How can anybody say with such certainty and self-assigned authority (only those who never read the Bible), that The Bible is just stories written by a bunch of men. And it is no wonder that owning a Bible was forbidden at one time and it is always still a looming threat. When you "read between the lines" with everything, The Truth is revealed. The WORD is God. Thank you Oseas for always the insightful commentary.
Praying for you, brother, and your daughter and your whole family. Be encouraged, help is on the way, do not doubt it. I pray in the mighty, precious name of Jesus and speak out divine, supernatural health, wisdom and strenght and wellbeing for all of you! Amen!
Praying for you, Roberta! Do not give up, as we all struggle with sin, daily. Take it each day, step by step, and have faith in the finished work of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on the cross! He is faithful. Always. Do not ever forget this. I now pray, in the mighty name of Jesus, for a sound mind and strenght, to always be with you, for his mighty angels, to guard you, in each step of your way. Always. In Jesus' name. AMEN!
To compare, here's two similar terrible situations
Ps.34:19-Many are the afflictions of the righteous:but the Lord delivers him out of them all.
Acts 14:22-We must through much tribulation enter into the Kingdom of GOD
The KING of DARKNESS,the Devil, showed to JESUS all the kingdoms of the world,the glory of them,and said:All will I give thee,if thou fall down and worship me.Mat.4:8-9.
Re.13:1&15:
1 I stood upon the sand of the sea(John was a citzen of Israel),and saw a(MAN)Beast rise up out of the sea(Gentile nations),having 7 heads,10 horns, upon his HORNS 10 crowns(CROWNS UPON HORNS?),and upon his heads a NAME of blasphemy.
15 And he-MAN Beast of earth-Re.13:11-a false messiah- John 5:43-47,had power to give life unto the Beast's image,that the image should speak,who worships not the image must be killed.
Daniel 3:2-20
The KING sent to gather the princes,governors,the captains,judges, counsellors,all the rulers of the provinces,to come to the dedication of the image he had set up.They stood before the image and an herald cried:To you is commanded,O people,NATIONS,and languages,that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet,flute, harp,and all kinds of musick,ye fall down and worship the image the king has set up:Whoso falls not down and worships shall be cast into the burning fiery furnace.But Shadrach,Meshach,Abednego,O king, have not regarded thee,they serve not thy gods,nor worship the image you has set up.So in his rage and fury the KING commanded to bring them,and said:Is it true,O Shadrach,Meshach,Abednego,do not ye serve my gods,nor worship the IMAGE I have set up?When you hear the sound of the cornet,all kinds of musick,ye fall down and worship the image I have made;well:if not,ye shall be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace;who is that GOD that shall deliver you out of my hands?
O king,our GOD whom we serve is able to deliver us from furnace,thy hands,and we will not serve thy gods,nor worship the image you have set up.
21 For then shall be great TRIBULATION, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time(this current time), no, nor ever shall be.
22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened. (The theory of being caught(pre-trib) before this event of "days shall be shortened" is wrong, it's a nonsense).
Isaiah 26:20-21
20 Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment (seven years), until the indignation be overpast.
21 For, behold, the Lord cometh out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.
Romans 2:6-11
6 GOD will render to every MAN according to his deeds:
7 To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, ETERNAL LIFE:
8 But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,
9 Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;
10 But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile:
11 For there is no respect of persons with GOD.
Revelation 11:15 and 18
15 ... The kingdoms OF THIS WORLD are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever.
18 And the nations were(will be)angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be Judged( Daniel 12:2. Take a look), and that thou should give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and should destroy them which destroy the earth.
I do love Jesus n so want to be obedient in all things Two bad habits. Haven't been to church long while. Watch on phone. I don't want to be left behind Please pray
Very interesting.You know:2Ti.3:1-This know also,in the last days PERILOUS times shall come.Why? 2Timothy 2-5 give us extense list why perilous times. And Re.2:9&24-29 reveal:9I know thy works, tribulation and poverty(but thou art rich)and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews and are not,but are synagogue of Satan. 24-But unto you I say, as many as have not this doctrine and have not known the depths of Satan,as they speak;I will put upon you none other burden.
25That which ye have already hold fast till I come.
26And he that overcomes,and keeps my works unto the end,to him will I give power over the nations:
27And he shall rule them with a rod of iron;as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers:even as I received of my Father.
28And I will give him the morning star.
29He that hath an ear,let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
About Satan,the MAN of sin,son of perdition,the Word of GOD reveals:Is.14:13-14:
13Thou hast said in thine heart:
(1)I will ascend into heaven(heaven? Ephesians 1:3-8),I will exalt my throne above the stars of GOD(above GOD's stars?See Daniel 12:3, always be careful,perilous times now,also according Re.12:4.Take a look):
(2)I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation,in the sides of the north:(Why Satan intends to sit in the sides of north?Ps.48:2 reveals why:Beautiful for situation,the joy of the whole earth,is mount Zion,on the sides of the north,the city of the great King-JESUS-
14I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;I will be like the most High(clouds? Revelation 12:14& Isaiah 60:8).Satan,a former Cherub, ruler of Eden,intends to be equal GOD.Ez.28:1-10 reveal:2Thus saith the Lord God;Thine heart is lifted up,and thou say,I am a God,I sit in the seat of GOD,in the midst of the seas(nations);thou art a MAN,not God,though thou set thine heart as God's heart:
I will bring strangers,the terrible of the nations,against thee:they shall draw the Sword against the beauty of thy wisdom.
Joy, you ask for forgiveness, Psalms 32: 1 & 5. Now that you have done that out of the purity of your heart, you show what God has done for you. Witness and testify. God bless you. Thank You Heavenly Father, thank You Jesus Christ and thank You Holy Spirit. Amen
As you know, the kings of Israel chosen by GOD they were anointed with oil by the prophets of the Lord.
To be anointed with oil is to be separated as GOD's chosen one- Matthew 25:31-34. Take a look. The true chosen ones of the Lord are prudent and wise, they have lamp to shine as they walk in the world of darkness, and enough oil to keep the lamp burning to meet the Lord, the bridegroom, and be saved. By the way, He said: Revelation 3:11-13:
11 Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no one take thy crown.
12 Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my GOD, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my GOD, and the name of the city of my GOD, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my GOD: and I will write upon him my new name.
13 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
Att all times, let your garments be white, and let oil not be wanting on your head - Ecclesiastes 9:8.
Revelation 19:5-8:
5 And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our GOD, all ye His servants, and ye that fear Him, both small and great.
6 And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord GOD Omnipotent reigneth.
7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to Him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife hath made herself ready.
8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
Regarding mystery of GOD, I have already commented in prior posts, our Lord JESUS-the Word made flesh- spoke of this in Matthew 11:27, and according His promise, unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance. Hallelujah!.
