“Luck isn’t winning six games in a row. It’s favor. God’s favor.”

[fester30]

While the Lord does work in mysterious ways ( that's to say I don't understand everything that happens and why...I don't care to argue the point as the answer is really, 'I don't know'. )  ( and thank you Davin ) I would like to mention that in some things it seems rather presumptuous of a person to believe that it is "in God's will" that they win a game.  Case in point is the reality show, Survivor and especially this season.  There is one individual that is a 'born again Christian'.  There is obviously a huge battle going on within himself between what he wants to do and what he does.  What bothers me, though, is not the fact he prays and puts his life in God's hands, but that he thinks God is with him to win this GAME OF DECEPTION AND LYING.

Now that's not to say they cannot pray for strength and all that good stuff, but in one episode, they made the claim that God was on their side when they won...silly IMHO.

On the Tebow end, I'm not certain he is attributing the wins to God exactly.  I don't have all his quotes to the media, but the ones I've heard don't seem to make that claim.  I could be wrong.

I don't see anything wrong with thanking God for your own blessings.  A win in a game is a blessing, but whether it is DIRECTLY a result of God's hand moving on the game is another discussion all together...and one I would be on the side that it was more a result of training, skill...all of which are things that we are blessed to have and which are also a result of keeping true to our vision in life, our goals, and our love.  God is the big center of our life so on one hand we can rightly thank Him for everything but to say God directly intervened so that "I" would win this game....I don't think so.

Had a friend pray for a job recently.  When I pointed out there were probably 200 other people praying for the same job, and that some of them were likely worse off than her, she relented that prayer likely had nothing to do with whether she gets the job.  She said we shouldn't pray for selfish things.

Christians talk about God's will, and how it will be done, then they pray "If it be your will, Lord, please grant me...(insert request here)."  If God's will is always done, than prayers of intercession don't make any sense.  His will is going to be done one way or another.  We can't interfere with God's plan, right?

Oh wait... Luke 17:6: If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it will obey you.

Matthew 7:7: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

So those two verses seem to say ask and you shall receive.

Which is it?  Okay... so you say you can pray for things like strength.  You can gain strength on your own without prayers.  With or without prayer, you need the same amount of hard work to attain the same amount of strength.  Can God give you will power to keep with a strength program?  Hypnosis can.  Certain spirited exercise gurus can.  A coach or personal trainer can.

The interweaving web of prayer rules I've heard in various churches, including rules that don't seem to be in the Bible, are there to explain why some prayers aren't granted.  Prayer has as much probability as random chance, so churches have to tell you things like you can't pray for personal gain, or sometimes the answer is no but God always answers, or God works in mysterious ways (which isn't actually in the Bible).  As science finds new information, religion loses some footing as well.  Now the Pope says it's okay to believe in evolution so long as you believe God made evolution happen. 

Did you know God killed over 2 million people in the Bible... and the devil killed 10 (7 of which got their lives back in Job)?

[Jose AR]

The person who believes in god's favour happily ignores evidence. For every supposed example of god's favour, the times of ill favour are ignored and forgotten.

The world is rational and works with rigid, fixed laws, and there has never been a single example of vishnu, or rama, or jesus suspending these laws temporarily for the benefit of a single person.

To believe in god's favour is child-like, and not in a good way ...

An interesting fact: very few people who understand the math of probability buy lottery tickets. Why is that? 

[Heisenberg]

An interesting fact: very few people who understand the math of probability buy lottery tickets. Why is that? 

Because we understand probability...