Open Table....Lets begin with Prayers........
Posted on: 02/13/2008 13:47
Hello everyone, welcome to the Open Table....crab coffee..sit
back and read, ask questions by posting, maybe print off what is
written to use further on in Our Studies........
Dear Lord, I pray today, that you give us all wisdom , knowledge and
of course Your Love as we work our way into a journey with
God....IJNIP...
Before we can establish a relationship with God we must first learn
to pray. With out prayer it is impossible to start a personal
relationship with God because this is our source of communtication with
Him.....Prayer is a wonderful thing to behold and as we walk on our
journey you will see and feel the results of prayer in your life.....be
patient, God answers our prayers but not in the way we expect...He is a
God of love, humor, laughter and I find He will sometimes even joke with
us..but we must be open to all of these things and it is through prayer
that they come into our lives.....He is a God that Loves to get
involved with those who will come to know Him and Love Him as He Loves
Us..........
Prayer is the sense of petition, asking for things, is a small part
of it; confession and penitence are its threshold; adoration, its
sanctuary; the presence and vision and enjoyment of God, its bread and
wine. In it God shows Himself to Us....C. S. Lewis.....
When Jesus wanted to communicate with the Father, He prayed, when He
was preplexed He prayed, when hard pressed by work He prayed, when
hungry for fellowship He prayed, if critized He prayed, if His body was
tired, He Prayed..............His one unfailing habit was
Prayer..........
Jesus knew what was instore for Him on the Cross and although He
knew that He would be critized, He would be stripped naked and His
cloths fought over the by soldiers, He would be spit upon, He would have
a crown of thornes pushed into His head, and would suffer great agony
on the Cross hanging for hours with nails through His hands and
feet.....What did Jesus do......He Prayed........but as you see what
follows , Not For Himself..........
Lets go to John 17............NT....
At the beginning of the prayer He was praying for His dicipilies,
further into the prayer we find He was praying for us..yes thousands of
years ago, Jesus knew also that we would follow Him by faith, but He did
not depend on that , He prayed to the Father to make it so......
Neither I pray for these alone, but for them also who shall believe
on me, through the Word...that they may be one : as thou; Father art in
Me , and I in thee , that they also may be one in Us : that the world
may know that thou has sent me....
Father , I Will..that they also , whom thou has given me, be with me
where I am, that they may behold my glory, which thou has given me, for
thou loved-st me before the foundation of the world....and I have
declared unto them Thy Name and will declare it , that the Love
wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them....I am in Them...
Wow....that is an awesome prayer and I would like to say, that when I am
in doubt of God or I am in the time of darkness and the desert, I go
back to that prayer and it shows me how much Our God really, really
Loves Us..........
I hope you will keep this in mind, when the dry patches come in Your Life...
Ordinary people have prayed for centuries and every generation in
human history vouch for the validity of Prayer....The dynamics and
definitions may not be fully understood, prayer impacts life on
significant , substantial levels.
Lets discuss the different prayers, ok dont run lol lol...it will
all come, remember we prayed for patience and it will be
granted......................
Adoration.....a prayer of awesome wonder, lifts an individual to an
attitude of worship and wonder, it reminds us of who God is and what He
does......
Defined as reverent appreciation raised to its loftiness terms adoration
forms the foundation for all other praying. It creates awareness of Gods
nearness in daily events and encourage a personal response of praise....
Bless the Lord , O my soul, and all that is within bless His Holy name....
Adoration and worship , important components of wholeness are found in abundant measure at the place of prayer.....
You can see a sample of this at the end of my threads and postings, I
was once told by anther poster on wondercafe, that it was too much, but I
do not put it there to disturb others, I put it there because I just
cannot help myself I l just love the Lord so much , it just comes
flowing out..........
Confession......frees us from damaging guilt as sin, omission as we
admit them to a loving God..forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our
debtors...confession, without self-earned deservings, allows us to be
appreciative of Gods forgiveness...now we must remember when we give our
lives over to the Living God all of sins have been forgiven but to keep
us on the right track and accountable to the God we love, we confess
new sin that arrises in our lives.....if we decide to stop swearing as
an example, when ever we swear , the Holy Spirit will convict us to ask
forgiveness for that sin, God will hold us accountable for swearing if
it persists...I must admit I used to swear like a drunken sailor....and
it was a difficult habit to break, but after awhile I got tired of
asking for Gods forgiveness and like any good child I stop the habit and
now its history....Praise the Lord for Helping me Break that
Habit........
Petition.....the most prevalent of all prayers forms, expresses
urgent desire. Considered by many as the most elementary level of
prayer, petition openly seeks Divine aid in the midst of human
powerlessness and the crushing uncertainties of the unknown. this kind of
prayer deals with the whole range of human needs, including heartfelt
pleas for daily bread, deliverance from temptation and the coming of the
kingdom. Everyone prays at this level one time or the other. Most of us
pray at this level most of the time......We pray for all things from
Our Father, strength, courage, healing, security, purpose, visions,
wisdom and knowledge as examples...............
Thanksgiving.....generally changes the person who prays because it
draws attention away from self-centered request and directs it to
blessings we have already received..when we are grateful for our
shelter, it is likely we will not ask God for a bigger house, when we
praise God for our loving family, we will not complain against high
grocery bills..When a person rejoices over the memory of a deceased love
one's well -lived life, grief about death separation is
lessened.......Gratitude cures envy and self-pity also........
O' Lord my God, I will give thanks unto Thee forever....sure is the way I feel.
The last one Intercession, a soul cry to God for another, longs for
others to find peace of heart, healing for soul, body, or victory over a
debilitating enslavement.....As an advocate for others , the person who
intercedes becomes a victorious, though struggling, warrior in a taxing
battle against sin, evil and darkness...this is usually the prayers
used by the people God has given the gift of intercessary prayer too,
most leaders , Reverend , pastors, ministers, priest etc use these
types of prayers....this type of prayer for me, is so rewarding as I see
so many situations changed, Gods love ascend upon others, lives restored
back to the kingdom of God.......It is an awesome God we
serve....................
When we pray we link ourselves with the en-exhaustible power that
spins the universe...We ask that a part of His Power be given to us to
help us with our needs.....
When we pray stress begins to disappear, we find liberating freedom
from over attention to patterns and forms of prayer in Augustine's
advice, we come to God by Love, not by navigation. Our yearnings for
inner unity, wholeness, and hope compel us to pray.......AND GOD
ANSWERS....
This concludes are teaching for today, I hope you will sit back in
your quiet time and think on all of the things discussed hear I hope you
will take up prayer as a way of life...a way of building a wonderful,
personal, close relationship with the Loving God of All
Creation.....................
I hope you will make a list of all of the blessings you have in your
life and just in this first time you sit down to be with the Lord, don't
try to do prayers all at once, for it take time and patience'....just
spend your quiet time , Thanking God for the wonderful things in your
life....
Dear Lord I am so grateful for the wonderful things you give me, I am
grateful I have a nice home, I am grateful for the wonderful husband
you have given me, I thank you for my son, who is getting married in
March to a beautiful christian young lady, I am grateful for the meals I
am able to prepare as you provide for me... I will forever be grateful
for Your Wonderful Gift of Salvation for without that , I would never
have gotten to know you like I do.
