before I answer your post, I had better give you a little background of myself, just so you get a little idea of where i'm coming from and so my answers don't sound smug, because they are not intended to and there are some very important issues that you raise.
me,
I believe that God "made heaven and earth and all that in them is"
I believe that God knew what he was talking about and meant every word he said when he said "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery, Thou shalt not...... Exodus 20 verse 1 to 17
I believe that God also meant what he said when he said "This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life Deuteronomy 11 26
I have tried to live my life for the last 20 years by ALL the laws of the Bible, all 613 of them and yes its not easy at times. I have lost so many jobs I have applied for because when you tell your prospective employer that you cant work on Friday after sunset, or Saturday at all, they kind of frown on that. I plan all my holidays around the holy days, so there are times when my employers get angry with that (but they soon get over it) I don't wear clothing with mixed threads,.....
And even doing all that, not all my prayers get answered.
I have lost loved ones to cancer, for 18 months I prayed for a cure, as I watched them go through hell, in the end, I just prayed for God to get it over with.
I have witnessed and struggled with family members who have mental illnesses. my prayers where not always answered.
I have had family members steal small fortunes from me.
I have had....(you get the point)
Even though I try to do the right thing, my life hasn't been plain sailing, i'm not complaining, I still thank God for all the blessings I do have.
Now to answer your questions
You say,
My point was why does God only answer the prayers of people that have a chance of success (even if it is only a very remote chance) but ignore amputees?
The only prayers that ever get answered are the ones that could happen on their own without any input from God (even if it's a million to one shot - like the cancer patient). Prayers that are impossible (amputees regrowing limbs, overcoming AIDS etc) never get answered.
I think the way you look at God is all wrong. you look at God like some kind of new app for your Iphone. Cancer, just press the God App, and a prayer will go off, and the cancer will be gone. Aids, just press the God App, and a prayer will go off, and the aids will be gone, Amputee, just press the God App....
lets start from scratch.
According to the Bible,
In the Beginning God made The Heavens and the Earth, the sea and all that in them is.
now just think about that for a moment.
how intelligent and powerful would a being have to be to just speak a word and the world appears?
if you don't believe (or at least pretent to entertain that concept for this discussion) then its pointless reading any further.
if a being is capable of speaking the words, and the world appears, then there is a pretty good chance he's much smarter than us and " For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. 9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher "Isaiah 55 8 9
I don't know why all prayers don't get answered, I know a lot of mine don't, but I do know that some have, and in the end, I think i'll just be like Job, who said "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him." Job 13 15
You say
'There are more atheists in the world than true worshippers of God' Ok who are the ‘true worshippers of God'? There are more Catholics and Muslims than atheists.
The vast majority of the world is considered religious as opposed to non-religious.
If 'the world doesn’t work as it's intended' then maybe God should answer a few more prayers.
I say
now just think about a time when the world worked perfectly, no wars, no disease, no famine, do you think mankind would be obedient to God then? they saw that he existed, he talked to them, what more could they want?
Mankind had it's chance then, and still couldn't obey God.
Of course, i'm talking about the Garden of eden.
so if you still think that mankind would change if God just answered a few more prayers...sorry I don't think mankind has it in him/her
you say
And not just the prayers that affect one person at a time (like a successful surgery) but bigger prayers than can improve the lives of billions (hunger, war, etc etc etc etc).
I think the reason for his silence is obvious. And the most likely reason is often the correct one.
Just think about this Biblically for a second,there was a struggle in heaven and Satan was cast down to earth. In Heaven, Satan would have obviously recognised God, had no disease, no hunger, but it still wasn't enough for him, do you think mankind would far any better if we created this utopia where there was no need for struggle at all.
God has already given us the tools we need to our utopia where we wouldn't need to pray to ask for something, just to thank him, if we all followed the 613 laws, there would be no hunger or war or disease, all our prayers would be answered BEFORE we ask, but of course, mankind is not willing to try.
you say
(side thought: surely medical intervention goes against God’s will – separating siamese twins, cancer treatment, anything that prolongs life etc).
God's own son said,
On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick Matthew 9 11 13
If Christ thinks the sick need a Doctor, that's good enough for me.
