Does God Intervene?

[POI]

Christians, both in prayer and without, will state God gave me this, did that, or other.

For debate: Does God ever intervene, with or without being asked? If no, why ever ask God for anything? If yes, why does he skip many/all requests?

[mms20102]

[Replying to POI in post #1]

This question assumes a very human, transactional view of God — like He's a vending machine: insert prayer, get results.

But there is a deeper framework.

Yes, God does intervene — both seen and unseen, with or without request.

أَمَّن يُجِيبُ ٱلْمُضْطَرَّ إِذَا دَعَاهُ وَيَكْشِفُ ٱلسُّوٓءَ
“Is He [not best] who responds to the distressed when he calls upon Him and removes evil?” (An-Naml 27:62)



But here's the key:

God is not a servant to our expectations.

He gives according to His wisdom, not our impatience.


Sometimes:

He delays the response to grow us.

He gives differently than we asked because it’s better.

Or He withholds because what we wanted would destroy us.


Even human parents don’t give their children everything they ask for — not out of cruelty, but out of care. Why expect less wisdom from the One who knows the seen and unseen?

asking God isn’t just about getting.
It’s about connection, humility, trust, and surrender.
We ask not because He doesn’t know — but because it transforms us to ask.

وَقَالَ رَبُّكُمُ ٱدْعُونِىٓ أَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ
“And your Lord said: Call upon Me; I will respond to you.” (Ghafir 40:60)



But He responds as a wise Lord, not a wish-granter.

I feel your next question directly will be >

“If God exists, why does He allow pain, sickness, injustice, rape, war, and everything horrible while people pray?”



But God doesn’t ignore suffering — it reveals its purpose. The Qur’an and Sunnah don’t deny pain, they elevate it. Here's what your Lord has already told you:

1. This life was never meant to be easy.

لَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا ٱلْإِنسَـٰنَ فِي كَبَدٍ
“Indeed, We created man in [a state of] struggle.”
(Al-Balad 90:4)


إِنَّ لَكَ أَلَّا تَجُوعَ فِيهَا وَلَا تَعْرَىٰ • وَأَنَّكَ لَا تَظْمَؤُا فِيهَا وَلَا تَضْحَىٰ • فَتَشْقَى
“Indeed, [in Paradise] you will neither go hungry nor be naked… nor suffer thirst or heat. But [on Earth] you will struggle.”
(Taha 20:118–119)



He told us clearly: Earth is not a place we are staying forever. We were created to be tested, not indulged.



2. Suffering has meaning — for purification, reward, and elevation.

وَلَنَبْلُوَنَّكُم بِشَىْءٍ مِّنَ ٱلْخَوْفِ وَٱلْجُوعِ وَنَقْصٍۢ مِّنَ ٱلْأَمْوَٰلِ وَٱلْأَنفُسِ وَٱلثَّمَرَٰتِ ۗ وَبَشِّرِ ٱلصَّـٰبِرِينَ

“We will surely test you… but give good news to the patient.”
(Al-Baqarah 2:155)



3. The Prophet ﷺ said:

“The most privileged person in the world, from among the people of Hell, will be dipped once in Hellfire on the Day of Judgment, and it will be said: O son of Adam, did you ever experience any good? He will say: No, by Allah.”

“And the most miserable person in the world, from the people of Paradise, will be dipped once in Paradise, and it will be said: O son of Adam, did you ever experience any hardship? He will say: No, by Allah.”
(Sahih Muslim 2807)



Just one moment in the Hereafter will make all of this life feel like nothing — whether it was pain or pleasure.




