or next minute, we should all live and let live.

May God bless on all.

Hadi88

What a lot of people call 'God' is working inside of you, inside all of us all the time. You don't know it but... You answer your own prayers.

I believe it all comes down to faith. Also know that when children are young or even grown up when they ask their parent for something, do they always get what they want? The answer is no.

Remember that everything in life we experience creates character. I would give you verses and bible pages to read but you can do that on your own and discover for yourself what is truly important.

Best of luck but remember God is always with you and within you.

Joe

All of these advices make good points.

Another thing to remember is that we think of being "blessed" or happy as getting everything we want, or being rich, or the fulfillment all of those human desires. But, think about this:
In Christianity, who do we call the "most blessed among women"? Mary, the Mother of God. This woman was asked to bear a son immaculately, went through a lot of trouble to have her son, worried for his life all the time, and then had to watch him be tortured and killed. Now, why would we call her "blessed art thou among women"?

There is a lot more to life than getting everything we wish for and there is more to God than just giving us everything we ask for. God is not a genie in a magic lamp waiting to grant our wishes. Something to remember...

I had to depend on my family for money for a few years and I got plenty of grief for it from the family. It was really hard. But one day it all turned around! I got the opportunity to pay the family back and it felt great!

At the time it was really hard and I didn't understand what I did to deserve that, but looking back I see that I learned a lot and grew. It is hard to explain, but God knows what he is doing! Trust him! He has a plan for you, but you may not like the current accommodations. Be patient!

Good Luck on your job search and I will pray for you. God Loves You!

I am going to go about this question in a round about way.

"Does God answer prayer?"

Yes, he does. I am alive today to prove it. I had cancer and I prayed almost every moment of every day to live a full healthy life so that my children would not be left motherless. That was 10 years ago. I have not a so much as a cold since.

Tuesday my father was put in the hospital, yesterday we were placed on a ventilator. His prognosis was poor. My mother called in their priest to give Dad Last Rites last night. Today he was upgraded to stable condition.

So, does God answer prayers?

Well, so far he has answered mine.

Actually, in the Holy Bible, it states that God helps those who cannot help themselves. If you can help yourself, you do not need God and you do not need His Grace.

Apart from salvation, there is perhaps a way that the concept "God helps those who help themselves" is correct. As an example, if you asked me to help you move a piece of furniture, but then just watched me as I moved the furniture for you, I was not actually helping you. I would be doing the work for you. Many Christians fall into the trap of inactivity. Many Christians ask God for help, but then expect God to do everything Himself. They excuse this by pointing to the fact that God will provide according to His will and in His timing. However, this is not a reason for inactivity. As a specific example, if you are in need of a job, ask the Lord to help you find a job - but then be active in actually looking for a job. While it is in His power to do so, it is highly unlikely that God will cause employers to come looking for you.

As for bad things happening to good people, it is not enough to say it happens to us all and it has happened from the beginning of time. An example is Job of the Old Testament. Matthew 5:45, in the New Testament, says, "That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for He maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust." We are called to trust and pray that we are following the will of God.

About the job going to someone else? Are you willing to take any kind of job right now in order to support your family? Sometimes it is easier to find a job when you are employed. When you refuse to look at an employment opportunity because it may not be exactly what you think you deserve, you need to revise your thinking. I have often had jobs where I was content to start on the bottom rung of the ladder, just to get in the door, and work toward the higher goal.

Good luck to you.

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Originally Posted by TheChatelaine

I don't understand how god allows good people to suffer; especially at the hands of evil people. You can read your bible everyday and then pray and then all of a sudden someone who you know who you know doesn't do any of that gets all the luck. Like when you are competing for a job. You could need that job really bad and yet someone who you know who doesn't even read the bible or pray gets that job. Or you could be dependent on others to help you during your time of financial straits and instead of God giving you a job, he lets you take money from your family instead and in doing so you take a lot of grief as well. What is the answer?

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Well all throughout the Bible God lets us know that we WILL have trials and tribulations. James says that we should all joy in them because trials, make our faith stronger. It makes us rely on God and stop relying on ourselves or our understanding. If we didn't suffer/go through crappy times, there would be no opportunities for God to perform miracles. There would be NO REASON for faith. Faith is the evidence of things unseen. And w/o it, its IMPOSSIBLE to please God. My favorite story when it comes to this "problem of evil" is not necessarily job *although one of the best stories by far*, but the parable about the two men who built their houses. The wise man built his house on a rock *firm foundation* and the foolish man built his house on the sand *shaky ground* and we all know what happened when the storm came. But that's not my favorite point... My favorite point is... the storms came on BOTH houses. Not just the foolish man's, but even the follower of God.