12 Prayers Essay

Submitted By Ashleyle1402
Words: 1779
Pages: 8
Open Document
Discipleship 101 a beginner’s guide to Christianity

Chapter 12

Responding to the resurrection: praying with confidence

H ow do we respond to the risen Jesus? The book of Hebrews tells us: Since Jesus has risen into heaven as our great high priest, then we can have confidence to enter God’s presence, and because of that, we should enter his presence (Hebrews 10:19-22). “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.... Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:14-16). In other words, since Jesus has risen from the dead, we should pray, and we should do it with confidence. The risen Jesus makes a difference in our lives through prayer. Because he is now in heaven, we have the guarantee that our prayers will be heard. We pray “in Jesus’ name” — as if putting his signature at the end of our letter. He intercedes for us, prays for us! God listens to us just as well as he listens to Jesus himself.

Prayer: a cry for help

Some people make prayer sound like a duty, as a work that faithful Christians must perform. Some make it sound like we ought to pray seven times a day, or three times a day, or all night long, or rise before dawn, or spend at least two hours every day, following the example of this or that famous person. I think Christians should pray not as a duty, but out of need. After all, prayers are requests. There are no biblical commands for us to pray at certain times or in certain ways. We are not told to follow Jesus’ example in praying all night, or Daniel’s example of facing Jerusalem. But Scripture everywhere assumes that God’s people do pray. We are not told to pray for specific amounts of time, but all the time (1 Thessalonians 5:17; Ephesians 6:18). We are not told to kneel or stand or lie on the floor when we pray. Rather, we are told to do everything while praying (Philippians 4:6).

Why so much prayer?

Prayer is, in its simplest sense, a request. The most common Hebrew and Greek words for prayer mean “ask.” Whenever we ask God for anything, we are praying—and it is right that we ask. Paul told the Philippians to ask for whatever they wanted (Philippians 4:6). That is why we should pray: We are to ask God for the things we need. The better we know ourselves, the more we will know that we are incredibly needy people. Of ourselves, we can do nothing. If we want to accomplish anything worthwhile, we must seek God’s help. We must depend on him. Prayer is a cry for help. And since our needs never end, our prayers should never cease.

Rely on God

Self-reliance is sin. It is arrogant for us tiny creatures to think that we can do whatever we want, that we can control our own destinies, that we can decide for ourselves what is right and what is wrong. Humans have neither the wisdom nor the power. The universe exists only because Christ is upholding it by the word of his power (Hebrews 1:3). We exist only because our Creator supplies our needs (Acts 14:17). Yet (I speak from experience) even believers sometimes forget about our minute-by-minute need for God, and we may go through the day with scarcely a thought, scarcely a thanks for what God is doing for us. He is upholding us even as we ignore him. Even when we face problems, we sometimes struggle on and on, trying to solve the problems with our own strength, with our own strategies, instead of realizing that needs and desires should be shared with God in prayer (Philippians 4:6). We act as if everything depends on us, when everything actually depends on God. He knows our needs, and he wants us to trust him. Thankfully, the Holy Spirit intercedes for us, especially when we are too unthinking to ask for ourselves (Romans 8:26-27). The Holy Spirit stands in the gap and helps us in ways that we do not know. So when
Show More

Related Documents: 12 Prayers Essay

Essay about my plan for Success

Schedule - Monday - Get up shower etc 5:45-6:30, 6:30-7am Scriptures and prayers with family, 7:45 – 8:15 kids off to school etc, Capstone Class 9:15-10:15am, study capstone class from 10:30 – noon, break to eat, study A& P from 12:45-2pm, break for snack , study pysch 2:30-5:30. Break for dinner, family time etc – study A&P 8:30-10pm - bedtime Tuesday – Get up shower etc 5:45-6:30, 6:30-7am Scriptures and prayers with family, 7:45 – 8:15 kids off to school etc, Capstone Class 9:15-10:15am…