4. True reward is not in comfort, but in endurance.

“The people of well-being will wish on the Day of Judgment that their skins had been cut with scissors in the world — when they see the reward given to the people of trials.”
(Tirmidhi, Hasan)



“Great reward comes with great trials. When Allah loves a people, He tests them. Whoever is content, will have contentment. Whoever is displeased, will have displeasure.”
(Sunan Ibn Majah, Hasan)



5. Suffering erases sin — it is mercy disguised as hardship.

“A believer will continue to be tried in his self, his children, and his wealth — until he meets Allah free of sin.”
(Sahih al-Tirmidhi)

Suffering isn’t proof of God’s absence — it’s proof of His wisdom.
He purifies, He elevates, and He replaces every pain with reward — if we respond with patience, trust, and hope.

Next time you feel overwhelmed by your trial, remind yourself:

إِنَّمَا يُوَفَّى ٱلصَّـٰبِرُونَ أَجْرَهُم بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍۢ
“Indeed, the patient will be given their reward without measure.”
(Az-Zumar 39:10)

[1213]

Do you mean God listens to and/or addresses every request and either grants the request, or rejects the request? Other?

Yes, I believe God hears every prayer that is addressed to Him. And i have no reason to believe He skips, ignores, any of them.

But, I don't think God will do everything people asks, for example because:

Yahweh is far from the wicked, But he hears the prayer of the righteous.
Prov. 15:29

[POI]

Yes, I believe God hears every prayer that is addressed to Him. And i have no reason to believe He skips, ignores, any of them.

But, I don't think God will do everything people asks, for example because:

Yahweh is far from the wicked, But he hears the prayer of the righteous.
Prov. 15:29

Then how come "God" perpetually skips prayer requests to cure specific conditions and illnesses? Does this mean that only the deemed unrighteous contract these conditions and illnesses, who also pray to relieve them?

[POI]

This question assumes a very human, transactional view of God

No, it assumes that God either intervenes, when humans pray, or he does not.

— like He's a vending machine: insert prayer, get results.

See above.

But there is a deeper framework. Yes, God does intervene — both seen and unseen, with or without request.

How do you know?

God is not a servant to our expectations. He gives according to His wisdom, not our impatience.

Then what is the point of prayer? Rhetorical question, see below...

Sometimes: He delays the response to grow us. He gives differently than we asked because it’s better. Or He withholds because what we wanted would destroy us. Even human parents don’t give their children everything they ask for — not out of cruelty, but out of care. Why expect less wisdom from the One who knows the seen and unseen?

The child/parent relationship consists of a two-way dialogue/exchange. Prayer to this supposed God does not. You get absolutely no feedback. Big difference there. Also, I doubt the parent would ignore their child's request to cure their unwanted incurable conditions if the parent had the ability to cure them.

asking God isn’t just about getting. It’s about connection, humility, trust, and surrender. We ask not because He doesn’t know — but because it transforms us to ask.

Whatever you say buddy.

But He responds as a wise Lord, not a wish-granter.

So again, what is the point of prayer? Oh, that's right, if the prayer conforms with God's will, then God will grant the prayer request. Which means, prayer is absolutely pointless.

I feel your next question directly will be > “If God exists, why does He allow pain, sickness, injustice, rape, war, and everything horrible while people pray?”

No. I'd instead ask, why does God perpetually skip requests to cure the incurable, like providing amputation restoration, dementia reversal, an ALS cure, etc?

But God doesn’t ignore suffering — it reveals its purpose.

He would logically have to ignore some. Case/point, a toddler who is raped and murdered achieves no theodicy at death. A toddler who dies from Leukemia does not either. The list goes on...

1. This life was never meant to be easy.

And for some, God ignores any/all prayer requests regardless. Especially if the afflicting and unwanted condition is not curable.

2. Suffering has meaning — for purification, reward, and elevation.

The severely brain damaged, dead infants, and toddlers likely fall outside this claim.

The rest is just a rinse and repeat.

[mms20102]

[Replying to POI in post #14]

You’ve built your entire argument on the assumption that this life is the only life — as if death is the end of the story. But that’s not the worldview you’re critiquing.

You're asking:

"Why doesn’t God fix everything here and now?"