May our Lord GOD bless and keep us, and give us His protection
Addendum: Demonic "miracles" and answered "prayers" and casting out demons
False signs and wonders are scriptural warnings for the last days; particularly in the Book of Revelation. Most who are of sound mind would cringe at the so called "Kundalini awakening" or other such phenomenon that invokes the coiled serpent within for all sorts of magical powers. What can be said is that as Christians we are promised all power over the evil one; and since that was won at the cross we have no reason to suspect that doesn't still exist as the authority given by Christ over demons according to the promises of ( Luke 10:19). Of course as with all scripture this passage must be taken in context; in Paul's case a snake fell off his arm and caused no harm; he didn't go out looking for some sensational footage; as clearly indicated in Acts 28:5-6. We also don't go out willy nilly after the evil one as the sons of Sceva did without bad results ( Acts 19:11-20). However as Spirit filled believers when we are exercising in His strength and with His authority we are fulfilling necessary service in casting out demons or commanding them not to continue to oppress people. This means; of course that we make sure a person WANTS to be freed; and willing to repent of any sins which give Satan legal foothold on their souls.
There are also demonic incantations or "prayers to Satan" of which I had the dubious distinction of hearing spoken against me a few years back. We need to factor in spiritual hinderances to our prayer as it is scriptural as we see in the book of Daniel and apparently with some missionary efforts Paul had. This doesn't guarantee our prayers are answered but such hinderences certainly make a breakthrough unlikely if we haven't dealt with strongholds in our own lives of entrenched sin as well as in others as well who we hope to see delivered.
The last point for now is that we must be open for others to pray for our needs as well. We need each other.
Prayers: Concluding thoughts (if you're lucky) for now.
In general; prayer is often answered when it isn't a "no or later" situation through other means and individuals than we in our puny minds can comprehend. It seems from my experience there are those who are obsessed in wanting to meet the needs of others (i.e. a gift of service) and others (probably more like myself) who like to offer some thought provoking scriptural concept or parable like statement to make people think. What I mean is; in my inherant selfishness; I am not obsessed like those aforementioned gifted believers with a gift of service or helps to always meet people's needs up front and right away.
This isn't getting me out of the pit I'm digging for myself...but I'm making a point (I think). Sometimes at least I hope; there is some merit to being abstract in some regard at least in not always having to be the one to fix the problem. That leaves me with my own issues of having to push myself to be as giving as a lot of others but obviously that is my problem not that of the audience (I will presume innocent until proven otherwise in that regard).
Okay; enough of the "Pauline" sarcasm. In having wisdom and being wise as serpents; innocent as doves we wrestle out our existence. ( Matthew 10:16). With prayer of course we are to take appropriate action when we can so we don't be as the person in James 2:16 and not be an answered prayer OURSELVES to someone in their misery. We can't give away all our money in the same token unless it is our own volition and to fulfill the Great Commission unless it is for dire need or our family interests (even that with caution). All of this is to say that indeed we need as the Body of Christ not to be overly lazy or overly burdened to the extent that the individual in Phillippians 2:27 was who Paul mentioned.
Prayer usually involves a marathon effort but sometimes is answered as a sprint. Sometimes God works miracles without obvious prayer
Emotional healing: Prayers and communication with the Lord.
The Spirit of the Lord should be what guards our heart ( Prov. 4:23); keeps the reins of our heart in check ( Jeremiah 17:10); gives us the mind of Christ ( 1 Cor. 2:16) as well as communing with our soul ( Romans 8:16).
As ironic as it seems; it may be often best to focus on prayers for our enemies rather than friends. With any kind of healing; there is the tendency because of our own emotional connection to desperately ask for relief from pain and suffering of any sort for those we know and love. What we fail to see sometimes especially with those we are familiar with is that God often uses suffering as a form of chastisement to get someone's attention and turn to the Lord. Obviously we shouldn't be the arbitrators of what kind of test others should go through and deliberately hold ack on prayers either. As we study persevering in prayer; we should also learn to sense the course of events the Lord is directing in an individuals life over time and tweek the prayer appropriately.
Mental healing: This subject of course intersects with emotions and physiological factors; such as Dopamine levels. Actual brain damage may be involved as well as unknown factors. Overall; of course patterns of behavior will bring healing as one focuses their energies on study of the Word and living out a Godly and obedience life of service to the Lord and of course turns away from worldliness. Those too fixated on faith healing at the expense of anything else are missing out on even Paul's example of his thorn in the flesh. Many are able to sympathize with others who are down and out; and the transparency of our own strugles can be a real inspiration and valuable in evangelism. This is more than the boasting of how depraved we are; although incorporates an internal comprehension of our good deeds being filthy rags before conversion. What it DOES show is unconditional love and an open heart to ruined sinners.
I may seem to have strayed from my original topic of prayer; but since all types of "miraculous" ministers of the Gospel whether genuine or fake use some method of prayer as a means of operation. I haven't even delved yet into emotional; mental and spiritual healing although they are often either interchangeable or intersecting in many ways in a person's earthly existence.
Matthew 9:5 gives us food for thought; as to the greater challenge of forgiving sins than healing someone. Since the enemy can manipulate things somewhat in the physical realm a false miracle is certainly possible within limits; but cannot do the same in forgiving sins. (I should paraphrase that comment in saying that yes; some form of mental tranquility is used to render one senseless; and sear their conscience to their own sinful and appalling state but if God is calling that person the enemy is allowed also to cause increasing torment as only true love casts out fear). We; of course can't be so glib as to tell someone their sins are forgiven; instead we wait for someone to be convicted and say as the jailor to Paul how must we be saved?
Before discussing the emotional and mental healings which obviously are more difficult to prove scientifically (not to mention healing of the soul which HAS to be spiritual) I don't want to leave the question unanswered that may come up.
The question is; of course when should we pray for a healing and when NOT? Obviously I cannot play God here and tell someone as long as someone is alive at least that they shouldn't pray in that way. I would say that if someone has died that normally at least we shouldn't resort to that. It SEEMS on the surface that a few people appear to have experienced this; but in one case I may have brought up recently of a man in Africa; within a year he seems to have disappeared from view when others tried to find him. I'll leave that subject to a missionary to respond.
To continue; here is the third scenario with healings.
Healings that ARE verifiable as at least unexplained with reliable medical information (hint: it helps to have first and last names at the very least). This would as far as I can tell be subdivided further into 3 categories:
1) Prayers that were given by either doctrinally unsound or downright heretical preachers that appear to have resulted in a genuine healing following the standard above. I will call that the Judas Iscariot factor; based on the verses where Jesus sent him out when the disciples were commanded to do these type of miracles (read Luke chapter 10).
2) Prayers that were given by doctrinally sound individuals which appears to have resulted in genuine miracles and
3) Miracles that are verifiable which either the person healed and/or those around him or her were not believers or had no interest in religion. I could add a fourth situation here similar to above but performed by "New Age" practitioners. I think I'll make a seperate post on that soon.
So; what are we to think? As Jesus said; go to the priests ( Luke 5:14) as evidence of true healing; as they were used for this purpose in the O.T. as well as deciding when a person was ceremonially unclean and what procedures were to be rendered for this to become a reality. Red flags should certainly go up when we have so called "faith healers" who don't have the guts to prove things through the medical establishment. Once that is initiated; if their reaction is "yes; but.." and they cannot let us make our own decisions as to further care then of course it may be good to walk away from their counsel. That is perhaps a fifth thing to add to this section; REMISSION can occur for unexplained reasons scientifically. That doesn't mean we should brush off even a temporary healing but be cautious of a "thus saith the Lord" that it is gone for good. All of us are mortal evenhealed
Some may be familiar with the verse "with His stripes we are healed" ( Isaiah 53:5). It is on every cover of the "Stryper" albums.
