Mat 6:5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
Mat 6:6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
Mat 6:7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
Mat 6:8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.
Mat 6:9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Mat 6:10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Mat 6:11 Give us this day our daily bread.
Mat 6:12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
Mat 6:13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
Mat 6:14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
Mat 6:15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Mar 11:24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
Prayer is not measured by length. Meaningful prayer takes place when the prayer touches God.
Anyone who believes in prayer has found that God answers prayer. Although God may not answer all prayers in the way we expect, and He does not answer all of our requests, He does answer our prayers. So every believer who trusts in God's eternal wisdom will continue to pray. Daily prayer establishes and maintains a relationship with God, and our regular prayers empowers us spiritually.
__________________ And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
Thanks Reb, there's more, I get busy tho and don't finish things all at one time.
I'd like to look at a few questions for you folks, such as: When we should pray, where we should pray, why we pray and how we should pray.
When we pray: Jesus said that we "ought always to pray", and Paul said to the Thessalonians to "pray without ceasing. W should never stop praying, caise those who continue to pray are blessed. I don't believe we should take those statements literally because then we could never do anything else. I think it means not to ever discontinue the practice of regular and consistant praying. Sometimes , tho I go thru the day talking to God and recognizing that He is right with me . . .because He is. I find this as a good aid in being "kept" when I otherwise would be going under my own steam.
James 5:13 shows that prayer is the proper response to affliction. How many times have you waited until things have gotten completley out of hand before you prayed? I know I have . . .but right away we should take our afflictions before the Lord.
It's no secret that God loves Jerusalem and the Land of Israel (Deuteronomy 11:11-12). Often when we pray we ask God to do something that will benifit us our our loved ones. We have needs and we should express them to God. However, we should pray for Jerusalem because it's important to God, and is the focal point of end-time prophecies.
__________________ And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
When we pray: Jesus said that we "ought always to pray", and Paul said to the Thessalonians to "pray without ceasing. W should never stop praying, caise those who continue to pray are blessed. I don't believe we should take those statements literally because then we could never do anything else. I think it means not to ever discontinue the practice of regular and consistant praying. Sometimes , tho I go thru the day talking to God and recognizing that He is right with me . . .because He is. I find this as a good aid in being "kept" when I otherwise would be going under my own steam.
Years ago, I was told, "if your best friend spent the day with you walking with you and going everywhere you went, would you ignore his presence or talk to him thoughout the day?" That's kinda how we should treat our Lord. He's right there with us all the time and we shouldn't ignore Him and act as though He wasn't important enough to speak with throughout each day.
__________________
Today' s small bucks are tomorrow' s trophies.
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Years ago, I was told, "if your best friend spent the day with you walking with you and going everywhere you went, would you ignore his presence or talk to him thoughout the day?" That's kinda how we should treat our Lord. He's right there with us all the time and we shouldn't ignore Him and act as though He wasn't important enough to speak with throughout each day.
Thats not just about right . . .that's exactly right.
__________________ And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
To forgive and to be forgiven . .Among all the reasons for our prayers, to forgive and be forgiven are perhaps the most important. Basically humans are selfish so perhaps our prayers always should begin with our recieving forgivness. A truley forgiven person is more inclined to forgive others, because he is more aware of the benifits of forgivness. Forgivness and forgiving are so intertwined that it is almost impossible to seperate them. Perhaps that is why Jesus always linked them together in His teaching. (Mark 11:25-26)
To communicate with God: Communication is a necessary element of a relationship, for if we love someone, we will want to talk to that person. This is true regardless whether the relationship involves our mate, our family, or our friends, but it is especially true if the relationship involves God. We can't maintain a relationship with God without communicating with Him, and prayer is the means of that communication.
He also enables us to communicate with Him on a level much higher than our natural language. The apostle Paul declared, "For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries" (1 Corinthians 14:2). When we pray in tongues, we are praying in tongues we are communicating with God.
To recieve spiritual guidance: Because we do not have the ability to direct our steps, we go to the Lord for spiritual guidance. The psalmist proclaimed, "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way" (Psalm 37:23). It is in prayer that we seek and recieve spiritual guidance from Him.
__________________ And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
Effectually: Two adjectives describe prayer in James 5:16 . . .effectual and fervent. The word effectual translates from the Greek word energeo, which is related to our English word energy. The Greek word means "to work, to be active". Therefore an effectual prayer is a prayer that works and is working.
Fervently: The second adjective that describes prayer is the word fervent. How interesting when we find that this word translates from the same Greek word as effectual, energeo. The translators apparently thought the only way to express the meaning of the original word would be to use two words that would indicate the release of God's power thru prayer. Another word in the sentence, availeth, means "to have or exercise force," which would mean that our active prayers are working with force to accomplish that for which we have faith.
Humbly: Although the Bible does not contain as many examples of haughty praying as it does of humble praying, we find the classic wrong example of praying in the Book of Luke. (See Luke 18:9-14). Jesus told the story of two men who went to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee who thanked God that he was not like other people who were sinners, and he reminded God of his regular fasting and praying. Jesus then contrasted the self righteous prayer of the Pharisee by telling of the publican nearby who would not even lift up his eyes to heaven while smiting his breast saying, "God, be merciful to me a sinner."
Persistantly: Thru the narrative of the unjust judge, Jesus taught us to be persistant in prayer. (See Luke 18: 1-8) He introduced the story with this statement: "Men ought always to pray, and not to faint" (Luke 18:1). He told how a preoccupied judge kept ignoring a persistant widow who continued coming to him asking that he avenge her of an adversary. The judge finally acquieced and met her need because she would not give up.
Too often, we measure prayer by quanity rather than quality. Although lengthy prayers could benifit the one who is praying, the Lord condemned long prayers simply for the sake of their being lengthy. There is a value to be discovered in communicating in ways to impress God rather than man. Although others may be listening to our prayers, God hears our hearts and motives rather than only our voices.
__________________ And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
When We Pray
