I am a Christian and i believe in God and prayer is an important part of my life. God has blessed me greatly and has helped me through school and now through Uni with helping me to set up my own business. I have an article on Prayer that i want to share with you.
Prayer chains appear in numerous faith communities ministry groups, parishes, congregations, and so on.–as sources of love and assistance. If prayer is the re-expression of the soul, the redefining of ourselves in our universe and within God, then prayer is remembrance. So prayer affects the mind, and the mind influences the body. Prayer is communion with God. Talking to Him and listening to Him respond is the two way street of prayer. In prayer, God most often affects our thoughts to communicate with us. The prayer of salvation is the one prayer of the wicked God has said he will hear. Prayer, at least private prayer, is difficult to do out of a false motive. But prayer is not a drug, and is not about pleasing oneself or having idle fun. Prayer books, unlike books of prayers, contain the words of structured (or liturgical ) services of worship. The work of 1549 was the first prayer book to include the complete forms of service for daily and Sunday worship in English. Our prayer is so much more than that, but at the same time, it goes beyond communion and fellowship. It includes communing with God, but also includes discerning what He wants, agreeing with it, calling it forth, and submitting ourselves to it (this is the key) IN ADVANCE of its fulfillment. Prayer is a way to reach out to God and communicate that which is buried in the deepest crevices of your heart. Prayer gives us the opportunity to discern God’s will by coming into direct contact with him. Wrong prayer is not only ineffective, it can also release the power of the devil. Prayer is essential for forgiveness of sins as well as for spiritual growth. Prayer is the believer’s privilege but how we pray according to the Bible is just as important as how often we pray. Thus, prayer is more than making requests to God, it is waiting before God to discover what requests ought to be made. Prayer is what prompts and nurtures obedience, putting the heart into the proper “frame of mind” to desire obedience. Prayer, like any means of growth for the Christian, requires work. Formal prayer obligations originally replaced animal sacrifice, which once was viewed as an act of penance. Prayer is the tool God has given us for the defeat of the enemy of our souls. Prayer is both a privilege and a duty, and any duty can become laborious. Prayer gardens give you the opportunity to be close to the elements of nature while praying. Formal prayer in daily and weekly life became obligatory for the preservation of the Jews, who believed that they were chosen as a group by God to bear His truths and adhere to the conduct He wishes for all humanity. During prayer, we gain calm and insight, and therefore are often able to reduce the scattered thoughts in our harried minds. Prayer helps the practitioner to purify himself, contributing to the forgiveness of his sins. Before prayer, we may have no idea how to proceed. After spending time in prayer, the right decision is accompanied by a sense of peace and “rightfulness. School prayer was outlawed in 1960 but is still a hot debate in politics. Prayer continued to be spontaneous and personal for the average person. 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 talking with God. Prayer is listening to God. Prayer is enjoying the presence of God. It can take many forms – for example: worship, confession, thanksgiving, praise, petition (asking for things), waiting (silent, listening and sensing of God) and warfare (command). Prayer should be cherished for its benefit at the very moment it is experienced, not for what it can do in the future. And all prayer contributes to the forgiveness of a worshipper’s sins; it purifies him. Prayer postures and gestures prevent prayer from lodging solely in the mind; the dynamism of prayer is further manifested through the body. Through prayer, we cultivate a greater eye for the good and the bad, the healthy and the unhealthy. Using a prayer book as a guide will give you great benefit here. Prayer is the number one complementary medicine for Americans , more than vitamins , herbs or therapeutic exercise like yoga. Likewise, prayer serves as medicine for the human soul or spirit. Prayer has a vital place in the life of the Christian. I believe prayer is the key to transforming every Christian life, but that the commitment to spend time each day in prayer is not easy to make. No, prayer becomes an ongoing conversation with God, sometimes spoken, sometimes unspoken. Prayer is a force, much like any other force, only its products are love, sympathy, support, and the like. Link your prayer time with your Bible reading/meditation time so that the habit of daily Bible reading strengthens your prayer life also. The Lord’s Prayer is full of wisdom, but it is short enough to serve as an example of a sprint rather than a marathon prayer. The Lord’s prayer is not a prayer we are supposed to memorize and simply recite to God. It is only an example of how to pray and the things that should go into a prayer – worship, trust in God, requests, confession, protection, etc. Pray for these kinds of things, but speak to God using your own words.
Even if you are not religious you will not find an athiest in a disaster. If you are in a plane that is about to crash you will see everyone praying not to die. I will post some more later but now its time for Uni
sucamxxx 