I could spend much of this post presenting scriptures related to protection from plagues directly related to blessings and cursings; miracles of the "Apostolic" era when it seemed more commonplace to see things happen even to the extent that touching the edge of a garment would bring healing (seen in both the Gospels and the book of Acts). There is; or should be no doubt as to the validity of genuine miracles that Christ did in numerous examples; and no doubt other occurrences which weren't recorded.
The same holds true in general until the N.T. Canon was completed which by reasonable estimates was just shy of the end of the
1st Century AD (and there goes my paragraph margins all haywire)...
I have seen the detailed analysis from several reliable sources online which have discussed the events since the "Azuza Street Revival" up to present day "signs and wonders" and admittedly a fair minded analysis is to say the least discouraging. It is no wonder some decide to become atheists after some of the sideshow antics; unverified "healings"; and downright sadistic techniques where people are slammed down and brutalized to demonstrate some so called miracle. I won't mention who did that a few years back. A realistic breakdown of all scenarios are as follows:
1) Reported miracles that are unverifiable which are later found out to be hoaxes definitively. Naturally the "perpetrators" in order to keep fleecing their flock won't ask for repentance or admit their sin. At best they will slither to a different ministry or; if we're lucky to another worldly method of getting rich quick and leave the rest of us alone.
2) Reported miracles that are unverifiable which cannot be deduced after careful analysis if they are true or not with insufficient evidence.
When we consider the long-suffering of God concerning the sinfulness of each and every human being born, (Jesus being excepted because He was sinless and was God in the flesh). for 4+millenia from Adam to Jesus and for 2000 years since Jesus's self sacrifice for us, persisting in prayer helps us to understand better not only His righteous offense at our sin against Him, and the intense, supernatural suffering and anguish Jesus bore for us on the cross; but also, the Father's grief over His Son and His compassion and mercy towards us. He did not spare His only begotten Son nor did He make His wrath light on His Son, but Jesus took all the wrath of God for sinners chosen to become redeemed children of God. In our persistence in prayer, we can learn how to wait long for the answer God will bring to our prayers. We can know the pain of seeing those we love suffer, reject or resist God, or be under intense attack of the devil. We grieve in prayer but at the same time, rejoice in the hope we have in God and His intention to bless and deliver those we pray for in whatever way is needed.
Richard, thanks for posting on this topic of communicating with God. He loves it when we turn our thoughts, hearts, and will to Him in prayer and He loves to answer our prayers because of the work and merit of His Son, Jesus Christ.
I agree that God knows all that we need and desire. He will act according to His character and will with or without our prayers. But we are to obey Him in developing a prayerful heart. Doing so changes us bit by bit into the person God wills us to become. I am glad you mentioned the widow who continued to ask the king for help. She was persistent in her request, which means that she asked many, many times over many, many days or perhaps years. I think that we are to follow this illustration in situations that God places before us. For example, I continue to persist in praying for my sons. They need deliverance from mental illness, unbelief, and restoration to their way their minds work and to be made joyful people once again. I have been praying almost daily for them for 22 years when the mental illness first appeared after 9/11 (which I think was a factor in their depression as teens). I trust that God always hears my prayers for them and by faith I believe that my prayers will be answered in the best way. So, instead of being steeped in worry or becoming weary of asking God for the same things again and again for years, I am more and more positive that He will do all of these things in my sons' lives. When I do not know, but as I come to know Him more and His will I find Him trustworthy.
Being persistent in prayers faithfully asking for the same things again and again is not "repetitive prayer" as the pagans do by using chants, ritualistic prayers, incantations, etc. to entreat their idols. We know that God heard us the first time we petitioned Him and had already begun to answer before we even asked. But obeying His command to be persistent in what He calls us to pray for again and again, sometimes or years is beneficial to us, since He can save, heal, deliver, and provide for those we pray for with or without our prayers. But by persisting in faithfully praying with confidence to God brings to us good and growth.
Point 2: Conclusion. As with anything else we want to make our requests known to God ( Philippians 4:6). As far as personal requests go; of course God knows our needs before we ask so we can be as specific as needed to attempt to request what is in accordance with His will.
I started going through prayers from the beginning of scripture and got as far as Gideon's prayers. Hopefully I'll continue where I left off if it helpful to others. I should have noted that almost all if not all the prayers I have examined so far are for the benefit of others. Abraham prayed for Lot (at least prayer in terms of speaking with the Lord directly before the angels scouted out Sodom); and Isaac was found a wife and the prayers of Abraham's servant in the process were demonstrated. Later on we see Hannah's prayers for a son which were answered in due course. Later on in Psalms and prayers of David in particular we see personal requests in the anguish of persecution and also due to sin that resulted in collateral damage of misery . I think what we can take away here is that for the blessings and good things of this life it is prudent to focus on needs of others first. It is also helpful when we desire something for ourselves to have a brother or sister be a support so that when two or more pray together we can know the Lord is involved and present ( Matt. 18:20). That is of course important for us when we are struggling with sin as well; although such intercession seems to be foreign in the Old Testament prayers as it seems the Spirit wasn't working in the same capacity in that regard as it does today in the Church era. Perhaps Esther's prayers along with fasting to the king to save her people or Daniel's request to Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 4:27 was after prayer as mentioning turning from sin could have brought ire upon Daniel for insinuating such a thing to royalty.
Prayer should be as specific as needed; but open to His direction.
Point #2 Avoid extremes of being too vague and too detailed.
Often in prayer meetings I have online the host basically gives a laundry list of people and needs then in prayer says "take care of" and proceeds to read the list again; with a few bare bones details of their particular situation. That would require Divine intervention for me to have any idea for those I have never met how to pray for them; so I can only assent to the requests.
The fact that his heart seems to be in the right place because he tirelessly takes time as a retired man to contact these individuals is commendable; and surely on his end I expect to see answered prayers; but it has little practical effect on me except to support him as a brother except when something specific actually is clearly answered. I would say this shows a lack of sufficient time and effort for the prayer needs that exist among the congregation at large when there is only 10 or so minutes to read such an exhaustive list.
As for being too detailed; I am cautious about assigning any delineation here. Certainly as the case above showed; if we are the one brining a request to the attention of others there are some things that would seem ridiculous. If someone needed a new car; for instance to ask God to provide a yellow polka dotted Jaguar (not that I could envision it) would seem at best petty.
To want any fancy or exorbitant object is something I will leave to the prayer requests of certain unmentionable prosperity folk that apparently have enough money fleeced from their congregants and deluded enough people to actually want to contribute "seed money" for such insanity. On the other hand we wouln't want to pray for any vehicle and expect a trash truck or Sherman tank to be a given as an answer and go to the ends of the earth to acquire them (although both would be expensive).
We wouldn't ask for the cheapest car that was clearly a piece of crap either especially if it is our gift.
Completing my example 1 of prayer for someone to be saved; as I repeatedly nag it isn't something we find in scripture. Paul when on trial went as close as saying he wished to see someone saved ( Acts 26:28 with Agrippa). Just as we once were before the light broke through we were once blinded to the truth; and therefore shouldn't expect any efforts no matter how sincere or even faith filled will make one iota of difference in bringing someone to salvation. That is a really harsh statement at face value.
