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How to pray? Help! Confused!

Discussion in 'Free-For-All Archives' started by JimboJones, Sep 6, 2004.

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  1. JimboJones

    JimboJones New Member

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    :(

    Mark 11

    22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.
    23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

    I just don't understand what this means.
    I mean this sounds like you get whatever you ask for as long as you have faith. You will now say that it doesn't mean this, but what does it mean?
    I mean Jesus encourages us to pray, but at the same time I cannot imagine that we get everything we ask for as long as we have faith, this sounds like faith is something magical which makes us get whatever we ask for. :?
    So what does he mean? I mean Jesus also does not say that we only get what the Father also wants, he says whatever WE desire. :(
    I really don't understand this. :(
    I feel like praying makes absolutely no sense until I am able to figure this out. :(
     
    #1 JimboJones, Sep 6, 2004
  2. askM

    askM New Member

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    First of all, praying makes sense in all situations at all times. You don't figure it out, you shouldn't "reason" it out, you should pray for the Lord to reveal this meaning to you. Do you want God's meaning, or your own? Think of it like that. We wouldn't understand one bit of the bible truthfully if it wasn't for the holy spirit. A good rule of thumb to use is the 20/20..meaning, read 20 verses before and 20 verses after to make sure you are not taking the scripture and its meaning out of context. I'm no bible scholar, but I"m a wannabee LOL. This is what I believe the verses mean:
    It's showing you that if something is in God's will, it will be done for you. All things are possible through Christ. We can't walk up to a mountain and say "move" but God can, if He sees that the mountain needs to be moved. I could go on....am I helping you any? I hope so:)
     
    #2 askM, Sep 6, 2004
  3. JimboJones

    JimboJones New Member

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    Thanks. [​IMG]

    But I really don't know what to think anymore.
    I mean what does Jesus mean? Does he mean we only get what God also wants for us, or does he mean we get also what we want as long as we have enough faith?
    This would mean that you can get anything from God as long as you ask in faith. I don't think this is correct, God is not a geenie in a bottle which you speak to with faith and then he has to do what you tell him, this is perverse.

    But on the other hand Jesus himself says we shall believe that we get what we pray for even before we receive it. What does he mean?
    I really don't understand it. I have been praying for my family for so long and nothing changes, they are still unsaved. I have prayed for other things so often and nothing happened.
    I mean I cannot simply pray to God and then say: "Thank you for giving it to me" even though I don't even know if he will really do it. I mean where is the sense of this? :(
     
    #3 JimboJones, Sep 7, 2004
  4. Michael52

    Michael52 Member

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    Jesus' "model" prayer teaches us some simple principles of the proper states our hearts and minds should be in when we pray. Jesus also follows this same pattern in all His prayers to His (our) Father.

    Glorify the Father in all things, for all is under complete control of the Father.

    We should seek His will in all things, not our will.

    God provides all we need, if we will only receive it. "Daily bread" is much more than simply our physical need and fleshly desires. It is OK to ask for things. It is a rebellious heart that complains when we don't get what we want, when we want it.

    Blessings come to us when when our will becomes God's will. Our desires are to be His desires. Our work is His work.

    Evil comes to us when we stray from His will.

    Our peace is in the realization that all that we are or will ever be is a gift from Him. Our faith is a gift. The measure of our faith is not the level we generate on our own, but the love, obedience and commitment to the object of our faith, God Almighty.

    His will be done, in His way, in His time. Amen
     
    #4 Michael52, Sep 7, 2004
  5. Paul of Eugene

    Paul of Eugene New Member

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    Once upon a time a man was thinking about the works of a great artist and thought to himself, I'll just go suggest he improve his work. So he looked him up and actually visited his working studio. As he walked up to the artist, he noticed various works in progress, and considered how the artist was able to sell them for thousands of dollars each, and our man was a taxi driver, making enough to get by but not much more. He finally was ushered in to see the artist, who was really an ok guy and willing to greet visitors, and even asked him, how do you like my greatest work?

    Our man chickened out. He decided he really wasn't qualified to advise the artist.

    So it is with our prayers to God. Sure, we can get close to Him and ask that He move mountains. But as we draw near . . . if we really are drawing near, the truth of the scripture will hit home: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

    Then we will find that we are a little less eager to see a mountain moved - its HIS mountain, after all!

    Having said that I might mention that I ask God for things all the time that I do not see realized in this life; prayers for people I love in church who are in physical pain, to have that pain removed, for example. But I know that some day this prayer will truly be answered.

    As I look over my life I see God dealing and blessing me over and over. I see God even answering prayers, and God honoring the faith I have in Him.

    I do not see Him answering with a miracle for every time I ask Him for one. I do see Him willing to give guidance when guidance is needed; power when power is needed; but it seems to be His opinion as to when it is needed that matters, not mine.

    Heavenly Father, we pray that you will bless JimboJones with understanding that You are always there and You always hear his prayers; that You accept every one of his prayers; and we pray that you will give him faith to trust You to handle them as they need to be handled; for we know that we do not even know how to pray properly, but we thank you that you take our prayers and make them what they ought to be, out of your love for us.

    But one thing especially I pray for our brother, give him a sign that you are really there for him.

    Amen
     
    #5 Paul of Eugene, Sep 8, 2004
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