|
recent entries
archives
credits
layout: detonatedlove♥pictures: ohhspontaneityy stocks: _excentric_ |
lundi, mai 27, 2013
A Better Way to Pray
8:34 PM
www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7652610#editor/target=post;postID=4299295215464542146 Traditional way to pray: Pound the gates of heaven with persistent prayer (like the widow) until you get your breakthrough. Biblical way to pray: Ask and you shall receive. Every time. Traditional way to pray: Pound the gates of heaven with persistent prayer (like the widow) until you get your breakthrough. Biblical way to pray: Ask and you shall receive. Every time. God is not an unjust judge who must be badgered into responding. He is our good Father who longs to bring justice quickly into our situations (Lk 18:8). It is a mistake to think that God rewards our praying efforts. Jesus said the pagans pray long prayers thinking they will be heard for their many words. Don’t be like them (Mt 6:8). Instead, have faith in a good God who does not need to be begged or cajoled into blessing His children. Here’s Wommack:
“From God’s perspective, praying an hour a
day has no value in and of itself!… There is absolutely no virtue in
long praying! Jesus normally kept His prayers short. Only twice in the
New Testament did He pray all night. Since both are recorded in all four
Gospels, you might think it was eight. Really it was just two different
occasions… The shorter the prayer, the greater the faith!… ‘HELP!!!’ is
a great prayer!” (p.14)
Study the scriptures and you will never find Jesus begging God to
heal people. Jesus said “everyone who asks receives” (Mt 7:8). What is
the condition for receiving? Asking! How many times do you have to ask
before you’ve asked? Just once! We must settle it in our hearts that
Jesus’ words are true and that whatever we ask for in prayer, we will
receive, and quickly (Mk 11:24). Sometimes there may be a delay in the
manifestation of the healing (more on this later), but God is never the
reason for the delay.Traditional: Pray with hope. Biblical: Pray with faith. Much of what passes for prayer is wishful thinking. “I know God can heal you, I’m just not sure that He will.” Or how about this one, “God wants to heal you, but if He does it now no one will be more surprised than me!” You can pretty much guarantee that these sorts of prayers will change nothing, because they are empty of faith. James 5:15 says “the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well.” If you are not sure that God will answer your prayers, He probably won’t (Jas 1:6-7). You have hope but no faith. Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we don’t yet see (He 11:1). Traditional: Pray “if it be thy will.” Biblical: Pray according to His will. How can we pray in faith if we are uncertain about His will? One of the greatest tragedies of the modern church is that so many are uncertain regarding God’s will for forgiveness, healing, deliverance, and provision – despite the emphatic promises in His word.
“Surely He has borne our griefs
(sicknesses, weaknesses, and distresses) and carried our sorrows and
pains [of punishment]…” (Is 53:4, AMP)
Praying “Lord, if it be thy will, heal this person” is utterly
faithless. He already did! Jesus made full provision for everyone’s
salvation at the cross, and that includes healing. He has already
carried all our sicknesses and by His wounds you have been healed (1 Pe 2:24). As TJ McCrossan said, the real question is not “God, can you?” but “do you believe?”If you want to know the Father’s heart, look at Jesus. He healed every sick person who came to Him (Mt 8:16, 12:15, 14:36). He never gave anyone leprosy to teach them character and neither will He make you sick to teach you things. His will for healing and deliverance is inseparable from His will for salvation. He wants everyone forgiven, healed, delivered today! What’s the hold up? We are! A broken creation eagerly waits for the sons of God to rise up in this revelation and enforce Christ’s victory in every place where the kingdom has not yet come. Traditional: Ask God to forgive/heal/provide/deliver/pour out His Spirit. Biblical: Thank Him that He has already done all of those things! If one tragedy is being uncertain of God’s will, another is being unaware of what He has already done. The cross really did change everything! Jesus is not coming back to wave a magic wand over your problem. He already did everything He needed to do at the cross. Here’s Wommack:
“God has already done everything He’s ever
going to do! He moved once and for all in the death, burial, and
resurrection of Jesus Christ. Through the atonement, God has already
forgiven and healed every person who will ever be forgiven or healed. He
doesn’t even have to lift his little finger now to cause a healing or
salvation! As far as God is concerned, the sins of the entire world have
already been forgiven… As Christians, we are to instruct people to
believe and receive what God has already done for them through the
atonement.” (p.4)
It’s pointless asking God to do something He’s already done. Look at
the way Jesus prayed and you will see there was very little asking and a
whole lot of thanking and commanding. Jesus has given us clear
instructions. He said: “heal the sick” (Mt 10:8). He didn’t say “pray
and ask God to heal the sick.” No, you heal them. The problem with that
prayer meeting I mentioned above was that we spent all of our time
asking God to do something He had commanded us to do. We were passing
the buck and denying the finished work of the cross. So how do we heal
the sick? A good place to start is by thanking and praising Him for what
He has already done.Traditional: Talk to God about your mountain. Biblical: Talk to your mountain about your God! So much of what passes for prayer is complaining to God about our problems. The doctor gives us the sentence of death and we repeat his death-dealing words in prayer. This is not wise:
“Most people who think they’re praying are
really just griping, murmuring, and complaining. They are releasing the
power of death into their lives through their negativity in prayer. God
is not pleased with that!” (p.23)
God doesn’t need to be informed about your problems – He already
knows! When we are faced with a mountain-sized problem, the average
believer says, “God would you move this mountain for me?” But Jesus told
us to speak directly to our mountains and command them to be cast into
the sea (Mk 11:22-23).So how do we speak to our mountains? I’ll look at that in Part 2 of this study. |
wilkommen
The name's Karen. Currently residing in Singapore But her heart belongs in Baguio City She yearns to go to America where her relatives and frens live. Born on the 15th June She's a yellow fanatic. A friendly lass with a good heart. Really. =p Do tag my board yea? EVERYONE'S WELCOME!! ^_^
bold italics underlined
all about moi
your profile, wishlist and everything that concerns you in here.a little bit of narcissism won't hurt, and vanity isn't a sin. WISHLIST
A human timer.
lol...
I am still that late-comer queen.
ihateihate.
(i dont really nid a wishlist..
cz i keep the things noted in my head and
frm dere, once i have enough cash, i buy dem to reward myself. =D
i just need this space filled and a "wishlist" is wat ppl write. crap.)
keep the width below 180 pixels. cbox is recommended. affiliates
LINKS
*AJohn* *Boon Kiat* *Cherrymae* *Clara* *Desmond* *Dune* ++ NEW ENTRY ++ *Ella* *Eugene* *Farhan* *Glam* *Hafiz* *Herlina* *Hiang Suan* *Huang Ying* *Immanuel* *Izhar* *Jemima* *Jessica* *Joyanne* *Judah* *Khairul* *Karel* *Katrina* *Katrina II* *Krizia* *Liyi* *Louise* ++ NEW ENTRY ++ *Lyndel* *Mahira* *Marc* *Masira* *Melissa Rose* *Nuraini* *Rachel* *Quijin* *Shaun* *Sophian* *Tami* *Vannie* *Verna* ++ NEW ENTRY ++ *ViVien* *Wati* *Yi Quan* *Zixing* *THE NUDGE* xX[FDC]Xx xX[My Multiply]Xx xX[My Poems]Xx xX[Myspace]Xx xX[Language Center |French Class]Xx xX[Class Blog -4G (2005)]Xx xX[Student Councilors]Xx xX[AGAPE Choir]Xx xX[BCO]Xx xX[Gallery]Xx xX[Gallery II]Xx xX[Gallery III]Xx xX[Racial Harmony'05]Xx
::Blogger:: ::Blogskins:: ::DPDesigns:: ::Friendster:: ::Golden Village:: ::Guitar for Christ:: ::Life Bookshop:: ::Lyrics:: ::Nokia:: ::POWER 98!!, 98fm:: ::Perfect 10, 98.7fm:: ::Singtel:: ::Virtually Acoustic:: ::Zocards::
Music calms the beast in me. Music calms the beast in me. your links here. keep them in clouds if you want. |