We know for a fact it won't work with someone already physically deceased; and of course that would be a sin or necromancy and useless according to Hebrews 9:27. But we were once "dead in sin" ( Ephesians 2:13). It is easy as a true believer to be perplexed how people can have multiple and long term opportunities to hear the Gospel and still reject it. What is worse is those who go along and perhaps make a confession but are insincere in their hearts; thus never producing "good fruit". We know that if we hear the truth it is of God as our spirit testifies with His Spirit that we are children of God. ( Romans 8:16).
The rest of the world is content that Christ is a good teacher or Prophet as that is all they can see; His humanity apart from Divinity as a member of the Godhead.
I will leave this topic with a general statement. We should sow seeds with whoever we can; but not make an undo effort to spend an inordinate amount of time with those not open to the Gospel at the expense of the Great Commission at large.
As Jesus stated in comparison to our service to God we must hate those closest to us; which doesn't mean of course to abandon care as that makes us worse than an infidel. Our motivation for service must be to serve God always; and that has to be despite whether all those we care about come to Christ or not.
Having delved into wrong ways (although not nearly a comprehensive examination of all possible angles) of prayer I will now look at common things we do and show the inherent flaws as well as try to point out correct ways we can reframe things in accordance with His will.
Example 1. Please save "so and so." I stated on today's first post how someone in our church just had 2 neighbors die she was witnessing to and how God is using the situations for His glory. I have no doubt that it is still ongoing with further displays of God's Providence with these situations with the genuine tears of conviction displayed. I mentioned yesterday the lyrics of the tune by Mr. Townsend "How deep the Father's love for us" but failed to mention that after listening to the composer's explanation of how he came up with these lyrics (listen to his post) that the first lyric shows how it even cost God to see His Son have to suffer for our behalf and no doubt having to turn His back on Him not to mention place His wrath on the Son at Calvary.
This and the other song "IN CHRIST ALONE" that this man wrote I have no doubt will be in the annals of famous hymns as other standards for centuries. The grief that the Father would have gone through frankly isn't even something we (or at least I) even really considered. In regard to this; we can certainly say that those who He died for who are being called and chosen are loved far more than we can ever do or express. I would say the issue here is even if we believe the Lord desires to save everyone we know only few will find it. At the very least; we can say that if we continue in faith we will see results; but we always should look to where life is appearing rather than to just looking for it with our friends and acquaintances. If it IS to be with those we know God will open the doors accordingly; but as with the example of deaths all things are in His timing; if He says time is up it's up.
More on sincere and insincere prayers based on the persistent widow in Luke 8
The THIRD way we can approach the Lord is ostensively request something known to be part of God's will from scripture; or at least neutral and thus within the confines of a penitent heart to ask of the Lord to grant. I will go with the premise on this site that anyone who has embarked to read even a fraction of my loquacious posts is in that category. (Also they probably have sought patience from above to sift through all this material which probably dominates this site from time to time).
As to this type of prayer; I could exit this post if God always gave a clear answer to such prayers; at least immediately. I will gladly surrender my posts once He returns as all things will be established; and we shall see God. (Probably have to leave my laptop behind at the Rapture anyway).
HOW God typically answers as to His timing and methodology as I seem to say all too often I have posted already. Knowing me I'll have something more to say on it anyway...but for here I thought it prudent to examine more closely our initial approach so that we don't as Shakespeare stated evoke "sound and fury signifying nothing" (I think from MacBeth).
I won't pretend it is easy to see verses like Hebrews 12:17 where Esau saught carefully with tears and could NOT obtain the blessing. It seems he was destined to be lost; but this verse is specifically in regard to the family blessing or lineage; perhaps it could be related to our spiritual REWARDS which we can't receive short of true service through obedience as that is better than sacrifice. ( 1 Samuel 15:22). God has His means to all acts of consecration and perhaps reminds us of John 10:1 on those trying to get into the sheepfold by a different way and the fact that they are a thief and robber. These still seem to suggest known transgressions or a bad soul condition; so I will turn once again to what seems genuine in my next post.
Luke 18:1 says And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;
This begins the well known parable about the "persistent widow" and is as all Christ's sayings deep and profound with meanings.
Nonetheless; our Father in heaven isn't bored with any prayers that are truly seeking His will; and the petitioner shouldn't pray in vain repetitions as Matthew 6:7 warns us. The question; of course comes what IS a viable request and what isn't?
What should be clear in regard to this issue is not praying for something CLEARLY outside of scriptural bounds; to put it more simply NOT to ask for something the Word makes CLEAR is for sinful purposes ( James 4:3 to "consume on your own lusts.")
That could be explained with several points
1) Asking God for something we intend to use for sinful purposes. This could be for a woman we can sleep with before marriage; drugs; alcohol; a gun to kill someone etc. This sort of prayer would; it seem be made by someone who is a cult leader; who would have to be under enough delusion to believe what is clearly demonic doctrine that they are some sort of Messianic figure. I would assume Jim Jones would be a good representative of such insanity; between the insane relationships he had with minors; and the final mass suicidal genocide inflicted on hundreds including himself.
2) Asking God for something with an insincere intention to please our own desires thinly veiled in a feigned humility or piety.
This is much more common; no doubt. This could also involve asking for a partner and or grooming someone with an intention to later take advantage of the situation; or fooling ourselves thinking we can compromise and continue to refrain from sin in any area of our lives which we in particular have demonstrated a pattern of weakness before in such matters. Such is alcohol to an alcoholic which of course would elicit money for actual needs but funnel it later for what we really desire.
15 Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will: 16 The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds: 17 But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel. 18What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice.
This verse is somewhat baffling; and altogether foreign from my vantage point. When have we seen anyone praching Christ in order to make a jailed believer suffer more? Even in countries with high persecution; it would seem odd to do this as it would bring persecution to those preaching it; making the cost seemingly too high for preaching in "pretence" as verse 17 states.
The only way I could envision this is if someone mocks Christianity by glibly quoting scripture; or preaches then deliberately incites a riot so that those who preach peaceably will be falsely accused of causing insurrections as a result. In any case until we see believers who are detained for a lengthy period of time in our country with a real threat of death it is something we have to understand with wisdom for the day things do head in that direction. For now most who are arrested are only for a short period of time; and if longer it is not usually clear that it is only for defence of the Gospel that they are in jail. There certainly may be cases like this which the media isn't mentioning; it certainly seems this has begun in Canada in the last year or so.
Boldness because of Paul's chains as seen with Philippians 1:14 shows several things. Through Paul's confidence and ongoing ministry it shows the Gospel can't be bound. It also gives sympathy from Paul's beloved members of the churches he founded as an Apostle who want to continue in his stead. How we need these type of believers today! Finally; it sets an example as a true shephard who lays his life down.
Just in the last few weeks someone in my church had two neighbors die; one after a rather brief time span after a massive heart attack; another suddenly and unexpectedly who was much younger. This has brought an openness to one relative to visit church who previously was closeminded; and in the other case it appears the estranged husband of this woman is likely a believer and never divorced but remained separated after leaving due to her bipolar condition causing much contention and strife previously.
These opportunities were paved by this woman and her husband who is a deacon in our church who have tirelessly been witnessing both with example (visiting in the hospital and practical needs) as well as with the Word of God for a number of years.
This doesn't make the grief any less real; but evidence of the Lord at work in the situation is an encouragement to everyone.
