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NASB | Jeremiah 29:12 'Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Jeremiah 29:12 'Then you will call on Me and you will come and pray to Me, and I will hear [your voice] and I will listen to you. |
Bible Question: Does prayer really help? What kind of prayers does God answer? How can one develop an attitude of prayer? It seems that the prayer I have been hearing are no more than begging God for things? Is that the object of prayer? |
Bible Answer: Does prayer really help? Yes. Prayer helps in many ways. 1 Timothy 2:1-4 shows us that prayer can help us to lead peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness and that it pleases God. It also helps us to overcome temptation, to keep us from sinning. We pray for strength to overcome because our bodies are weak but our spirits are willing. (Matthew 26:41) Prayer also helps us to focus on God, which is where are focus should be anyhow. Psalm 77 shows us how God can shift our focus to where it should be when we pray. As Asaph prayed, he began with a whole bunch of “I”, v1-12. But as he continued in prayer, God re-focused Asaph to worshipping Him, v13-20. Prayer can put us under God’s control. Who better to lead us? Many people see prayer as a chance to ask God to perform some sort of cosmic trick. The attempt to use prayer for good fortune or spectacular events instead of using it to desire God’s pardon or love. Luke 6:19 shows how many react to God and the sense of His magic. But rather than using prayer to control God, which is futile to begin with, we should use prayer to submit ourselves to God, to come under His control. This is only a sampling of what prayer can do. What kind of prayers does God answer? I believe He answers those that are aligned with His will, although, we see times when He answered a prayer in the affirmative to ungrateful or lustful requests as with the quail and following plague in Numbers 11. So be careful what you pray for. For requests made that are aligned with God’s will, He answers them in His own way, in His own time. We must be open to what God can do and allow Him to answer His way, even if we seem the situation as impossible. 1 John 5:14-15(NIV) 14This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him. Galatians 4:4 (NIV) But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, God’s timing is perfect. At the right time He will respond. Trust His judgment and timing. God does hear and answer the prayers of those who are His. Now the answer may not always be in the affirmative. It may be no, or even wait. But He will hear and He will answer. Psalm 4:3 (NIV) Know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself; the LORD will hear when I call to him. How can one develop an attitude of prayer? True prayer is an outpouring of the soul or a crying out to God. In true prayer we see our guilt but also our joy of knowing we are forgiving. We not only bow to God in search of His mercy, but we offer thanksgiving for the grace He offers. Develop a prayerful attitude by thinking about it and doing it. Sow a thought; reap an action. Sow an action; reap a habit. Sow a habit; reap a character. Sow a character; reap a destiny. Martin Luther said prayer should be “the first business of the morning and the last at night.” He said to “cultivate the habit of falling asleep with the Lord’s Prayer on your lips every evening when you go to bed and again every morning when you get up.” Just do it. Don’t worry about not knowing what to pray; Romans 8:26(NIV) In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. It seems that the prayer I have been hearing are no more than begging God for things? Is that the object of prayer? In 1 Kings 8:56-60 we see Solomon praying. It is a good pattern for us to follow. It contained 5 basic requests. Prayed for God’s presence; The desire to do God’s will; The desire and ability to obey God; Help with each day; Spread the Kingdom of God throughout the world. Jesus then showed us in Matthew 6:5-15 the example of how our prayers should be structured. Praise God; Pray for His work; Pray for daily needs; Pray for help in daily struggles. The object of prayer, I think, is to first honor God as God with praise and thanksgiving. Then humble yourself and ask for His help in your life. Submit yourself to Him. Then ask how you may serve, not so much what can you get out of it. Prayer should, could and can and will bring you closer to the Almighty God. God will answer those prayers that are aligned with His will. Matthew 21:22 (NIV) If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." WOS |