Doesn't "God" Ever Want To Say "No Comment"?

Before I get into the meat of this post, let me begin by saying that I do not intend to start a theological debate.  Nor is it my intention to proclaim any set of religious beliefs as specifically right or wrong.  I have no interest in condemning anyone for their chosen beliefs.  I am not in the business of converting others to my way of thinking OR of being converted to anyone else's way of thinking.  So, while this post will focus mainly on my observations of the Christian treatment of "God," I am not making any criticism of Christianity or any of its followers.

I have noticed, as I have connected with more and more people on various social networking sites (Facebook and others), that a great number of people will post updates asking for prayers, or praising their God, or stating that they know that their God will guide them/protect them/heal them/etc.  It is most specifically my Christian acquaintances that do this.  Among my Facebook friends, alone, I have no fewer than 10 friends who are employed by churches and countless others who openly and consistently practice the Christian faith.  There are, of course, others who are "part-time" Christians....you know: they think about their God on Easter, Christmas, Mother's Day, and any time they're in trouble, but mostly forget about the god concept the rest of the time.



Please don't mistake me for someone who is anti-religion.  I'm not at all!  In fact, I think it is important for people to have faith in some higher power, be it a god or a goddess or the earth itself.  It's not my place to judge others or to decide who is right or wrong.  In the end, none of us has any proof of our religious correctness, and we all have faith that we are doing what is right.  As humans, that is all we can do.

Specifically, the purpose of this post is to discuss my curiosity over the things that I see Christians ask of God.  I fully understand praying for health and safety.  I can see the logic in asking God to help them get a job, or to help them find the means to get pregnant or adopt a child.  Indeed, I can identify with the desire for a god to help you through life's battles and important moments both good and bad.  Having grown up in church, I know that the Bible teaches that God wants his people to be happy and to lead peaceful lives.

But my question is this: When it comes to the more trivial choices we make in life, while "God" may want you to be happy, does he really have an opinion on everything?

For example.....You are in the market for a new-to-you used car.  You have narrowed your choices down to two cars.  Both are about the same age, same size, same quality, same mileage, same, same, same, same, same.  Essentially, the cars are equally good choices in every respect.  It all boils down to whether you want the red one or the blue one.  I have seen this exact scenario experienced by an online friend within the past few months.  What was her solution?  She decided to pray about it.  And this single event was what made me begin to take notice of the people sharing their prayers online.  And I couldn't help but wonder....Would God really have an opinion as to whether she should pick the red car or the blue car?  I can understand her belief that her God would want her to make a good decision, but when the only determining factor is something so unimportant as the color of a car, why would it matter to God which one she picked?

It's asking for God's help with these everyday unimportant decisions that confuse me.  Should you dye your hair honey brown or light brown?  Should you wear hoop earrings or dangling earrings?  Should you have chicken salad or tuna salad for lunch?  Does any of it really matter?

I can only begin to imagine how tiring it would be for God to have to be involved in silly matters such as these, being prayed about by so many people around the world!

This caused me to speculate as to whether all of these people are really asking for what they need from their God.  Do you really need God to help you pick the color of a car, or what clothes to wear, or what to eat for lunch?  Or are you really more in need of the self-confidence to make a firm decision and stick with it?  Wouldn't it make more sense, rather than asking that a decision be made for you, to ask instead to be given the tools to make sound decisions on your own?

Again, this is merely simple curiosity on my part, and not persecution of faith or believers.  It's all just something I don't understand.

I've always been proud of my ability to make decisions on my own, even on the occasions when I made wrong choices and had to accept some consequence or ill effect of that choice.  When my decisions are my own, then I am fully responsible for the results, be they good or bad.  In the end, I think I prefer knowing that my choices are my own, based on my own research and opinions.