Prayer, What Is It?
Lets
establish a definition of prayer using, Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia, online.
Prayer is an invocation or an act that seeks to activate a rapport with
a deity, an object of worship, or a spiritual entity through deliberate
communication. Prayer can be a form of religious practice, may be either
individual or communal and take place in public or in private. It may involve
the use of words or song. When language is used, prayer may take the form of a
hymn,incantation, formal creed, or a spontaneous utterance in the praying
person. There are different forms of prayer such as petitionary prayer, prayers
of supplication, thanksgiving, and worship/praise. Prayer may be directed
towards a deity, spirit, deceased person, or a lofty idea, for the purpose of
worshipping, requesting guidance, requesting assistance, confessing sins or to
express one's thoughts and emotions. Thus, people pray for many reasons such as
personal benefits or for the sake of others. Most major religions
involve prayer in one way or another. Some ritualizes the act of prayer,
requiring a strict sequence of actions or placing a restriction on who is
permitted to pray, while others teach that prayer may be practiced
spontaneously by anyone at any time.
Scientific
studies regarding the use of prayer have mostly concentrated on its effect on
the healing of sick or injured people. Meta-studies of the studies in this
field have been performed showing evidence only of no effect or a potentially
small effect. For instance, a 2006 meta analysis of 14 studies concluded that
there is "no discernable effect" while a 2007 systemic review of
intercessory prayer reported inconclusive results, noting that 7 of 17 studies
had "small, but significant, effect sizes" but the review noted that
the most methodologically rigorous studies failed to produce significant
findings. The efficacy of petition in prayer for physical healing to a deity
has been evaluated in numerous other studies, with contradictory results. There
has been some criticism of the way the studies were conducted.
This would
be what Bible students or many Christians would call a worldly interpretation of the
benefit of prayer, yet it is the one we should address because of this
interpretation the power of prayer is trivialized, and the unbeliever does not believe us because we
present ourselves and our God in an unbelievable fashion. In the above study those that spoke fervently
of being healed, spoke of headaches, backaches and sporadic pains in
other extremities were classified as temporary incidents and divine intervention was questionable. In essence something happens without prayer. Matthew 5:45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
Let's inject
a Biblical definition of prayer into this dissertation before we get too far off
base. Prayer in a Biblical sense should
be the act of the spiritual soul of man
communicating with his spiritual father, his creator. A
form of spiritual communication or a
conversation with God. John 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him
must worship him in spirit and in truth. Just a thought here, if I am in the spirit praying to a spiritual God shouldn't I be asking for the things that will sustain my spiritual connection, the fruit of the spirit? This definition should be acceptable
to most God-fearing people who believe in the power of prayer as I do.
Now I would
like to offer several other words and definition to help us understand further
this the terminology of this discussion.
The definition of these words is
important and you can look them up for further enlightenment.
Spirit: The
English word spirit is derived from the Latin word “Spiritus” meaning "breath" has many differing meanings
and connotations, most of them relating to a non-corporeal substance contrasted
with or different from the material body. The word spirit is often used
metaphysically to refer to the consciousness or personality. The notions of a
person's spirit and soul often also overlap, as both contrast with the body and
both are understood as surviving the bodily death, The term may also refer to
any incorporeal or immaterial being, such as demons or deities, in Christianity
specifically the Holy Spirit experienced
by the disciples at Pentecost.
There is a simpler
definition but I like this one because
it shows the separation of the spirit and body.
Trivialize,
To make something seems less important or serious than it really is.
Indoctrination
, to teach someone a set of beliefs so
thoroughly that they do not accept any other ideas
Now I think
I have a fairly good idea how God worked throughout the ages during the
different dispensation. God is dealing
differently with humanity today than he
did with the children of Isreal, yet often we find ourself demanding
that he maintains the same promises . A point to remember, The Children of Isreal were
and still is God’s “Bride”. The Church
is the “Bride” of Christ, one group does not replace the other. I understand the problems of misapplying and mis-locating the scriptures. To do so puts us in a position of expecting
more from God than what he promised. The
The devil has always questioned and twisted the word of God to use it against God’s
elects. One of his other methods is to
use the word of God in a manner that it seems to have no effect. Moses used this as a point of
contention when God decided to destroy
the children of Isreal. Down through the
ages God has always worked in a manner that he could receive the glory. When God does something there should not be a
question of whether God did it or it was a natural occurrence. Jesus often sent those he healed to the priest
for for confirmation of the work he had done. Mark 1:44 And saith unto him, See thou say nothing to
any man: but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy
cleansing those things which Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.
The power of
prayer is understood by most Christians, it is the charlatans that are
masquerading as ministers of God, peddling the power of prayer. Prayer has been merchandised and offered for
sale in the churches, on the Internet and through direct mail. Imagine reading this in an advertisement. Have you ever dreamed that you could have
whatever you want? Healing in your body,
enough money, a nice car, a great relationship, a happy family, a good job, a
nice house, good friends, health, happiness, everything your heart desires? Do you need more money than you make every
week? Are you desperate to pay the bills? Are you unhappy in a relationship? Do
you want to lose weight? God has the
solution to every problem that you have, health, wealth and happiness can be
yours. God will answer your prayers and
his resources are more than you could ever imagine, you just have to know how
to ask and that is what I am going to show you in this book "Your Prayers
– Answered” Just fill in the prayer
request form here and we will join with you in your prayer of faith. Once you have made your request you will have
the opportunity to sow your Seed of Faith which God will use to answer your
prayer. We strongly recommend that as
you pray you make a Sacrifice of the Seed of Faith. God will respond to your
prayer and your Sacrifice and will answer your prayer.
America is a nation in urgent need of the Gospel, thus began
a letter I received from a, National Evangelistic Association”. The letter ended by stating, the challenge
is enormous, but so is the spiritual need in our nation, beginning with people
you know. It went on to show that out of
one hundred average Americans seven struggle with depression. Eight were struggling with the loss of a
job. Seven were struggling with drug or
alcohol addiction. Fourteen feel
crippled or trapped by fear and anxiety.
Sixty didn’t profess to be born again and three are grieving the death
of a loved one. There was a request for
me to partner with them by prayer and giving.
Included in the letter were several Prayer Reminder Cards. The membership application said, “Yes, I want
to help bring hope to our nation.” The
message ended with a request for a one
time donation or recurring donation of twenty five dollars or more and I would
have the assurance that God is hearing my prayer as I pray for America and my
community. In the vernacular of the street, we call this "Pimping".
In an overt attempt at self-correction and purge itself from its bloody past, the crusades,
the inquisition and the Salem Witch hunt, Christianity over the ages, have allowed itself to be hijacked and redefined by personal and
sometimes erroneous interpretations all for personal gain. The
splits in the Christian church hierarchy merely sets the stage for more splits
and today’s form of Christianity is
defined by many churches with different belief structures and doctrines, all using the same Bible. This has allowed for the proliferation of
Christianity and it is the believability in God that suffers. Is it possible that todays modern form of Christianity has offered herself up as the great whore, spoken of in Revelation? Revelation 19:2 For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. Christianity often speaks to the condition of
the world and community yet existing within the micro-organism of the church
members and leaders the same conditions exist.
Too many are content to go along in the attempt to, “just keep myself
straight”, and have lost the will
power to stand up and shout, “The emperor has no cloth on.”
Next: A Study in Prayer, Part #2
Join in the fray, it going to get hot on the waters today.
You are welcome to add your comments or question.
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