But the answer is clear:

This world is the examination hall — not the courtroom.
The judgment, justice, healing, and restoration come after death.

أَفَحَسِبْتُمْ أَنَّمَا خَلَقْنَـٰكُمْ عَبَثٗا وَأَنَّكُمْ إِلَيْنَا لَا تُرْجَعُونَ

“Did you think We created you without purpose and that you would not be returned to Us?”
(Surah Al-Mu’minun 23:115)

You bring up toddlers, dementia, terminal illness — but in our worldview, none of those lives are lost. They’re preserved. Compensated. Honored.

You’ve ignored eternity, then declared God's justice unfair.

That's like reading the first page of a novel and reviewing the whole story.

So let me ask you this honestly:
If eternal life exists, where every wrong is righted, every suffering rewarded, and every innocent honored—
would you still consider this temporary pain "proof" against God?

Or does the real issue lie in rejecting the afterlife, not explaining suffering?

In fact, let me flip the logic.

If I were to accept that God doesn’t exist — then what you’re actually offering is a world where:

Children get raped and murdered… and nothing happens.

Tyrants die in luxury… and nothing happens.

Justice is a fantasy, morality is subjective, and pain is just biological noise.

No afterlife. No recompense. No meaning.

You want me to reject the possibility of divine justice just to accept a worldview where there’s none at all?

If anything, your argument makes the absence of God morally intolerable.

Because if there’s no One to hold evil accountable,
then evil wins.

And you call that rational?

[mms20102]

[Replying to 1213 in post #12]

In fact God answers the prayers even of a non believer

Here is the hadith:

"Indeed, Allah, is Hayy, Generous, when a man raises his hands to Him, He feels too shy to return them to him empty and rejected.”"

Does this apply to non-believers?
Yes — if the non-believer calls sincerely upon God, many scholars have affirmed that Allah may respond to them out of His (mercy) and as a sign or awakening, even if they don't believe yet. Allah says:

“When harm touches man, he calls upon Us—whether lying down, sitting, or standing—but when We remove his harm, he passes on as if he never called upon Us.”
(Surah Yunus 10:12)

[POI]

[Replying to POI in post #14]

You’ve built your entire argument on the assumption that this life is the only life — as if death is the end of the story. But that’s not the worldview you’re critiquing. You're asking: "Why doesn’t God fix everything here and now?"

No. That is not what I'm asking. I'm instead asking... If God does intervene, why does he perpetually skip the request to cure the incurable conditions? Maybe because there is no God at all to cure the incurable?

But the answer is clear: This world is the examination hall — not the courtroom.
The judgment, justice, healing, and restoration come after death.

Or maybe instead praying to a stuffed animal yields the same results as praying to an invisible God? Meaning, believers of both living stuffed animals and Gods accept the hits and ignore the misses.

You bring up toddlers, dementia, terminal illness — but in our worldview, none of those lives are lost. They’re preserved. Compensated. Honored.

I bring up toddlers based upon your last response. A dead toddler does not achieve theodicy. I bring up dementia because God never cures it, but, he sometimes cures the curable. Hmm?

You’ve ignored eternity, then declared God's justice unfair. That's like reading the first page of a novel and reviewing the whole story.

Negative. If God intervenes sometimes, why perpetually skip the afflicting conditions we now realize are incurable? Pretty convenient....

So let me ask you this honestly: If eternal life exists, where every wrong is righted, every suffering rewarded, and every innocent honored—
would you still consider this temporary pain "proof" against God?

This question is irrelevant. I'm instead asking why, if God sometimes intervenes, why he perpetually skips the incurable requests?

If I were to accept that God doesn’t exist — then what you’re actually offering is a world where: Children get raped and murdered… and nothing happens. Tyrants die in luxury… and nothing happens. Justice is a fantasy, morality is subjective, and pain is just biological noise. No afterlife. No recompense. No meaning. You want me to reject the possibility of divine justice just to accept a worldview where there’s none at all?

