there is the instance of Gideon who asked God to test the fleece he laid down each night for 3 night (i think)

but those are i think alright... i'm not sure...

i've never done that... but... sometimes I'd like to ask God to do something to prove that what God desires me to do He would show me in a fleece kind of idea...

but since we have the Holy Spirit... i think our stepping out in faith to do what God wants in contingent upon how close to God we are and how much we turn down the other noise in our lives....

Just the way you did - 8 years is old enough to begin grasping abstract thought, and to appreciate real honesty.  God doesn't answer to us, we cannot command Him, even under the guise of request or prayer.  Hearing this, and beginning to learn this, at 8 years old would help the young man along in his spiritual journey considerably.  He may not fully grasp the concept without some stories to lay it out, so perhaps start in the bible, reading the story of Balaam (Numbers 22) - explain how Balaam could acknowledge God, but thought by his actions and prayers he could change the will of God.  Address the heart condition for your nephew.

God calls us to believe in Him as the true, omnipotent, unmanipulatable God of the Universe.  He wants us to step toward Him in faith, so sometimes He does not choose to answer our prayers with yes.  Or rather, as Paul explains, only when we align ourselves with God's desires, and our prayers join into His will, then He will give you the desires of your heart.  As our hearts become more and more filled with desires for His glory, then we will see more and more of those desires come to fruition as He does His will.

You could introduce him to some of these scriptures to open more discussion, too:

Those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.
~ Romans 8:5 ~

Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
~ Psalm 37:4 ~

Sometimes your answer doesn’t have to be too complex, either – your simple confidence in who God is and your willingness to glorify Him will speak volumes. 

I don't think God minds an 8 year old asking that. I think you could mention that God doesn't always prove Himself by things we can see, but that God is showing Himself to your nephew by giving him loving parents, enough food, etc. I think an 8 year old could understand that. I don't think there's anything wrong with a child asking God to do something like that; God adores the simple, questioning hearts of children.

I also have to say that I intensely don't believe in letting children find their own beliefs. Because I honestly believe that nonbelievers are bound for hell, I believe we have a vital responsibility to teach our children God's truth. Of course, everyone must ultimately make his own decision, but Scripture commands us to instill the truth in our kids. I don't believe Christianity is one option among valid options; I believe it's the only right way; therefore, it would be unthinkably cruel for me to neglect telling my (future) children the truth as if it's the absolute truth. I would tell them that God is real and that the most important thing is that God loves them. It's not necessary to preach excessive fire and brimstone to a child in order to convey Christianity, but it is important to teach them.

you asked for a possible way to explain to your 8 year old.   

just a thought....   have him test you....  something like ... go hide....    but instruct him when you hide ... he is to tell you to bark like a dog if you are really in the house......         DONT ... let him come to you ....   when he finds you  then ask him... I didnt pass your test... does that mean i'm not in the house ... or something simple like that....

as far as testing God..... No...   But the Holy Spirit, yes... to make sure it was HE that was whispering to me ....

1Jn4:1  Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but  test the spirits to see whether they are from God because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

When the Pharisees were asking for a sign, Jesus said they were evil and perverse, in Matthew, Luke and John, and in all four gospels He said "there shall be no sign given."

@la_faerie_joyeuse@xanga - I'll begin by saying that you're suggestion is anti-biblical.  I know this is of little consequence to you, but you can hardly expect a Christian parent who genuinely believes that they are responsible for their child's spiritual formation is going to present religious belief in an unbiased fashion, let alone encouraging they find their own path, regardless of whether it's Christian or not.  There are far too may commands in the Bible telling us to train our children in the ways of the Lord for us to do otherwise.

It says straight up in the bible, do not test the lord your god

I can't quite understand why people are acting like it's evil for an eight-year-old child to innocently think that if God exists, He would interact directly with the child. It's hard to understand abstract concepts at that age.

I believe God is delighted that your nephew is thinking about Him and trying to puzzle out His existence. Again, I think it might be helpful to point out God blessings-like enough food and a nice house-as evidence of His existence and love.

I don't believe there is one scrap of evil in what your nephew did; he's a child. Adults are not to test God, meaning practicing divination and saying things like, "If you're God, make this bullet I'm shooting into my head not kill me," or something like that.

I have actually heard multiple stories of people who asked God for specific signs and received them! In particular, and this is a true story, a youth pastor was driving down a bridge and saw someone standing on it. He felt a powerful urge to stop and say "purple ice cream" to the person, but felt like an idiot. Finally, the impulse was so strong that he got out and did it. The person immediately started crying and told him that at the end of their rope, they had prayed that if God was real, they wanted Him to show them by having someone say "purple ice cream" to them. Again, this is a true story.

Also, a family friend has a wild testimony of all of these different things he asked God to make happen before he would believe. I don't know all of them, but it was things like having someone in a random park who would offer him a Bible. God did every one of them, and our friend is a committed Christian today.

I think that testing God is when someone is just asking for a sign for the sign's sake and probably won't change their belief anyway. God honors people who have faith and accept His gracious proof by living for Him.

Again, I don't think there's anything evil in an eight year old wondering exactly how we know God is real. He's a little young to really understand the concept of feeling God's presence inside him, but he is old enough to see God in God's gifts around him.

