Before that question gets answered we need to know the main purpose of prayer. The main purpose then, is to develop a love relationship to Almighty God. Yes, we can pray for things, but we must realize that what we want God to do for us is not the most important part of prayer. A great example of this is found in 1 Samuel 2. Hannah prayed this prayer when God gave her a son. Then Hannah prayed and said; “ My heart rejoices in the Lord; in the Lord my horn is lifted high. My mouth boast over my enemies, for I delight in your deliverance. There is no one holy like the Lord; there is no one beside you, there is no Rock like our God. Do not keep talking so proudly or let your mouth speak such arrogance, for the Lord is a God who knows and by him deeds are weighed. 1 Samuel 2:1-3 Hannah’s prayer reflected on the greatness of God. Her prayer was building on a relationship she already had with God. Praise should be the first part of your prayer. Another important aspect of prayer is the repentance of sin. Sin hinders that relationship with a holy God. When David committed adultery with Bathsheba he prayed this prayer. Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me. Psalm 51:1-4;10;12 David wanted to restore his relationship with God that was hindered by sin. Now the question; what does God want me to pray for? Answer: Anything we want God to be part of, but with the mindset of thanksgiving. If you are hurting, be honest with God and plead with Him for the joy and peace that a relationship with Him offers. If a request, ask but wait for God’s timing and be okay if the answer is no. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God. Philippians 4:6
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There appears that in Genesis 1:26-27 God created man and woman together, but in Genesis 2:19-22, God created woman at a certain time after man. Also it appears that in Genesis 2:19, God created man before animals but in Genesis 1:20-25, God created animals before man. Both can’t be right, or can they? Here is the explanation: in the 1st chapter we read a quick “fly by”, a summary of creation. It gives us a chronological order of events. In chapter 2, God fills in the details of creation that were not given in chapter 1. Chapter 2 is not meant to be read chronologically but simply to give the reader added information regarding the creation account. In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. Psalm 102:25 First, what is worry? It is a feeling of uneasiness, apprehension or dreed. These feelings are usually related to negative thoughts of something that may happen in the future. A limited amount of worry is a good thing. It motivates us to make wise decisions. You set money aside for future retirement; you make sure that your son wears a helmet when riding his bike. Excessive worriers live in the future. They spend a disproportionate amount of time speculating on what might occur and then fearing the worst. Why do we worry too much? We live in a sinful world where bad things happen. We want life to go smoothly but we know that it does not. Back to the question at hand… what can I do with my worry? Believe by faith that God will help you with your future problems and heartaches at the time of those problems and heartaches, not before. We need to let God be God. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7 Prayer: When we pray, we are to acknowledge Gods greatness and give Him our adoration, devotion and respect. Recognizing God as the sovereign Lord, we are to bring our worries to Him. Petition: This refers to the expressing of our needs to God. These are our earnest requests, our desperate cries for help. Thanksgiving: Sometimes we become so concerned with our problems that we forget the gracious ways God has worked in the past. Make a worry list; write down the things that you are worried about. Make that list a prayer list. Pray about those things you are concerned about. Turn that prayer list into an action list. As God gives you insight, do something about those cares. Solve the problems that you can; give God the problems that you can’t. You get treated unfairly at work and you get angry. Your teenage son does not want to go to church with the family and you yell, saying angry words. Then you feel guilty about getting angry. Is feeling angry a sin? No, anger in itself is not wrong, but why we get angry and what we do in our anger can be sinful. It is not wrong to be angry with being treated unfairly at work. But in your anger, complaining to your co- workers or maybe storming in the manager’s office to tell him what he can do with his stupid job would be wrong. Calmly talking to your manager and explaining how you feel, asking the manager why this was done to you, and then listening would be a better option. My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. James 1:19-20 And when your son does not want to go to church, ask him why, try to understand from his perspective. Maybe there are some problems that both of you can fix. Gently remind him that he still lives under your roof and that he will be going to church with the family. Simply put: do not get angry often, and when you do, keep control and do not sin. In your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. Ephesians 4:26-27 When is it O.K. to be angry? When a wrong has been committed. But be careful how you react and your anger must end by the end of the day. It is Sunday morning, you walk into the church auditorium looking forward to the singing and worship but dreading the long boring sermon. Your mind wanders, thinking about what you will be doing the rest of the day. Preaching has two sides: speaking and listening. The person in the pulpit has the responsibility of making his sermons listenable, clear and relevant. If he fails, not much will happen. But God makes it clear that the person in the pew has a responsibility too. Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. James 1:21 James instructed his readers to “receive with meekness the implanted word.” Good preaching is pointless if there is not also good listening. The person who comes to church must prepare his mind and be willing to do his part, just as the minister must do his. Suppose you were the relative of a very wealthy man and you were invited to hear the reading of his will. He had told you that you were named in the document. How do you suppose you’d listen? You would be leaning forward, straining to hear every word. That’s what the word receive means in James 1:21. We are to accept God’s Word as we would the news of an inheritance, enthusiastically and eagerly. God not only wants us to listen, but also obey. But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. …he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. James 1:22,25 A good way to stay focus is to take notes. And in those notes, write how you can be obedient to what scripture commands. Write something about God that you heard in the sermon. Hold God’s Word as important, something to be cherished. Pray that your heart and spirit connects with God. People told you that God was not real, that the Bible was just a book of fables. You believed that Jesus was God’s Son and that he died on the cross for your sins as a child. But when you got older, you started believing people who were not Christians. You doubted what God clearly said in His Word. Now that you’re older you realize that those people were wrong. Is God so angry that he does not want you back? The answer to that question is no. God loves you more than you can ever know. Yes he was saddened when you turned away but God will forgive and take you back. Admit that you sinned when you turned away from him and your God will forgive you. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him. Psalm 103:11-13 God rejoices when we come to him because of his amazing love for us. How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! John 3:1a Study the Bible to gain knowledge and strengthen your faith. Learn why the Bible is true on creation, the resurrection of Jesus and prophecies. Believe that God’s Word is truth. Most Christians know that the Holy Spirit is part of the Trinity. Most Christians heard the term “to be filled with the Holy Spirit”, but do not know what that means. The filling of the Spirit is the influence or control the Holy Spirit has over us when we yield ourselves to Him. The Spirit of God, who has given us new life and who has taken up residence within us, wants to fill our lives with His goodness and power. He wants us to let Him take control of our lives. Even so, He does not use His power as God to overwhelm us; rather, He fills us only as we submit to Him. In this sense, being filled with the Spirit means that we have placed ourselves under His influence and control. We have yielded to Him, letting Him take over our lives. This truth is stated clearly regarding the Holy Spirit in this passage. Do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit. Ephesians 5:18 Paul uses this analogy because a person who becomes intoxicated with alcohol places himself under its influence or control. Similarly, a Christian who submits to the leading of the indwelling Holy Spirit puts himself under His influence or control. Both the person who consumes enough alcohol to become drunk and the Christian who yields to the Holy Spirit have placed themselves under the control of something or someone outside themselves. We are greatly influenced by whatever it is that “ fills “ us. If we are filled with anger, we will be influenced to such an extent that we will say and do things we may later regret. A person who is filled with anger against God may become so controlled by his hatred that he becomes irreverent, defiant and rebellious toward everything. To be filled with the Holy Spirit is to be so influenced by and controlled by Him that we will reflect God’s moral character and be strengthened by His power. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Galatians 5:22-23a That is a difficult question because the Bible claims that both are in control. Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Romans 13:1 We know that we are children of God and that the whole world is under control of the evil one. 1 John 5:19 Satan and his demons possess enormous influence over the world and even over the circumstances of Christians, yet Satan never has God’s approval but does nothing without God’s permission. When Satan carries out his evil strategy, it is only because God has a good reason for allowing him to do so. God is all knowing all powerful; he is almighty God and his ways are beyond our understanding. While it’s easy to blame Satan for all of the worlds’ problems, many times it is our own sinfulness that is the cause. Speeding and driving recklessly, losing control and hitting a tree. That was not Satan but you being stupid. |
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