I have enjoyed unadulterated sermon from the MCGI and it is really imparting my life as it stands now as a Christian and a Catholic.
In our general meeting today to discuss the Word of God on Zoom today, we I learnt that the prayer in the bible is not some stories.
Ephesians 4: 6 makes us understand that prayer is a request from us to God. Whatever we need, we must ask God. Whenever you need anything, we should put it before God in prayer and not recite it like the apostle creed or be repetitive of when praying..
In Acts 1:25, we learnt that when the apostles wanted to replace Judas Iscariot, the desciples gathered in prayer so God will guide them make a good choice. They didn't engage in repetitions and unnecessary talking and shouting. Before we open our mouths to speak, our Lord knows everything in our heart so trying repeat every word consistently is bad.
Meaning of prayer
Prayer is the communicationbetween man and God. It's not about recitations, it's about putting our heart desires before the Lord.
What you need at the point of prayer. Requests must be made with a pure heart, as the Bible teaches us in Philippians 4: 6.
Thanksgiving is included because we believe your request will be granted when you pray.
At Matthew 11:24, Jesus tells us to believe in our prayers and have faith that whatever we ask with clean hearn and mind will be provided by our love Jesus Christ.
Our prayers are not about telling a story or reciting some prayers to our mother of God, or anything like some denominations .
When should I pray?:
Some people pray only when they've problems, but we rarely pray at good times which is too bad. We should always pray with stopping. People use their cell phones nowaday more than having time for God.
From Luke 18:18, we are commanded to pray without ceasing. This means that we should always pray.
1 Thessalonians 5:17 tell us to pray without stopping. The Church of God should always pray consistently just as Christ taught us.
How can we ensure that our prayers are answered?
In order for our prayers to be answered, our entire being must obey the Word of God.
2 Timothy 2:22 tells teaches us that anyone who calls on God should do so with a pure and clean heart. If you call on God without a pure heart, your prayers will not be answered.
What is the meaning of pure heart?
In the book of Matthew 15:19 we are told about what comes from the heart of man defiles people. If you pray with this wicked heart, your heart will be unclean and God will not hear you.
Jeremiah 17:10 says that the Lord is examining our hearts to see it's contents.
Chronicles 7:14 informs us about God's condition for prayer, which is not too difficult to follow. It is to purify our minds before we pray. Many pray without meeting the requirements. Purifying our minds is the first thing we have to do before we pray.
How can we have a clear conscience?
In John 15: 3, we realized that the Word of God could cleanse our hearts. As David said in Psalm 119: 11, in order to make our heart pure, we must keep and obey the word of God.
We must study God's Word so that it can pears through our hearts and cleanse us from sinful behaviour. Purifying our hearts is to obey the truth, the Word of God. John 17: 17
We must make it an order to be seperated from unrighteousness 2 Timothy 2:19. These unrighteousness can be seen in the book of Galatians 5:20.
If we have clean heart, anything that comes out of our mouth will be pure leading to God hearing our request from above. When our hearts are evil, everything that comes out of our mouth will be evil and defiles our prayers before the throne of God. We also need to remember what the Lord Jesus said to us in Matthew 5:37. In our dealings our yes should be a Yes and our No should be a No. We don't have to lie or have double mindset.
We must always be honest in communication so that we can avoid sinning with our tongue. Because it interferes with our prayers. Sometimes it is better not to speak at all in order not to sin.
According to Hebrews 13: 5, we were always entrwated to pray. God is always with us in all our ways. If we know how to trust and obey God, God's Word will always work in our favor and our prayers will be heard in heaven.
Through today's study of the doctrines in the bible, I have discovered Thanksgiving is a powerful tool for effective prayer. This sermon has enlightened me on effective communication between man and God and ways to make our request be heard in heaven. Having pure heart and avoiding repetitions when praying.
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