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Why Pray? |
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You
already know what prayer is. Even if you don't do it often,
you probably have prayed. Your prayers may have been little
more than a plea for help. That's a good start. To utilize prayer
properly, however, we must go further.
A common misconception is that prayer is just a request. You
ask for something you need or want. Here we can get off the
beam. Prayer is more accurately a mindset. The act of pray gets
us out of ourselves. We raise our thoughts and consciousness
to a higher level.
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Action is a Key Part
Proper
use of prayer can result in miracles. Our own efforts are not
enough in life. We are, however, responsible for our actions,
and action is a key part of prayer. It is not just sitting doing
nothing and waiting for God to waive His magic wand. A heartfelt
prayer is an act. It is an act of turning our thoughts and mind
to God. We have to let go of the outcome and believe fervently
that God will both hear and answer our prayers.
Anyone who is a skeptic of prayer hasn't tried it. Or if they
have, they either didn't like the answer to their prayer (all
prayers have answers) or they didn't stick with it. The answer
to your prayer will either be yes, no…or wait.
So, why pray? First of all, you should pray because it is part
of your relationship with God. God desires a personal relationship
with you and that requires communication. Prayer is a form
of communication with God. Secondly, proper prayer releases
us
from our self-centeredness. As we deflate our ego, and let
go of our self-controlled will in matters we cannot change,
we
allow God's power and grace to flow.
It is always God's desire to draw us closer to Him and prayer
can certainly do this.
Another reason to pray is to express gratitude. God has certainly
blessed all of us. Your present circumstances might blind you
to your blessings. Prayer allows you to see again all the good
things in your life. Through praying you quiet the inner turmoil
and this allows you to open your heart to God. Since God wants
a personal relationship with you it is important that you pay
attention to His communication. Oh yes, God does communicate!
It is rude to ignore someone who is speaking to you. The height
of rudeness is to ignore God.
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What Are You Praying For?
What
you pray for or about is really important. There are those who
state that you should pray for specific things in your life
and then lay claim to them. Maybe that works for them, but I've
always found I get into trouble with this approach. It's far
better to simply pray that I can be useful to God and others.
I pray that God will reveal to me what he wants me to do and
will give me the strength and courage to do it. I also pray
especially for the willingness to do it.
When you have prayed then it is time to accept that God has
heard your prayer and to be open and willing to accept the answer.
You must also believe without doubt that God is going to answer
your prayers. Read in James 1 of the New Testament. Verse 5
and 6 are incredibly important:
If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously
to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he
who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.
You can certainly make good use of prayer on a regular basis.
You can pray at any time, but there is great benefit in regular
morning and nightly devotion. Try to find a quiet place, get
peaceful and spend quality time in prayer.
Another great scripture verse is "Be still and know that
I am God"(Psalm 46:10). I marvel at the immensity of this
short phrase. You can break it down into a meditation mantra,
if you'd like, and find peace. It goes like this:
Be still and know that I am God. Be still and know that I am.
Be still and know. Be still. Be.
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A Really Good Prayer
There
are lots of great prayers and many books have been written that
can help you develop a richer and more rewarding prayer life.
I recommend anything that helps you in this area. Avoid, however,
simply mouthing words. God already knows your heart. Sincere,
honest, humble and heartfelt prayer thoughts are the most effective.
If you want one prayer that covers everything, remember the
prayer Jesus gave us in response to his disciples' request (Luke
11). The Lord's Prayer is remarkable in its efficient use of
words and proper order of acknowledgement. We pray to our Father
in heaven, praising His holy name. We request that He provide
our daily needs. We ask forgiveness of our sins, recognizing
and admitting that we must also forgive others. Finally, we
ask for protection from evil and temptation.
The benefit of a good prayer is that it changes our attitude.
That is a very important thing. Maybe that is why the Bible
encourages us to pray always. Paul frequently speaks of prayer
in his Epistles, especially Ephesians 6:18
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers
and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep
on praying for all the saints
Individual prayer is valuable, yet when two or more gather in
prayer it can be phenomenal. Jesus said, "Wherever two
or more are gathered in my name there I will be". Try this.
You can really feel the spirit move.
You
can send us your prayer requests and we will pray for them.
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Scripture taken from the Holy Bible,
NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®.Copyright © 1973, 1978,
1984 International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout
the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.
NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION® and NIV® are registered trademarks
of International Bible Society. Use of either trademark for
the offering of goods or services requires the prior written
consent of International Bible Society.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible,
New Living Translation, copyright ©1996. Used by permission
of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL 60189, USA. All
rights reserved.
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"This, then, is how you should
pray:
" 'Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one."
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(NIV)
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