Last night I watched a murder mystery related to "Kathy's Law" which basically a family whose daugher was raped and murdured pushed hard after her death for a law to get DNA on anyone arrested and not wait for a conviction for the law to allow this; and it was finally passed in New Mexico. The end of the show was encouraging when they finally caught the man who did it and after he asked for forgiveness the family accepted it as they ultimately wanted to see him saved. He is to spend the rest of his life in jail as should happen to have any stability in society in rendering due justice. This situation shows how no matter what happens we should want to see people saved.
Ultimately; of course scripture says for the believer we read 1 Thessalonians 4:13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. Those who die in the Lord are in His presence and we shall see them in eternity after we are raptured or resurrected. I believe we would envy their state and they pity us
and also i commit my children into the hand of god let me and them don't lack anything in our life.
How can anybody say with such certainty and self-assigned authority (only those who never read the Bible), that The Bible is just stories written by a bunch of men. And it is no wonder that owning a Bible was forbidden at one time and it is always still a looming threat. When you "read between the lines" with everything, The Truth is revealed. The WORD is God. Thank you Oseas for always the insightful commentary.
Ps.34:19-Many are the afflictions of the righteous:but the Lord delivers him out of them all.
Acts 14:22-We must through much tribulation enter into the Kingdom of GOD
The KING of DARKNESS,the Devil, showed to JESUS all the kingdoms of the world,the glory of them,and said:All will I give thee,if thou fall down and worship me.Mat.4:8-9.
Re.13:1&15:
1 I stood upon the sand of the sea(John was a citzen of Israel),and saw a(MAN)Beast rise up out of the sea(Gentile nations),having 7 heads,10 horns, upon his HORNS 10 crowns(CROWNS UPON HORNS?),and upon his heads a NAME of blasphemy.
15 And he-MAN Beast of earth-Re.13:11-a false messiah- John 5:43-47,had power to give life unto the Beast's image,that the image should speak,who worships not the image must be killed.
Daniel 3:2-20
The KING sent to gather the princes,governors,the captains,judges, counsellors,all the rulers of the provinces,to come to the dedication of the image he had set up.They stood before the image and an herald cried:To you is commanded,O people,NATIONS,and languages,that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet,flute, harp,and all kinds of musick,ye fall down and worship the image the king has set up:Whoso falls not down and worships shall be cast into the burning fiery furnace.But Shadrach,Meshach,Abednego,O king, have not regarded thee,they serve not thy gods,nor worship the image you has set up.So in his rage and fury the KING commanded to bring them,and said:Is it true,O Shadrach,Meshach,Abednego,do not ye serve my gods,nor worship the IMAGE I have set up?When you hear the sound of the cornet,all kinds of musick,ye fall down and worship the image I have made;well:if not,ye shall be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace;who is that GOD that shall deliver you out of my hands?
O king,our GOD whom we serve is able to deliver us from furnace,thy hands,and we will not serve thy gods,nor worship the image you have set up.
That said,Get ready
21 For then shall be great TRIBULATION, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time(this current time), no, nor ever shall be.
22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened. (The theory of being caught(pre-trib) before this event of "days shall be shortened" is wrong, it's a nonsense).
Isaiah 26:20-21
20 Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment (seven years), until the indignation be overpast.
21 For, behold, the Lord cometh out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.
Romans 2:6-11
6 GOD will render to every MAN according to his deeds:
7 To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, ETERNAL LIFE:
8 But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,
9 Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;
10 But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile:
11 For there is no respect of persons with GOD.
Revelation 11:15 and 18
15 ... The kingdoms OF THIS WORLD are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever.
18 And the nations were(will be)angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be Judged( Daniel 12:2. Take a look), and that thou should give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and should destroy them which destroy the earth.
Get ready
I do love Jesus n so want to be obedient in all things Two bad habits. Haven't been to church long while. Watch on phone. I don't want to be left behind Please pray
25That which ye have already hold fast till I come.
26And he that overcomes,and keeps my works unto the end,to him will I give power over the nations:
27And he shall rule them with a rod of iron;as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers:even as I received of my Father.
28And I will give him the morning star.
29He that hath an ear,let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
About Satan,the MAN of sin,son of perdition,the Word of GOD reveals:Is.14:13-14:
13Thou hast said in thine heart:
(1)I will ascend into heaven(heaven? Ephesians 1:3-8),I will exalt my throne above the stars of GOD(above GOD's stars?See Daniel 12:3, always be careful,perilous times now,also according Re.12:4.Take a look):
(2)I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation,in the sides of the north:(Why Satan intends to sit in the sides of north?Ps.48:2 reveals why:Beautiful for situation,the joy of the whole earth,is mount Zion,on the sides of the north,the city of the great King-JESUS-
14I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;I will be like the most High(clouds? Revelation 12:14& Isaiah 60:8).Satan,a former Cherub, ruler of Eden,intends to be equal GOD.Ez.28:1-10 reveal:2Thus saith the Lord God;Thine heart is lifted up,and thou say,I am a God,I sit in the seat of GOD,in the midst of the seas(nations);thou art a MAN,not God,though thou set thine heart as God's heart:
I will bring strangers,the terrible of the nations,against thee:they shall draw the Sword against the beauty of thy wisdom.
I exceedingly appreciated your reply
As you know, the kings of Israel chosen by GOD they were anointed with oil by the prophets of the Lord.
To be anointed with oil is to be separated as GOD's chosen one- Matthew 25:31-34. Take a look. The true chosen ones of the Lord are prudent and wise, they have lamp to shine as they walk in the world of darkness, and enough oil to keep the lamp burning to meet the Lord, the bridegroom, and be saved. By the way, He said: Revelation 3:11-13:
11 Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no one take thy crown.
12 Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my GOD, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my GOD, and the name of the city of my GOD, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my GOD: and I will write upon him my new name.
13 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
Att all times, let your garments be white, and let oil not be wanting on your head - Ecclesiastes 9:8.
Revelation 19:5-8:
5 And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our GOD, all ye His servants, and ye that fear Him, both small and great.
6 And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord GOD Omnipotent reigneth.
7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to Him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife hath made herself ready.
8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
Regarding mystery of GOD, I have already commented in prior posts, our Lord JESUS-the Word made flesh- spoke of this in Matthew 11:27, and according His promise, unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance. Hallelujah!.
May our Lord GOD bless and keep us, and give us His protection
Amen
False signs and wonders are scriptural warnings for the last days; particularly in the Book of Revelation. Most who are of sound mind would cringe at the so called "Kundalini awakening" or other such phenomenon that invokes the coiled serpent within for all sorts of magical powers. What can be said is that as Christians we are promised all power over the evil one; and since that was won at the cross we have no reason to suspect that doesn't still exist as the authority given by Christ over demons according to the promises of ( Luke 10:19). Of course as with all scripture this passage must be taken in context; in Paul's case a snake fell off his arm and caused no harm; he didn't go out looking for some sensational footage; as clearly indicated in Acts 28:5-6. We also don't go out willy nilly after the evil one as the sons of Sceva did without bad results ( Acts 19:11-20). However as Spirit filled believers when we are exercising in His strength and with His authority we are fulfilling necessary service in casting out demons or commanding them not to continue to oppress people. This means; of course that we make sure a person WANTS to be freed; and willing to repent of any sins which give Satan legal foothold on their souls.
