Have you ever heard someone pray as if they were in battle? True sometimes they only way out is to address God as if he were seated next to you, He actually is. The Bible talks of the widowed woman, who kept nudging the Judge, and the judge sorted her out, if only to quieten her. When we need a favour from God, most of us pray fervently.
However, how do you pray when God has blessed you and you do not have any pressing needs?
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Our Father" Always remember that God is your father. Fathers are loving, caring, they provide, but the again remember that you do not dictate to your father. You do not tell him what to do. You follow his directives not vice versa.
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Who art in heaven" If He is in heaven, then how can he hear you from down here? God is omnipotent, he is everywhere. you don't have to be in a shrine somewhere for Him to hear you, just as you are not in heaven but you talk to Him. However, His throne is in heaven.
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Hallowed be thy name" This means "let your name be sanctified" Yet we are used to invoking God's name casually. When praying, lets be sincere in our hearts when calling upon God's name.
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Thy Kingdom come.....Thy will be done" How many times do we pray to God and with our own conditions? How many times do we promise him "God if you do XYZ i promise i will do ABC?". Remember When Jesus in pain He requested God to take the cup from him by his will, but then he concluded by "Let you will be done"
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Give us this day our daily bread" God knows that we have wants and needs in our daily lives. He knows that we need certain things, but then again, the good book tells us "Not to worry about anything, but make our requests known in prayer and supplication". Don't feel guilty asking God for assistance. Ask and it shall be given unto you. Now note that it doesn't say "Give us our daily Chicken pie and Delmonte Juice". God knows exactly what we need to survive. He will bless us abundantly above what we could ever ask for, but he will never let us starve. :)
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And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us" God knows and understands that there will be people who will do us wrong, no matter how good we try to be. He also knows that we have shortcomings, and we will fail. Yet he is ready to forgive us, and expects us to extend the same to our wrong doers.
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Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil" This indicates to us that temptations are a reality, and we should be careful. It also means that we need to depend on God to direct our paths away from dangerous grounds. it means we need God's leadership in our lives.
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For Thine is the kingdom, The power and the Glory"
For thine is the Kingdom means we are ready for his rule and his word in our lives is final. The power .....Never forget the power of God, never forget his might. The Glory..... Always worship and Exalt His Holy name. The Lord loves to be Praised and Worshipped.
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Amen"..so be it. When you pray.always have faith that God has heard you, and that He will act according to His Holy will.
So the next time you are praying, don't just pray for the sheep and cows back home :) Jesus gave us a guideline.
Luke 11:2-4
Have a prayerful evening.
Adhis♥
