Matthew 7:7, Matthew 17:20, Matthew 21:21, Mark 11:24, John 14:12-14, Matthew 18:19 and James 5:15-16. Jesus disagrees with your interpretation (i.e. mental gymnastics) of justifying the fact that prayer is the same as doing nothing.

I don't think you've ever took a Scriptures class because you don't seem to understand those verses. Almost all of them are talking about how if you have faith and put your hardest into something then you can accomplish what you believed to be impossible. It's basically Nike's slogan of "Just Do It". The ones actually about prayer like the first are saying that when you pray you are knocking on God's door and he'll open it for you since you seek him and you can speak with him just like you wanted. Prayer is an inner conversation with God in which you reflect and speak to him. You probably think that praying is just thinking in your head "I pray for this, I pray that this happens, I pray for this person" when really you should be speaking to God "Dear God, I know that I haven't prayed very much but I'm hoping to find the strength to commit to praying more often and talking to you. I had a very fun experience with my friends today and it's a blessing to have such loyal people who are there for me and I'm going to do my best to be good back to them...etc." You're supposed to have a conversation with God and reflect and have dialogue. It's not a wish box of any way.

It is very telling that one must take a "scriptures course" in order to really understand what the Bible says. If you must go through the exhausting task of convincing yourself the Bible says what you want it to say, that you are denying yourself the opportunity to see that it is rubbish.

It was a Freshman required religion course at my Jesuit private high school, and it's because a lot of people take the Bible too literal and we learned the history behind the authors of many of the books of the Old Testament and the New Testament. I believe because of this I have a better and more sensical religious view of the Scriptures. I can read through the crap like the laws in the Old Testament.

[quote]I can read through the crap like the laws in the Old Testament.[/quote] But it's the word of God. How can you call the word of God crap?

Because it wasn't the word of God. It was written by a Deuteronomist (book of Deuteronomy) who noticed that King Solomon was not taking life seriously (he was partying it up and living his life with few values) so the Deuteronomist wrote a bunch of laws (popular 'Jewish' laws at the time) and said they were the word of God so that King Solomon would see that he needs to get his shit together or else he's going to hell. It also was for the people as they went downhill in their principles just like their King. So basically those laws about gays going to hell and stuff were not true. The only word of God is the Commandments and even Jesus said that the one thing that matters the most is "love thy neighbor as you love yourself" which pretty much just means lvie a life with good values. Traditionalists pick and choose the old laws because they aren't fans of change in society. Clearly.

Christians need to get together and come to a consensus about what in the bible is the actual word of god and what isn't. [quote][b]Matthew 5:17-18[/b] [b]17[/b] Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. [b]18[/b] For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.[/quote] [quote][b]2 Timothy 3 16-17[/b] [b]16[/b] All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: [b]17[/b] That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.[/quote] [quote][b]John 10 13[/b] [b]35[/b] If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken; [/quote] It's rather clear that the Old Testament is the word of God, in its entirety.

Jesus broke so many laws from the Old Testament and constantly told wrong the Pharisees whom followed the laws word for word. There are many different sects of Christianity, I am Catholic. I know the background of the writers of the Old Testament and many just threw in a bunch of laws that were modern at the time. And look it up "The Law" isn't referring to the laws in the Old Testament.