There are also demonic incantations or "prayers to Satan" of which I had the dubious distinction of hearing spoken against me a few years back. We need to factor in spiritual hinderances to our prayer as it is scriptural as we see in the book of Daniel and apparently with some missionary efforts Paul had. This doesn't guarantee our prayers are answered but such hinderences certainly make a breakthrough unlikely if we haven't dealt with strongholds in our own lives of entrenched sin as well as in others as well who we hope to see delivered.
The last point for now is that we must be open for others to pray for our needs as well. We need each other.
In general; prayer is often answered when it isn't a "no or later" situation through other means and individuals than we in our puny minds can comprehend. It seems from my experience there are those who are obsessed in wanting to meet the needs of others (i.e. a gift of service) and others (probably more like myself) who like to offer some thought provoking scriptural concept or parable like statement to make people think. What I mean is; in my inherant selfishness; I am not obsessed like those aforementioned gifted believers with a gift of service or helps to always meet people's needs up front and right away.
This isn't getting me out of the pit I'm digging for myself...but I'm making a point (I think). Sometimes at least I hope; there is some merit to being abstract in some regard at least in not always having to be the one to fix the problem. That leaves me with my own issues of having to push myself to be as giving as a lot of others but obviously that is my problem not that of the audience (I will presume innocent until proven otherwise in that regard).
Okay; enough of the "Pauline" sarcasm. In having wisdom and being wise as serpents; innocent as doves we wrestle out our existence. ( Matthew 10:16). With prayer of course we are to take appropriate action when we can so we don't be as the person in James 2:16 and not be an answered prayer OURSELVES to someone in their misery. We can't give away all our money in the same token unless it is our own volition and to fulfill the Great Commission unless it is for dire need or our family interests (even that with caution). All of this is to say that indeed we need as the Body of Christ not to be overly lazy or overly burdened to the extent that the individual in Phillippians 2:27 was who Paul mentioned.
Prayer usually involves a marathon effort but sometimes is answered as a sprint. Sometimes God works miracles without obvious prayer
The Spirit of the Lord should be what guards our heart ( Prov. 4:23); keeps the reins of our heart in check ( Jeremiah 17:10); gives us the mind of Christ ( 1 Cor. 2:16) as well as communing with our soul ( Romans 8:16).
As ironic as it seems; it may be often best to focus on prayers for our enemies rather than friends. With any kind of healing; there is the tendency because of our own emotional connection to desperately ask for relief from pain and suffering of any sort for those we know and love. What we fail to see sometimes especially with those we are familiar with is that God often uses suffering as a form of chastisement to get someone's attention and turn to the Lord. Obviously we shouldn't be the arbitrators of what kind of test others should go through and deliberately hold ack on prayers either. As we study persevering in prayer; we should also learn to sense the course of events the Lord is directing in an individuals life over time and tweek the prayer appropriately.
Mental healing: This subject of course intersects with emotions and physiological factors; such as Dopamine levels. Actual brain damage may be involved as well as unknown factors. Overall; of course patterns of behavior will bring healing as one focuses their energies on study of the Word and living out a Godly and obedience life of service to the Lord and of course turns away from worldliness. Those too fixated on faith healing at the expense of anything else are missing out on even Paul's example of his thorn in the flesh. Many are able to sympathize with others who are down and out; and the transparency of our own strugles can be a real inspiration and valuable in evangelism. This is more than the boasting of how depraved we are; although incorporates an internal comprehension of our good deeds being filthy rags before conversion. What it DOES show is unconditional love and an open heart to ruined sinners.
I may seem to have strayed from my original topic of prayer; but since all types of "miraculous" ministers of the Gospel whether genuine or fake use some method of prayer as a means of operation. I haven't even delved yet into emotional; mental and spiritual healing although they are often either interchangeable or intersecting in many ways in a person's earthly existence.
Matthew 9:5 gives us food for thought; as to the greater challenge of forgiving sins than healing someone. Since the enemy can manipulate things somewhat in the physical realm a false miracle is certainly possible within limits; but cannot do the same in forgiving sins. (I should paraphrase that comment in saying that yes; some form of mental tranquility is used to render one senseless; and sear their conscience to their own sinful and appalling state but if God is calling that person the enemy is allowed also to cause increasing torment as only true love casts out fear). We; of course can't be so glib as to tell someone their sins are forgiven; instead we wait for someone to be convicted and say as the jailor to Paul how must we be saved?
Before discussing the emotional and mental healings which obviously are more difficult to prove scientifically (not to mention healing of the soul which HAS to be spiritual) I don't want to leave the question unanswered that may come up.
The question is; of course when should we pray for a healing and when NOT? Obviously I cannot play God here and tell someone as long as someone is alive at least that they shouldn't pray in that way. I would say that if someone has died that normally at least we shouldn't resort to that. It SEEMS on the surface that a few people appear to have experienced this; but in one case I may have brought up recently of a man in Africa; within a year he seems to have disappeared from view when others tried to find him. I'll leave that subject to a missionary to respond.
To continue; here is the third scenario with healings.
Healings that ARE verifiable as at least unexplained with reliable medical information (hint: it helps to have first and last names at the very least). This would as far as I can tell be subdivided further into 3 categories:
1) Prayers that were given by either doctrinally unsound or downright heretical preachers that appear to have resulted in a genuine healing following the standard above. I will call that the Judas Iscariot factor; based on the verses where Jesus sent him out when the disciples were commanded to do these type of miracles (read Luke chapter 10).
2) Prayers that were given by doctrinally sound individuals which appears to have resulted in genuine miracles and
3) Miracles that are verifiable which either the person healed and/or those around him or her were not believers or had no interest in religion. I could add a fourth situation here similar to above but performed by "New Age" practitioners. I think I'll make a seperate post on that soon.
So; what are we to think? As Jesus said; go to the priests ( Luke 5:14) as evidence of true healing; as they were used for this purpose in the O.T. as well as deciding when a person was ceremonially unclean and what procedures were to be rendered for this to become a reality. Red flags should certainly go up when we have so called "faith healers" who don't have the guts to prove things through the medical establishment. Once that is initiated; if their reaction is "yes; but.." and they cannot let us make our own decisions as to further care then of course it may be good to walk away from their counsel. That is perhaps a fifth thing to add to this section; REMISSION can occur for unexplained reasons scientifically. That doesn't mean we should brush off even a temporary healing but be cautious of a "thus saith the Lord" that it is gone for good. All of us are mortal evenhealed
2).
Point #3 Physical healing.
Some may be familiar with the verse "with His stripes we are healed" ( Isaiah 53:5). It is on every cover of the "Stryper" albums.
I could spend much of this post presenting scriptures related to protection from plagues directly related to blessings and cursings; miracles of the "Apostolic" era when it seemed more commonplace to see things happen even to the extent that touching the edge of a garment would bring healing (seen in both the Gospels and the book of Acts). There is; or should be no doubt as to the validity of genuine miracles that Christ did in numerous examples; and no doubt other occurrences which weren't recorded.
The same holds true in general until the N.T. Canon was completed which by reasonable estimates was just shy of the end of the
1st Century AD (and there goes my paragraph margins all haywire)...