Where is the 'justice' in a claimed intervening God, which chooses to avoid intervening in any and all requests to cure the incurable? Where is the 'justice' in not coming to the rescue of a raped and murdered toddler who will not experience theodicy for doing so?

And your parent/child argument fails, as no parent would deny their child the way such a God appears to.

[mms20102]

[Replying to POI in post #17]

You keep asking:

“Why does God skip incurable conditions if He sometimes intervenes?”

That question assumes:

We are entitled to healing, not just hopeful for it.

That incurable = neglected, and that divine care must equal cure.

But here’s the problem with your framing:

You’ve limited divine intervention to one form only — physical, immediate healing — while ignoring:

Inner strength born from suffering.

Growth of those around the afflicted.

Divine wisdom in timing, and

The reality of ultimate compensation in the afterlife.

You say a toddler doesn't experience theodicy. But how do you know?

We believe the child is honored in the next life.

That child gains what no adult effort could earn: instant entry to eternal mercy.

“For every illness, there is a cure. When the correct remedy is applied, healing occurs by Allah’s permission.”
(Sahih Muslim)

That’s not blind optimism. That’s recognizing:

Some cures are known.

Some are yet to be discovered.

And some healing is not meant for this world — but for a better one.

You also dismissed God by comparing prayer to a stuffed animal. That’s not argument. That’s mockery — and it's beneath someone claiming to value logic and evidence.


You want a God who:

Obeys human emotion.

Heals every disease.

Prevents every crime.

Rewards instantly.

Answers only in your way, on your clock.

That’s not a Lord — that’s a servant.

And since the real God doesn't conform to that model, you claim He doesn’t exist.

But here’s the irony:
Your anger proves what your mind is trying to reject — that you expect moral order, ultimate justice, and intervention with meaning.

You want God to exist — but only on your terms.


I won't debate your pain — I respect it.
But don't dress it up as rational objection.
Your worldview still leaves:

No cure,

No justice,

No meaning,

No hope

for the very sufferers you claim to defend.

Mine offers something better — if you're willing to look beyond the wound.

If life were already perfect, then there would be no room for testing, growth, or free will.

Tests exist precisely because life includes:

pain and pleasure,

loss and gain,

difficulty and ease,

truth and falsehood,

virtue and temptation.

That’s what makes human choices real and morally significant.



“[He] who created death and life to test you—which of you is best in deeds.”
(Surah Al-Mulk 67:2)

If the world were already ideal—free of evil, disease, and grief—then:

Faith would be forced.

Gratitude would be automatic.

There would be no struggle to rise above the self.

And justice would be meaningless, because there would be no wrong to right.

The test only has meaning because this world is imperfect.
And the reward only has value because it comes after effort, not before it.

So when someone says, “If God exists, why isn’t everything perfect?”
The answer is:

Because perfection is the reward, not the test.
And this life is the journey, not the destination.

[POI]

You keep asking: “Why does God skip incurable conditions if He sometimes intervenes?” That question assumes: We are entitled to healing, not just hopeful for it. That incurable = neglected, and that divine care must equal cure. But here’s the problem with your framing: You’ve limited divine intervention to one form only — physical, immediate healing — while ignoring: Inner strength born from suffering. Growth of those around the afflicted. Divine wisdom in timing, and The reality of ultimate compensation in the afterlife.

Negative. I'm making a basic and logical observation. If there exists an intervening God, which acts upon some prayers, why perpetually skip requests in which humans cannot cure on their own? Well, maybe because, as I stated prior, praying to a stuffed animal yields the same results as praying to an invisible god. Otherwise, we would see some incurable conditions, like amputees or ALS, be cured, at the same rate as the curable ones.

You say a toddler doesn't experience theodicy. But how do you know?

For the same reason(s) we apply basic laws towards crime and sex. For example, you would not convict a 6-year-old as an adult for the act of murder. Nor would you accept a 6-year-old's consent for having sex with someone who is over 18 years old.