Words 497 - Pages 2

Essay on Chapter 10 Outline

Benefits of prayer­Prayer contributes to our sense of self worth. Leads to happiness helping us discover. changes us by making us more loving. just like water helps us grow prayer helps us too. energizes calms and renews.Prayer heals. Helps us renew anxiety MOST IMPORTANT: Prayer deepens our relationship with the Triune God 3. Padre Pio­Said”Prayer is the best weapon we have. It is key to opening Gods heart.” 4. Meditation­Saint Teresa Examples­great examples of how to use the bible, especially the gospels…

Words 646 - Pages 3

Prayer Research Paper

of Prayer When you see or hear the word prayer what is the first thing that comes up in your mind? Think about that question for a minute. While you thinking I will tell, what few teenagers in my age, between the ages of 17 - 19 think what prayer is. Prayer is when mommy and daddy calls us for family prayer. Prayer is when I got church. Prayer is when I go to sleep. Prayer is a ceremony that’s very boring and long. Prayer is talking to God. A lot of various ideas and versions of prayer is coming…

Words 1005 - Pages 5

Yoyo: God and Thine Ear Essay

helpless and dependent, or that it would be any injustice if God should not hear, for a sinner has no claim to favor; but it is that this was a condition in which the aid of God was needed, and in which it was proper or appropriate for God to hear prayer, and to render help. We may always make our helplessness, our weakness, our poverty, our need, a ground of appeal to God; not as a claim of justice, but as a case in which he will glorify himself by a gracious interposition. It is also to be remarked…

Words 2569 - Pages 11

Theology Prayer Essay

Encountering of Prayer When I think of prayer, I have this image of trying to search within God’s heart. Lately, this search has increasingly taken on a feeling of stagnation and emptiness. It is as if I am right at the chamber of his heart and I am knocking on the front door; however, there is no answer. It’s frightening. When you think of prayer you hope for guidance, you pray that God will give you instructions. Within this class however, I have matured in my understanding of prayer and have developed…

Words 1229 - Pages 5

Essay about Elizibethan Religious Settlement

independence from Rome, with Parliament conferring on Elizabeth the title Supreme Governor of the Church of England, while the Act of Uniformity of 1559 set out the form the English church would now take, including the establishment of the Book of Common Prayer. When Mary died in 1558, Elizabeth succeeded to the throne. One of the most important concerns during Elizabeth’s early…

Words 1936 - Pages 8

Why Does Colonel Cathcart Want His Picture In The Saturday Evening Post?

Maverick Baglietto Chapter 19: The chapter is titled “Colonel Cathcart”. Describe his character, his attitudes and outlook, what motivates him, how he thinks. Please use your own words...do not just copy language from the text. Colonel Cathcart Is a man of success but still very unhappy. He can only base his own progress based on the progress of others and only feels a sense of pride or accomplishment if he does as well or better than everyone else in his age group. His ultimate goal was to become…

Words 1640 - Pages 7

Minutes Of Meeting Of The Corporation Of West Thames College

(Paper 3) provided Members with updates on the following topics:       Staffing issues Interim arrangements for Vice Principal Curriculum & Quality Update on the location of the Skills Centre 2009 Students Entry to HE College Policy on Prayer and Prayer Rooms Student & staff success stories The report summarised the key changes to the management structure for 200/11. With governor support, the College has been working to reduce expenditure while at the same time restructuring to become a leaner…

Words 2374 - Pages 10

My Relationship With God

Prayer I have just experienced ten months of religion and comparing it to the beginning of the school year or even the beginning of highschool, I know I have grown so much. Moving into religion 12 from the previous year, I was nervous because I knew i would be learning new things. I do not mean to suck up but you, Mr. Palmarin, are a pretty cool person and you can show that religion can be cool and fun. Not only that, but you also have effective and fun ways to learn the curriculum. In a household just consisting of my mom and I…

Words 2921 - Pages 12

Joanna Hart Islam Essay

World Religions Joanna Hart Islam “...there is more misunderstanding on the part of the West on Islam, than there is on any other religion.” (Smith, 12) Islam is one of the world's largest religions, but it is surprising to see how little people actually know about it. Islam's main message is about peace, which comes when one fully surrenders to Allah. In fact, that is what the word Islam means. The practices of Islam are all geared toward attaining this peace.…

Words 514 - Pages 3