I have seen the detailed analysis from several reliable sources online which have discussed the events since the "Azuza Street Revival" up to present day "signs and wonders" and admittedly a fair minded analysis is to say the least discouraging. It is no wonder some decide to become atheists after some of the sideshow antics; unverified "healings"; and downright sadistic techniques where people are slammed down and brutalized to demonstrate some so called miracle. I won't mention who did that a few years back. A realistic breakdown of all scenarios are as follows:
1) Reported miracles that are unverifiable which are later found out to be hoaxes definitively. Naturally the "perpetrators" in order to keep fleecing their flock won't ask for repentance or admit their sin. At best they will slither to a different ministry or; if we're lucky to another worldly method of getting rich quick and leave the rest of us alone.
2) Reported miracles that are unverifiable which cannot be deduced after careful analysis if they are true or not with insufficient evidence.
pt. 2
When we consider the long-suffering of God concerning the sinfulness of each and every human being born, (Jesus being excepted because He was sinless and was God in the flesh). for 4+millenia from Adam to Jesus and for 2000 years since Jesus's self sacrifice for us, persisting in prayer helps us to understand better not only His righteous offense at our sin against Him, and the intense, supernatural suffering and anguish Jesus bore for us on the cross; but also, the Father's grief over His Son and His compassion and mercy towards us. He did not spare His only begotten Son nor did He make His wrath light on His Son, but Jesus took all the wrath of God for sinners chosen to become redeemed children of God. In our persistence in prayer, we can learn how to wait long for the answer God will bring to our prayers. We can know the pain of seeing those we love suffer, reject or resist God, or be under intense attack of the devil. We grieve in prayer but at the same time, rejoice in the hope we have in God and His intention to bless and deliver those we pray for in whatever way is needed.
Richard, thanks for posting on this topic of communicating with God. He loves it when we turn our thoughts, hearts, and will to Him in prayer and He loves to answer our prayers because of the work and merit of His Son, Jesus Christ.
I agree that God knows all that we need and desire. He will act according to His character and will with or without our prayers. But we are to obey Him in developing a prayerful heart. Doing so changes us bit by bit into the person God wills us to become. I am glad you mentioned the widow who continued to ask the king for help. She was persistent in her request, which means that she asked many, many times over many, many days or perhaps years. I think that we are to follow this illustration in situations that God places before us. For example, I continue to persist in praying for my sons. They need deliverance from mental illness, unbelief, and restoration to their way their minds work and to be made joyful people once again. I have been praying almost daily for them for 22 years when the mental illness first appeared after 9/11 (which I think was a factor in their depression as teens). I trust that God always hears my prayers for them and by faith I believe that my prayers will be answered in the best way. So, instead of being steeped in worry or becoming weary of asking God for the same things again and again for years, I am more and more positive that He will do all of these things in my sons' lives. When I do not know, but as I come to know Him more and His will I find Him trustworthy.
Being persistent in prayers faithfully asking for the same things again and again is not "repetitive prayer" as the pagans do by using chants, ritualistic prayers, incantations, etc. to entreat their idols. We know that God heard us the first time we petitioned Him and had already begun to answer before we even asked. But obeying His command to be persistent in what He calls us to pray for again and again, sometimes or years is beneficial to us, since He can save, heal, deliver, and provide for those we pray for with or without our prayers. But by persisting in faithfully praying with confidence to God brings to us good and growth.
cont.
Point 2: Conclusion. As with anything else we want to make our requests known to God ( Philippians 4:6). As far as personal requests go; of course God knows our needs before we ask so we can be as specific as needed to attempt to request what is in accordance with His will.
I started going through prayers from the beginning of scripture and got as far as Gideon's prayers. Hopefully I'll continue where I left off if it helpful to others. I should have noted that almost all if not all the prayers I have examined so far are for the benefit of others. Abraham prayed for Lot (at least prayer in terms of speaking with the Lord directly before the angels scouted out Sodom); and Isaac was found a wife and the prayers of Abraham's servant in the process were demonstrated. Later on we see Hannah's prayers for a son which were answered in due course. Later on in Psalms and prayers of David in particular we see personal requests in the anguish of persecution and also due to sin that resulted in collateral damage of misery . I think what we can take away here is that for the blessings and good things of this life it is prudent to focus on needs of others first. It is also helpful when we desire something for ourselves to have a brother or sister be a support so that when two or more pray together we can know the Lord is involved and present ( Matt. 18:20). That is of course important for us when we are struggling with sin as well; although such intercession seems to be foreign in the Old Testament prayers as it seems the Spirit wasn't working in the same capacity in that regard as it does today in the Church era. Perhaps Esther's prayers along with fasting to the king to save her people or Daniel's request to Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 4:27 was after prayer as mentioning turning from sin could have brought ire upon Daniel for insinuating such a thing to royalty.
Prayer should be as specific as needed; but open to His direction.
Point #2 Avoid extremes of being too vague and too detailed.
Often in prayer meetings I have online the host basically gives a laundry list of people and needs then in prayer says "take care of" and proceeds to read the list again; with a few bare bones details of their particular situation. That would require Divine intervention for me to have any idea for those I have never met how to pray for them; so I can only assent to the requests.
The fact that his heart seems to be in the right place because he tirelessly takes time as a retired man to contact these individuals is commendable; and surely on his end I expect to see answered prayers; but it has little practical effect on me except to support him as a brother except when something specific actually is clearly answered. I would say this shows a lack of sufficient time and effort for the prayer needs that exist among the congregation at large when there is only 10 or so minutes to read such an exhaustive list.
As for being too detailed; I am cautious about assigning any delineation here. Certainly as the case above showed; if we are the one brining a request to the attention of others there are some things that would seem ridiculous. If someone needed a new car; for instance to ask God to provide a yellow polka dotted Jaguar (not that I could envision it) would seem at best petty.
To want any fancy or exorbitant object is something I will leave to the prayer requests of certain unmentionable prosperity folk that apparently have enough money fleeced from their congregants and deluded enough people to actually want to contribute "seed money" for such insanity. On the other hand we wouln't want to pray for any vehicle and expect a trash truck or Sherman tank to be a given as an answer and go to the ends of the earth to acquire them (although both would be expensive).
We wouldn't ask for the cheapest car that was clearly a piece of crap either especially if it is our gift.
Completing my example 1 of prayer for someone to be saved; as I repeatedly nag it isn't something we find in scripture. Paul when on trial went as close as saying he wished to see someone saved ( Acts 26:28 with Agrippa). Just as we once were before the light broke through we were once blinded to the truth; and therefore shouldn't expect any efforts no matter how sincere or even faith filled will make one iota of difference in bringing someone to salvation. That is a really harsh statement at face value.
We know for a fact it won't work with someone already physically deceased; and of course that would be a sin or necromancy and useless according to Hebrews 9:27. But we were once "dead in sin" ( Ephesians 2:13). It is easy as a true believer to be perplexed how people can have multiple and long term opportunities to hear the Gospel and still reject it. What is worse is those who go along and perhaps make a confession but are insincere in their hearts; thus never producing "good fruit". We know that if we hear the truth it is of God as our spirit testifies with His Spirit that we are children of God. ( Romans 8:16).
The rest of the world is content that Christ is a good teacher or Prophet as that is all they can see; His humanity apart from Divinity as a member of the Godhead.
