Hi everyone.
I was wandering on what’s your understanding of how to properly pray? Are you suppose to keep it relatively short when praying in private? Do you for instance at the end of the prayer have to say: in Jesus Christ’s name amen, etc.
Excellent question.
As with most all questions, as soon as someone gives you their advice, someone will tell you something else.
When I am asked about Bible "things" I always use the Bible for the answer. So then, what does the Bible tell us?
A prayer has four simple steps. They are evident in the Lord's prayer found in Matthew 6:9-13...…….
"After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 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."
From those verses as a model we can se that the proper way to pray has 4 elements........
1. Address our heavenly Father with praise and adoration for who He is and what He does.
2. Thank Him for all the blessings of life.
3. Than ask Him for His blessings.
4. Do it all in the name of His Son the Lord Jesus Christ.
Should we close praying by saying..."In Jesus Name"?
YES!...…...WHY?
Because it is the only way God has approved for us to approach Him. Jesus said in John 14:6...……..
“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Jesus also told his faithful apostles in John 16:23...…...
“Most truly I say to you, If you ask the Father for anything he will give it to you in my name.”
Then that same Bible tells us to pray allways. He also taught us to pray with sincerity. and avoid vain repetitions.
We must pray with faith that does not waver and with heart felt intent.
hi Major and others.
I want to ask you and others what is everyones understanding of not using vain repetitions. I obviously know what it could mean literally interpreted, but a fair bit in the Bible is not to be understood literally.
In the past I knew someone who said that he had trouble praying because he couldn’t think of the words, as in what to say.
I know I can/and i should pray for help with that, like I/we can pray for anything(good), but someone who knows the Bible lot better can maybe give better guidance.
Thanks
hi Major and others.
I want to ask you and others what is everyones understanding of not using vain repetitions. I obviously know what it could mean literally interpreted, but a fair bit in the Bible is not to be understood literally.
In the past I knew someone who said that he had trouble praying because he couldn’t think of the words, as in what to say.
I know I can/and i should pray for help with that, like I/we can pray for anything(good), but someone who knows the Bible lot better can maybe give better guidance.
Thanks
I have not found that repetitious prayers and chanting to be personally edifying. Others have a different experience and I would not take that away.
As far as thinking of the words, sometimes prayer is mentally going before God and letting the Spirit speak. Prayer is talking with God. You do not always need to be the one talking. Sometimes He needs to talk to you. If it is a prayer regarding your perceived needs, He already knows. Prayer in that case is making His knowledge of your need 'real' in your own experience.
Romans 8:26Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
While knowledge and understanding of the Bible greatly aids in prayer, it is not a pre-requisite.
What is most helpful is a worshipful heart.
As far as whether the Bible should be understood literally, I have struggled with that for 45 years. I find that as my understanding of God's word grows within my heart, and my understanding of God's world expands, I find that for myself that less and less of the teachings of the Bible are incompatible with a consistent understanding of the sciences. Sometimes the percieving the consistency between the two needs to wait until my understanding of them increases.
Vain repetitions... funny to me you should ask. Im sure we all have our own personal spiritual philosophies based on scripture, as the holy ghost gives us each different gifts. Therefore we each individually have the same verses speak to us in a separate manner.
Ive debated this issue many times with different pastors, priests, and with different members of the same body of Christ. I will give you two analogies. One is when our children constantly ask or bug us for something, do we give in or discipline them? Does it aggravate us, or motivate us into the response they desire? Another is in scripture. When the neighbor banged that door in the middle of the night, did his repetitions get him a loaf of bread? Read Luke chapter 11. How do you think God might feel about us constantly asking for the same thing?
My conclusion is I pray for something once. I pray for extremely important things, concerning myself when fasting. Sometimes I pray more than once if its pressing in my heart or conscious, because the holy spirit leads me to do so. Most of the time those compassionate prayers for others are answered, even with one simple request.
We are all different, and thankfully so.
Thanks everyone. I thought I might explain how I pray. I say first God Yahweh, sometimes I might say say bit of a prayer and then say God Yahweh, then I ask for whatever and I finish with in Jesus Christ name Amen.
I normally say the longest prayer before I eat. I finish of normally with asking God Yahweh to bless the food and I thank him for it and then in Jesus Christ’s name Amen.
I might be a bit repetative when I ask for forgiveness for a sin( current sin, not like full on wilful and etc) because there’s not many ways to say it . So it’s like God Yahweh please forgive me for .... and help me in Jesus Christ name amen. Or sometimes I say God Yahweh forgive me and help me in Jesus Christ name amen,this last one is obviously without actually saying what for because God Yahweh knows. So that’s a bit repetitive, but it’s for different sin time of sin.
If someone thinks that I need to make changes please let me know.
Thanks
Amen to most all that has been said.
I think another classic example is Cain and Able.
What was wrong with Cain's approach to God and why was Able accepted. Could it be that Cain was worshipping a God of his own imagination? He was sincere and he brought the best that he had but that was not enough.
Able's approached God by revelation, for revelation is from/of God, and God only receives things His way.
I believe we often pray incorrectly but God knows those that are His and He will straighten us out, not from the aspect of merit but by transformation.