Questions

Some questions I've recently been considering about my faith:

1) What is prayer? I recently ran across the idea that God won't do anything about a problem if someone doesn't pray about it--is this true? What should I be praying for?

2) What is the nature of trials in our lives? Are they sent from God to test/strengthen us? Are they from the devil? Are they simply a result of our broken world?

3) What is the role of gender in Christianity? Are women supposed to be more submissive, nurturing, caring, only have a family, etc? Are men supposed to be "in charge"? In Jesus' actions, I don't necessarily see support for this--He seems to have treated men and women equally, actually--but there is absolutely support for this in both Old and New Testament writings. Is it legitimate to reject their teachings on this subject because of their inherently misogynistic culture?

4) How legitimate is it to reject parts of the Bible? For instance a seven-day creation, teachings on women's inequality. What about when different writings contradict themselves? For instance in its views of trials--some see them as punishment for evil-doing, others as a part of life and something that needs to be persevered through.