I will leave this topic with a general statement. We should sow seeds with whoever we can; but not make an undo effort to spend an inordinate amount of time with those not open to the Gospel at the expense of the Great Commission at large.
As Jesus stated in comparison to our service to God we must hate those closest to us; which doesn't mean of course to abandon care as that makes us worse than an infidel. Our motivation for service must be to serve God always; and that has to be despite whether all those we care about come to Christ or not.
Having delved into wrong ways (although not nearly a comprehensive examination of all possible angles) of prayer I will now look at common things we do and show the inherent flaws as well as try to point out correct ways we can reframe things in accordance with His will.
Example 1. Please save "so and so." I stated on today's first post how someone in our church just had 2 neighbors die she was witnessing to and how God is using the situations for His glory. I have no doubt that it is still ongoing with further displays of God's Providence with these situations with the genuine tears of conviction displayed. I mentioned yesterday the lyrics of the tune by Mr. Townsend "How deep the Father's love for us" but failed to mention that after listening to the composer's explanation of how he came up with these lyrics (listen to his post) that the first lyric shows how it even cost God to see His Son have to suffer for our behalf and no doubt having to turn His back on Him not to mention place His wrath on the Son at Calvary.
This and the other song "IN CHRIST ALONE" that this man wrote I have no doubt will be in the annals of famous hymns as other standards for centuries. The grief that the Father would have gone through frankly isn't even something we (or at least I) even really considered. In regard to this; we can certainly say that those who He died for who are being called and chosen are loved far more than we can ever do or express. I would say the issue here is even if we believe the Lord desires to save everyone we know only few will find it. At the very least; we can say that if we continue in faith we will see results; but we always should look to where life is appearing rather than to just looking for it with our friends and acquaintances. If it IS to be with those we know God will open the doors accordingly; but as with the example of deaths all things are in His timing; if He says time is up it's up.
The THIRD way we can approach the Lord is ostensively request something known to be part of God's will from scripture; or at least neutral and thus within the confines of a penitent heart to ask of the Lord to grant. I will go with the premise on this site that anyone who has embarked to read even a fraction of my loquacious posts is in that category. (Also they probably have sought patience from above to sift through all this material which probably dominates this site from time to time).
As to this type of prayer; I could exit this post if God always gave a clear answer to such prayers; at least immediately. I will gladly surrender my posts once He returns as all things will be established; and we shall see God. (Probably have to leave my laptop behind at the Rapture anyway).
HOW God typically answers as to His timing and methodology as I seem to say all too often I have posted already. Knowing me I'll have something more to say on it anyway...but for here I thought it prudent to examine more closely our initial approach so that we don't as Shakespeare stated evoke "sound and fury signifying nothing" (I think from MacBeth).
I won't pretend it is easy to see verses like Hebrews 12:17 where Esau saught carefully with tears and could NOT obtain the blessing. It seems he was destined to be lost; but this verse is specifically in regard to the family blessing or lineage; perhaps it could be related to our spiritual REWARDS which we can't receive short of true service through obedience as that is better than sacrifice. ( 1 Samuel 15:22). God has His means to all acts of consecration and perhaps reminds us of John 10:1 on those trying to get into the sheepfold by a different way and the fact that they are a thief and robber. These still seem to suggest known transgressions or a bad soul condition; so I will turn once again to what seems genuine in my next post.
This begins the well known parable about the "persistent widow" and is as all Christ's sayings deep and profound with meanings.
Nonetheless; our Father in heaven isn't bored with any prayers that are truly seeking His will; and the petitioner shouldn't pray in vain repetitions as Matthew 6:7 warns us. The question; of course comes what IS a viable request and what isn't?
What should be clear in regard to this issue is not praying for something CLEARLY outside of scriptural bounds; to put it more simply NOT to ask for something the Word makes CLEAR is for sinful purposes ( James 4:3 to "consume on your own lusts.")
That could be explained with several points
1) Asking God for something we intend to use for sinful purposes. This could be for a woman we can sleep with before marriage; drugs; alcohol; a gun to kill someone etc. This sort of prayer would; it seem be made by someone who is a cult leader; who would have to be under enough delusion to believe what is clearly demonic doctrine that they are some sort of Messianic figure. I would assume Jim Jones would be a good representative of such insanity; between the insane relationships he had with minors; and the final mass suicidal genocide inflicted on hundreds including himself.
2) Asking God for something with an insincere intention to please our own desires thinly veiled in a feigned humility or piety.
This is much more common; no doubt. This could also involve asking for a partner and or grooming someone with an intention to later take advantage of the situation; or fooling ourselves thinking we can compromise and continue to refrain from sin in any area of our lives which we in particular have demonstrated a pattern of weakness before in such matters. Such is alcohol to an alcoholic which of course would elicit money for actual needs but funnel it later for what we really desire.
15 Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will: 16 The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds: 17 But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel. 18What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice.
This verse is somewhat baffling; and altogether foreign from my vantage point. When have we seen anyone praching Christ in order to make a jailed believer suffer more? Even in countries with high persecution; it would seem odd to do this as it would bring persecution to those preaching it; making the cost seemingly too high for preaching in "pretence" as verse 17 states.
The only way I could envision this is if someone mocks Christianity by glibly quoting scripture; or preaches then deliberately incites a riot so that those who preach peaceably will be falsely accused of causing insurrections as a result. In any case until we see believers who are detained for a lengthy period of time in our country with a real threat of death it is something we have to understand with wisdom for the day things do head in that direction. For now most who are arrested are only for a short period of time; and if longer it is not usually clear that it is only for defence of the Gospel that they are in jail. There certainly may be cases like this which the media isn't mentioning; it certainly seems this has begun in Canada in the last year or so.
Boldness because of Paul's chains as seen with Philippians 1:14 shows several things. Through Paul's confidence and ongoing ministry it shows the Gospel can't be bound. It also gives sympathy from Paul's beloved members of the churches he founded as an Apostle who want to continue in his stead. How we need these type of believers today! Finally; it sets an example as a true shephard who lays his life down.
Just in the last few weeks someone in my church had two neighbors die; one after a rather brief time span after a massive heart attack; another suddenly and unexpectedly who was much younger. This has brought an openness to one relative to visit church who previously was closeminded; and in the other case it appears the estranged husband of this woman is likely a believer and never divorced but remained separated after leaving due to her bipolar condition causing much contention and strife previously.
These opportunities were paved by this woman and her husband who is a deacon in our church who have tirelessly been witnessing both with example (visiting in the hospital and practical needs) as well as with the Word of God for a number of years.
This doesn't make the grief any less real; but evidence of the Lord at work in the situation is an encouragement to everyone.
Last night I watched a murder mystery related to "Kathy's Law" which basically a family whose daugher was raped and murdured pushed hard after her death for a law to get DNA on anyone arrested and not wait for a conviction for the law to allow this; and it was finally passed in New Mexico. The end of the show was encouraging when they finally caught the man who did it and after he asked for forgiveness the family accepted it as they ultimately wanted to see him saved. He is to spend the rest of his life in jail as should happen to have any stability in society in rendering due justice. This situation shows how no matter what happens we should want to see people saved.
Ultimately; of course scripture says for the believer we read 1 Thessalonians 4:13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. Those who die in the Lord are in His presence and we shall see them in eternity after we are raptured or resurrected. I believe we would envy their state and they pity us