Key Stages of Moral Development: Ages 2–5 (Early Childhood) -- Children start to learn rules and can distinguish "good" from "bad" based on consequences (like punishment or praise). This is mostly external and based on authority.

Ages 6–10 (Middle Childhood) -- Kids begin to internalize moral rules. They understand fairness and can take others' perspectives into account, but moral reasoning still tends to be rigid (rules are rules).

Ages 11–18 (Adolescence) -- Teens develop more abstract thinking and begin to understand intentions, context, and ethical principles beyond strict rules. They can reason about justice, rights, and societal expectations.

We believe the child is honored in the next life. That child gains what no adult effort could earn: instant entry to eternal mercy.

Small children do not grasp the concept of true right from wrong. So basically, according to your beliefs, the small child, if raped and then murdered, gets a free pass, and is not judged based upon whether or not they chose to be a "moral" human.

“For every illness, there is a cure. When the correct remedy is applied, healing occurs by Allah’s permission.”

Apparently, permission is still never granted for humans with ALS , or humans with amputated limbs, or humans with dementia.

Some cures are known. Some are yet to be discovered.

And when/if they are discovered, we should give the glory to an invisible agency?

And some healing is not meant for this world — but for a better one.

How convenient. Funny how 'miracles' happened 2K+ years ago, but not now. Again, convenient....

You also dismissed God by comparing prayer to a stuffed animal. That’s not argument. That’s mockery — and it's beneath someone claiming to value logic and evidence.

Call it what you will, but it is quite a fair comparison. Prayer seems to work at the rate of chance, provided the prayer does not involve the incurable. Hence, praying to an inanimate object yields the same random success rate as praying to the empty sky.

You want a God who: Obeys human emotion. Heals every disease. Prevents every crime. Rewards instantly. Answers only in your way, on your clock. That’s not a Lord — that’s a servant. And since the real God doesn't conform to that model, you claim He doesn’t exist.

Nope. You claim God sometimes intervenes. Thus, I'm looking for consistency in these interventions. It's funny how God "answers" prayer, as long as it is a request in which we humans can sometimes address ourselves.

But here’s the irony: Your anger proves what your mind is trying to reject — that you expect moral order, ultimate justice, and intervention with meaning. You want God to exist — but only on your terms.

Negative. I harbor no anger. I just find your belief system illogical, that's all. The two videos in post #4 explain further. The first video speaks about accepting the hits and ignoring the misses, and the second video speaks about the butterfly effect, as it relates to "God's plan".

I won't debate your pain — I respect it. But don't dress it up as rational objection. Your worldview still leaves: No cure, No justice, No meaning, No hope for the very sufferers you claim to defend. Mine offers something better — if you're willing to look beyond the wound. If life were already perfect, then there would be no room for testing, growth, or free will. Tests exist precisely because life includes: pain and pleasure, loss and gain, difficulty and ease, truth and falsehood, virtue and temptation. That’s what makes human choices real and morally significant.

Truth does not care about anyone's feelings. The truth of the matter is that a claimed intervening God, responding to prayer, is illogical. The videos in post #4 explain.

[mms20102]

[Replying to POI in post #19]

1- Why should every prayer be answered ?

2- “Children can’t understand morality, so they shouldn’t be rewarded or punished.”

Exactly — and that’s what Islam teaches. Children are not accountable for sins before reaching mental maturity (bāligh). That’s not a flaw — it’s mercy. Your complaint proves our theological point. The child harmed in this life is not judged as an adult but is compensated in the Hereafter. Your framework has no answer for their suffering. Ours does.

3. “God should behave in a consistent, observable way if He exists.”

This assumes you define the terms of divine action. But any true deity, by definition, is not accountable to human preference or timeframes. You're not arguing against God — you're arguing against a god that obeys your logic only. That’s not rationality; that’s hubris disguised as reason.

4. “Prayer works like chance.”

