When you see or hear the word prayer what is the first thing that comes up in your mind? Think about that question for a minute. While you thinking I will tell, what few teenagers in my age, between the ages of 17 - 19 think what prayer is. Prayer is when mommy and daddy calls us for family prayer. Prayer is when I got church. Prayer is when I go to sleep. Prayer is a ceremony that’s very boring and long. Prayer is talking to God. A lot of various ideas and versions of prayer is coming to this new generation. In this essay I am going to walk you through various different topics concerning the topic of prayer.
What is prayer? As I mentioned before, people have different opinions on what prayer is. Prayer is not a practice only reserved for people that are “holy” or people that are in “high positions”. Prayer is simply communicating with God-listing and talking to him. Through prayer we actually experience relationship with God. The quality of our prayer life then determines the quality of our relationship with God. Prayer is listing to God. Prayer is enjoying the presence of God. Prayer is not simply saying a bunch of words. It is not babbling a chant. It is heartfelt prayer that God honors and looks at. We are told by Jesus not to make meaningless repetition of words when we pray.(Mathew 6;7)”When you pray, don’t babble on and on as people of other religions do”. “They think their prayers are answered only be repeating their words again and again”. There is a lot of false prayer as we can see from the book of Luke 8:9-14. We all know the story of the Pharisee and the tax collector. The tax collector prayer was consisted of telling God at least I’m not like this guy or that guy. I’m not like the robbers or adulteress. Or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week listen to my prayer. But the tax collectors prayer was consisted of repentance. He wouldn’t even look up to God and pray. Rather he would beat his chest and say “God have mercy on me for I am a sinner”. Who do you think prayer got heard? Yes the tax collectors. Because he didn’t exalt himself he humbled himself down in the presence of God, and showed humility. Like it says in verse 14 “those who humble themselves will be exalted and those who exalt themselves will be humbled . So our prayer should be heartfelt. That is exactly what prayer is. A heartfelt communication to God.
Why should we pray? Lets try to break down a scenario. If we never speak to our parents or never listen to anything they have to say to us. Our relationship with them will quickly deteriorate. It’s the same way with God. Communicating with God helps us grow closer to him. Prayer develops our relationship with God. One of the simplest reasons to spend time in prayer is because the Lord instructed us to pray. Obedience is a natural by-product of discipleship. Matthew 26:41 "Keep alert and pray. Otherwise temptation will overpower you. For though the spirit is willing enough, the body is weak!" For Christians, praying is like breathing. Medically speaking you cannot live without breathing. The same way without breathing spiritually (praying) your inner man is dead. For on thing prayer is a form of serving god (Luke 2:36-38) and obeying Him. Prayer is exemplified for us by Christ and the early church (Mark1:35;Acts 1:14; 2:42). If Jesus thought it was worthwhile to pray, we should as a body of Christ should also. If he needed to pray to remain in the Fathers will, how much more do we need to pray? Another reason to pray
the very courtyards dedicated to prayer. This activity was offensive to God. The tax-collectors and sinners In the time of Jesus, the Jews were captives to the power of the Roman Empire. Tax- collectors were considered traitors, for they collected taxes from their fellow Jews on behalf of their Roman oppressors. Tax-collectors were also well-known for cheating by charging more tax than they should, keeping the extra money for themselves. Tax-collectors were excluded from community worship…
run away from the difficulties with the Romans by leading pure and disciplined lives in desert communities such as Qumran by the Dead Sea. There they tried to keep the Jewish religion free from outside influences. They kept watch day and night and prayer for the final liberation of Isral. We know about the Essenes today because they kept a library of scrolls which describe their way of life. In recent times, the remains of these scrolls were rediscovered in caves by the Dead Sea. Zealots Today the…
Be Yourself - Ellen Bailey Why would you want to be someone else When you could be better by being yourself Why pretend to be someone you are not When you have something they haven't got Cheating yourself of the life you have to live Deprives others of that only which you can give You have much more to offer by being just you Than walking around in someone else's shoes Trying to live the life of another is a mistake It is a masquerade; nothing more than a fake Be yourself and let…
30 years old he was baptised in the river Jordan by John a preacher Jesus became well known as a religious teacher, although his ideas were seen as revolutionary Jesus focused his attention to the sick, the poor, women, and outcasts such as tax collectors and prostitutes He was disliked by many as he preached on the sabbath and while he did not encourage rebellion against the Roman Empire he did demand a total revolution in daily life Jesus attracted many followers; he picked 12 men to be his…
“Let This Mind Be In You Which Was Also In Christ Jesus….” Humility is the character quality that allows us to be all Christ wants us to be. We cannot come to God without it. We cannot love God supremely without it. We cannot be an effective witness for Christ without it. We cannot love and serve others without it. We cannot have godly relationships with others without it. We cannot resolve conflict without it. We cannot deal with the sin of others without it. We cannot resist sin without…
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house("Roman Catholic Ten Commandments", 2007). During my interview held on October 30, 2013 @ 9:30 am at the Columbia County Annex building in the Tax Collectors office where I interviewed Mrs. Janey Griep which is my sister's co-worker. Earlier in this class we were required to come up with seven or more questions. I came up with questions that I thought could give me a lot of insight, knowing nothing…
were so different c. They were worried that these new comers would damage their image of respectability d. Their position was precarious in this event 5. Why Jews had to leave their homes a. Before tsar, the Jewish people were money lenders, tax collectors, inn keepers, and grain merchants b. Soon the polish Jews were force under Russian domination c. Once under tsar control their positions rapidly deteriorated d. They could not leave the area known as the Pale of Settlement i. This consisted…
1) Traditional Economy- the decisions are made based on traditions or beliefs. Produce what’s been produced in the past. (Third world countries, poor) Positives- make high quality goods, families make decisions together. Negatives- not very practical, you don’t have a choice as to what job you want. Command Economy- government ensures everyone has a job so there is virtually no unemployment. Government makes all decisions even what you do for a living. Hires central planning agents for help. (Communist…
Reading the 1648 ordinance from Parliament suppressing stage theatre seems to confirm what we are taught and thus what is, for the large part, common knowledge: Puritan hostility towards the theatre reflected itself in law, shutting down theatre in England for eighteen years. Without delving further into context, deducing any other motive becomes difficult. Acts of stage plays were “condemned by ancient heathens, and much less to be tolerated amongst Professors of the Christian Religion”. The…