@too_pretty_to_die@xanga - I don't think He ignores them. He just knows which ones are good for us and which ones ultimately are not. The Bible says his ear is attentive to our requests, so I don't think the word "ignore" is exactly what I would use.

@easalien@xanga - It's an extremely painful irony that suffering would drive you away from the only source of real comfort. Since we were created in God's image, we have tremendous power to inflict damage on each other and the world around us.  Rage at God is an understandable reaction. However, to cease to believe in God would be to accept that it is all meaningless and unredeemable. I would have a harder time living with that than with a God that I don't understand but who does offer redemption, comfort, and hope.

@shedinator@xanga -  Ditto!  Bravo!  Very well said!  

@shedinator@xanga - Like I said, people SHOULD tell their children about their religion.  However, they have to be careful to do it in a certain way so that it is not indoctrination.  You have to admit that there are cases in which children are indoctrinated, and there are cases in which children grow up with a healthy understanding of religion.  I'm just trying to encourage this poster - if she doesn't want to "brainwash" her kids - to let them have a choice in the matter.

When a child goes to college, they're moving out on their own regardless of what choices they make.  I honestly don't care whether college students continue to do to church or not.  I don't think that reflects on the parent's decisions, but more on the intense time constraints that college students are under, particularly if they're working.  And, I also don't comment on parenting of kids who still do go to church in college.  I think by the time you're in college, you're old enough to have made those decisions.  The people that I DO comment on their childhood indoctrination are:
- People who struggled for years with self-hatred because of the religious teachings they received as children, or the ostracizing they received upon doubting the church.
-People who are religious, but their religion drives them to hate themselves or others
-People who have a burning hatred against other people based on their religion (or lack thereof).

Anyone else?  No way.

And, as I was trying to point out, not all religious education is indoctrination, brainwashing, or psychological abuse.  As I said, there is a right and wrong way to teach your children about religion.
Threats ("I'll kill you if you have sex before marriage"; "I won't love you anymore if you turn away from the Lord"; "If you don't eat your vegetables, you're going straight to hell!")  are not okay.  This is psychological abuse.
Lying (or deliberately omitting selective truths or justifications) is not okay.  This is indoctrination/brainwashing.
Examples: "All atheists are evil satan-worshippers who have no sense of morality or ethics!"
Anything in which the justification is, "Because God said so," when presented as absolute truth, instead of a piece of the Christian faith.

"I would never compromise my faith or my calling just
because someone thinks it will affect my child's development."
Be careful about who "someone" is here.  Your statement in this context is probably okay, but saying "never" is very dangerous.  You have to admit that there are circumstances in which this position would NOT be appropriate.

You're absolutely right that there are several psychological sources for faith.  Many people seek out faith, because they need it.  I will absolutely not dispute that.  What I will say is that, in addition to this instinctual need for religion, there are some individuals who are inherently unreceptive to religion.  I am one excellent example - my mother taught me religion, and I never even understood how it worked.  My brain simply doesn't operate like most people's do.  For those individuals, it can be quite trying to, in some instances, have your entire family reject you for lack of belief.

Speaking from a scientific/psychological standpoint, I don't know anyone who would claim that rigorous early childhood religious education had little or no effect upon their development as a sovereign person.  Could you find some evidence there?  Simply saying that people convert is insufficient, as there are many more potential causes for that (if you'd like, I'll explore those further).

You're right that Church can often be a positive place.  I have fond memories of church in my early teens when visiting relatives in memphis.  I would not be opposed to taking my children to church, and I don't have a problem with anyone else doing so, unless the church is going to inspire habits or beliefs like those three cases I mentioned above.

"In my, admittedly biased, opinion, many
of these people SHOULD be feeling guilty for their behavior..."
Thanks for admitting your bias, though I tend to understand to some degree. However, think of how dangerous this might be for parents who believe that women should be absolutely submissive to men.  That is, they should never hold jobs, should be expected to bear children at the man's whims, should only wear long skirts or dresses, or, perhaps, should wear a loose covering over their entire bodies, with only a slit for the eyes.  There are muslim women who feel guilty for showing their nose in public.  Is that really appropriate?  There are gay individuals who feel so tormented by their families that they kill themselves.  Is that appropriate?

@la_faerie_joyeuse@xanga - I think, if I did not expressly say so in the first place, that I meant to include the fact that teaching personal bias- i.e. things not expressed in the Bible (many of your last examples are not) or using Christianity as a thin veil to excuse your own prejudice is not cool.  The arguments for complete submission, women not working, the need to beat one's child on a regular basis, blacks being evil, etc. do not have a sound Biblical basis, if any.  I know that to a non-Christian, it seems odd that I would say "well, if it's in the Bible, then it's okay to be assertive of it, but your own personal claims on further morality are not as acceptable," but you've also got to look at the text itself.  Our moral code, for the most part, is universally accepted, apart from the worshipping Christ thing.  Some would contend one point or another, but By and large, there's not much deniable truth in the Bible (The non-G-d related 10 commandments have served as a basis for many a non-religious judicial system).  To equate someone claiming something as "Christian,"(women shouldn't have short hair, and men's shouldn't be long) with something expressly stated in the Bible(The man is responsible for the spiritual growth of his family, and should serve them wholeheartedly to the point of being willing to die for them) is simply grounds for a watered-down, unfounded brand of Christianity that is more like... ianity, because there's no Christ in it.