How should I Pray?
What should I Pray?
Who should I pray to?
How should I talk to God?
Why doesn't God hear me?
Will God answer my prayers?
What Prayers should I pray to get answers?
The best place to begin is: "Who do you pray too if you are a Christian?" Some people pray to Mary, some pray to angels and some pray to Jesus himself. So, are they right? Should you pray to Mary, angels or Jesus himself? The bible does offer answers.
The scriptures are quite clear on the subject of worshiping angels.
-- Revelation 22:8 - I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed me these things.
-- Revelation 22:9 - But he *said to me, "Do not do that. I am a fellow servant of yours and of your brethren the prophets and of those who heed the words of this book. Worship God."
I have heard some denominations argue that simply talking to, or petitioning angels, is not worship! I suppose on one hand they are correct, however, my advice is simple. If you have a petition to bring before the Lord, whether it be angels or Mary, I recommend that you "skip the middle man" and talk directly to God. Think about it. If you had the ability to bring a petition before the president of the United States, would you choose to take your petition to his secretary instead? I think that's a "no brainer", don't you?
MARY
Concerning praying to Mary, I know this will make the hair on the back of the Catholics necks stand up, but I don't recommend it. Mary was a very good woman and she was truly blessed and chosen by God above other women, but she is not God, and you shouldn't pray to her.
-- Luke - 8:20 - And it was reported to Him, "Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, wishing to see You."
-- Luke 8:21 - But He answered and said to them, "My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it."
The point is, If God himself were standing outside seeking to speak to him, would his answer have been the same? Of course not! Also, the scriptures: Matt 12:50, Mark 3:35 and Luke 8:21 lead us to believe that his mother and brothers were "not" doing the will of his father.
JESUS
Now hear is an interesting one! Should you pray to Jesus? After all, Jesus was the son of God and also "God in the flesh". Prayer is simply "talking to God", so if you say "Thank you Jesus", you are in effect praying to Jesus. Actually, I see nothing wrong with it as we have allot to be thankful to him for. But, Jesus himself "did" tell us how to pray, and who to pray too! The key is in the first sentence of the scripture below.
-- Luke 11:2 - And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.
His disciples had just asked Jesus to teach them how to pray. He replied: "When you pray, say "Our Father". That pretty much sums it up, as he specifically tells us who to pray to.
What Jesus did do, was to tell us to use his name when we pray to God. It's like saying "Jesus sent me". To put this in perspective, pick an important or well to do person. It can be the president, it can be Bill Gates or Donald Trump or even the head of a Hollywood movie studio or a Nashville record company. Now try to just walk in an talk to any one of those people. You and I both know your chances of getting in to talk to them. (You could more easily win the lottery)
However, if you pick the same person and said to them: "Your son sent me in to see you", what do you think will happen then? First, he will probably call his son on the telephone and ask, did you send this person over to see me? The next thing you will surely hear are the words "Come in, what can I do for you?". That, my friends, is the benefit of praying in Jesus` name. The difference is, God is more important than any of the people mentioned above.
WHAT SHOULD I PRAY?
The most effective prayers you can pray are the ones that draw you closer to God. Praying for wisdom is wise because this is a prayer that comes with a specific promise.
-- James 1:5 - 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.
Praying for others is also effective:
-- 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. (Saints, by the way, simply means: other believers in Christ)
You're prayers are not limited to these areas, you can pray anything you like, but they are an excellent place to start.
HOW TO PRAY
Jesus’ disciples one time, asked him, "Teach us how to pray". His reply to them was amazing, although most people skip right over it without getting the meaning. First they asked him, "Lord teach us how to pray" (Luke 11:1)
The first thing Jesus gave them was "the Lords Prayer" (Luke 11:2 thru 4) (Actually this should have been called the disciples prayer because Jesus never prayed it)
-- Luke 11:2 - And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.
-- Luke 11:3 - Give us day by day our daily bread.
-- Luke 11:4 - And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.
That is where everyone stops! This is where everyone totally misses the point Jesus was making. Everyone takes this to mean that we are simply to recite this prayer. (Although Jesus condemned the Pharisee’s and Church leaders for their long repetitive prayers) Jesus continued telling them how to pray. What he said after the Lords prayer is probably the most important part of what he was trying to teach us.
Jesus then gave us this example, telling us exactly what to do to have God respond to us. (Luke 11: 5 thru 8)
-- Luke 11:5 - Then He said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and goes to him at midnight and says to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves;
-- Luke 11:6 - for a friend of mine has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him';
-- Luke 11:7 - and from inside he answers and says, 'Do not bother me; the door has already been shut and my children and I are in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.'
-- Luke 11:8 - "I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs.
Clearly, Jesus was telling us to be persistent when talking to God but, Jesus did not even stop there. He went on to say:
-- Luke 11:9 - "So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
-- Luke 11:10 - "For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened.
In the original Greek text, "Ask", Seek" and "Knock", were written as "keep asking", "keep seeking" and keep knocking.
Jesus didn’t even stop there! He really wanted us to get this point! He even told us what to expect if we pray this way. (Luke 11:11 thru 13)
-- Luke 11:11 - "Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he?
-- Luke 11:12 - "Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he?
-- Luke 11:13 - "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?"
By the way, Jesus referred to the Holy Spirit as "The Helper". The point Jesus was making over and over again, was that we are to "be persistent". This was so important, Jesus explained it to us several different ways. The story of the "Widow and the corrupt judge" was yet another way of telling us to be persistent. (Luke 18:2-8)
Prayer is just simply talking to God. It doesn't require eloquent or fancy words, your prayers should not be repetitive, you don't need a degree from a Christian University and you especially don't need someone with a degree from a Christian university to lead you in prayer or to pray for you! It's simply, just communicating with God. Start now - Do it often - Be Persistent - God Bless You
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