Even if true statistically — so what? That’s like saying “Giving charity doesn't stop all poverty, so charity is useless.” Prayer isn’t a vending machine — it’s a relationship, a spiritual tool that transforms the soul, aligns the heart, and invites grace. Reducing it to lottery odds is like reducing marriage to contract enforcement.

5. “Truth doesn’t care about feelings.”

Agreed. But then don't mock what you haven’t proven false. Don’t hide emotional frustration under pseudo-logic. You're angry that the universe isn’t on your terms, and instead of accepting that limitation, you lash out at a being you claim doesn’t exist. That contradiction is telling.

6. “Your belief system is illogical.”

You haven’t refuted our logic. You’ve only said you don’t like its implications. That’s not a rational critique — that’s personal discomfort. Logic doesn’t bend to your emotional rejection of mystery, suffering, or delayed justice.

now let count your fallacies

Fallacy #1: Argument from Incredulity
"If there exists an intervening God... why perpetually skip requests in which humans cannot cure on their own?"

You assume that because you can’t understand why God doesn’t intervene in your preferred way, He therefore doesn’t exist. That’s called an argument from incredulity — a logical fallacy where personal confusion is mistaken for evidence against something. Divine wisdom isn’t reducible to your threshold of comprehension.

Fallacy #2: False Analogy
"Praying to a stuffed animal yields the same results as praying to an invisible god."

A stuffed animal has no will, consciousness, or awareness. You're comparing a symbol of play with a concept of transcendent intelligence. This is a false analogy — deliberately mocking to provoke, not argue. If you value logic, drop the childish comparisons and engage with what theistic claims actually say.

Fallacy #3: Cherry Picking
"Apparently, permission is still never granted for humans with ALS, amputated limbs, or dementia."

You're cherry-picking only the conditions that remain incurable, ignoring countless diseases humanity has found cures for — many through processes believers attribute to divine guidance. Selective evidence to support a general claim is the cherry-picking fallacy. It’s dishonest.

Fallacy #4: Strawman Argument
"So basically, according to your beliefs, the small child, if raped and then murdered, gets a free pass..."

That’s not “basically” what I said at all. You constructed a distorted version of Islamic belief just to attack it. This is textbook strawman fallacy. In Islam, accountability requires maturity (taklīf), and God’s mercy to children is a mercy not a loophole. Your caricature is intellectually lazy.

Fallacy #5: Shifting the Burden of Proof
"Prayer seems to work at the rate of chance."

Then prove it. Show a meta-analysis of sincere, long-term believers and their prayer outcomes in relation to spiritual peace, psychological resilience, or even physical recovery. Otherwise, you’re just making bare assertions and shifting the burden of proof without offering empirical evidence yourself.

Fallacy #6: Special Pleading
"God should consistently answer prayers in ways that fit my expectations, or He doesn’t exist."

You demand consistency, but only on your terms, then declare failure when the system doesn’t comply. That’s special pleading — a fallacy where exceptions are made for your position, but not for your opponent’s. You won’t allow for divine wisdom, timing, or afterlife justice. That’s not rationalism — it’s narcissism disguised as skepticism.

Fallacy #7: Red Herring
"Funny how 'miracles' happened 2K+ years ago, but not now..."

Irrelevant. That’s a red herring, distracting from the claim being discussed: Does God intervene at all — not when, or how often, but whether He does? And in fact, if you studied contemporary accounts across cultures, you’d find many documented reports of inexplicable recoveries, visions, or answered prayers — just because they’re not in your YouTube algorithm doesn’t mean they don’t exist.

Fallacy #8: Emotional Appeal Disguised as Rationalism
"I harbor no anger. I just find your belief system illogical."

You downplay emotional bias while leaking sarcasm, mockery, and resentment across every sentence. That contradiction undermines your posture of “just being logical.” Emotional appeal dressed in rational language is still a fallacy if it clouds judgment and misrepresents what the other side actually believes.