In Reply to: More on prayer posted by Miguel on August 17, 2004 at 16:56:40:
What doesn't work: I know I have discarded Berg's insane teaching where he said that God was a genii in a bottle and that "command ye Me" meant we could literally command God to do this or that, quote the right verses and then hold him to his word. "See, God? You HAVE to do it! Now DO it!" That's so absurd! As if the creator of the universe is like somevhouse spirit or Brownie that we can send around to do our bidding. That kind of thinking is "magical thinking" -- do the right rituals and the power just has to be released.
Other translations of the "command ye me" verse say, "Will you command me?" as a rhetorical question, and I think that's the true meaning.
The fact that God does answer some prayers and doesn't answer others is maddening to me at times, but on the other hand, it goes to prove that God is actually God and not some little house spirit under contract who must do all of our bidding.
Some people quote the verse where Jesus said, "If ye will ask anything in my name I will do it" to prove that we can boss God and Jesus around. And like someone pointed out below, this kind of thinking left Berg free to cuss God out and tell him he was no God, and left Berg feeling justified to throw a tantrum because God wasn't doing what he wanted. But that verse has to be understood in the context of a lot of other verses. I think the first thing to realize is that God being "obliged" to answer our prayers is more Berg-think than Bible teaching.