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Always Praying
Grace to You.org ^ | 1993 | John MacArthur, Grace Community Church

Posted on 09/27/2016 11:57:35 AM PDT by metmom

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1 posted on 09/27/2016 11:57:35 AM PDT by metmom
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To: Alex Murphy; bkaycee; boatbums; CynicalBear; daniel1212; dragonblustar; Dutchboy88; ealgeone; ...

Studying God’s Word ping


2 posted on 09/27/2016 11:57:55 AM PDT by metmom (...fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith...)
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To: metmom

Prayer is an humble admission of powerlessness to The Almighty God. None of us pray as much as we should. I fear that the reason we don’t pray enough is because we’re not humble enough. But God has a way of eventually forcing us toward humility. Because the reality is He’s more than everything, and we’re less than nothing.


3 posted on 09/27/2016 12:08:05 PM PDT by afsnco
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To: metmom

“With all prayer and petition pray at all times”

Easier said than done!!!! But I keep trying..


4 posted on 09/27/2016 12:15:19 PM PDT by tired&retired (Blessings)
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To: tired&retired

Excellent.

Thank you.


5 posted on 09/27/2016 12:31:20 PM PDT by Rebel Egg
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To: afsnco

Prayer can be the most dangerous activity if one expects to receive an answer and it is not forthcoming. It may lead to a condition of despair and depression.
I know, I know, we must have faith. Where is it available at Walmart or anywhere else? Personally I cannot remember a prayer that was answered and I don’t expect any answers any time soon.


6 posted on 09/27/2016 12:34:01 PM PDT by 353FMG (AMERICA MATTERS)
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To: metmom
Thanks for posting.

Some Orthodox Christians, particularly monks and nuns, have traditionally tried to carry out this scriptural admonition by saying the Jesus Prayer ("Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.") almost constantly.

7 posted on 09/27/2016 12:50:35 PM PDT by Martin Tell (Victrix causa diis placuit sed victa Catoni.)
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To: KnightCrusader

I’m a fan of Brother Lawrence and “Practice the Presence of God.” in all that you do and at all times...


8 posted on 09/27/2016 12:51:55 PM PDT by tired&retired (Blessings)
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To: 353FMG

“Prayer can be the most dangerous activity if one expects to receive an answer and it is not forthcoming. It may lead to a condition of despair and depression.
I know, I know, we must have faith. Where is it available at Walmart or anywhere else? Personally I cannot remember a prayer that was answered and I don’t expect any answers any time soon.”

There comes a point in the process where you hit bottom and stop asking God to do things for you. You surrender to God and ask to be His servant. You then pray for God to use you and guide you to do His Will.


9 posted on 09/27/2016 12:54:29 PM PDT by tired&retired (Blessings)
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To: 353FMG
I don't want to seem flippant or mean, but if you pray and you never get an answer, you're doing it wrong. You must be a child of God to get the promises He made. You have an inheritance and He wants you to have it. Faith is the currency of heaven. You cannot please God without faith.

I'm not trying to be judgmental, but if what you say is true, I would go back to the very start and start again. Dedicate your life to Jesus and even get baptized again if need be. You must see a change in your life because you love Him. It cannot be "mustered up". The gifts of God are supernatural. If you aren't living a supernatural life, you can't be living a life of faith.

10 posted on 09/27/2016 1:11:53 PM PDT by chuckles
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To: chuckles; 353FMG

**I don’t want to seem flippant or mean, but if you pray and you never get an answer, you’re doing it wrong.**

God is NOT a spiritual vending machine, meaning you don’t insert some change (a prayer) and get your wish.

Prayer lines you up with the will of God, not your wishes. God may grant your wishers, or He may say no, which is an answer too.

Sometimes we undergo suffering or trials to make us stronger and it isn’t until much later in life that we can clearly see how God sustained us through hard times.


11 posted on 09/27/2016 1:37:55 PM PDT by Gamecock (Gun owner. Christian. Pro-American. Pro Law and Order. I am in the basket of deplorables.)
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To: Gamecock; 353FMG; chuckles
Prayer lines you up with the will of God, not your wishes

THIS

Gamecock's reply is spot on. Too many Christians seem to think that all you have to do is "name" something and "claim" it, whether it be an appeal to do so by faith or prayer. Not so at all.

Matthew 6:7-8:
"And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him"

A most common question that seems to arise is, "well, If God knows what we want and need, why pray?"

Here's a great, succinct explanation to answer that question provided by Ligonier.org:

"God knows what we need before we ask Him, and in His providence He meets those needs. Yet, if God knows what we need, why do we pray? To understand the relationship between God’s providence and prayer, we must have a right understanding of prayer. While God certainly knows what we need and the desires of our hearts, He calls us to verbalize our needs to Him. The reason He does this is not because He needs to be nudged out of some slumber to act on our behalf, but because prayer benefits us and deepens our dependence on Him."

The rest of this very, very good explanation is located at:
Why Pray?

Hoss

12 posted on 09/27/2016 1:51:29 PM PDT by HossB86 (Christ, and Him alone.)
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To: 353FMG
May I offer this in sincerity.

13These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life. 14This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him. 1 John 5:13-14

The key requirement for answered prayer is to be a follower of Jesus, the Son of God.

Answered prayer is conditional upon our prayer being in accordance with His will.

I hope this provides you with some comfort.

13 posted on 09/27/2016 1:53:59 PM PDT by ealgeone
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To: Martin Tell

I don’t think for a moment that praying without ceasing means being on our knees 24/7.

We can pray about everything through out the day as situations come up. We can pray on the fly and don’t always have to be in a prayer position, on our knees for example.

One case I remember was when I was on an icy cloverleaf type on ramp to the interstate and as we were going around the curve, our van stated sliding off the road sideways.

I cried out to God out loud and no sooner did I finish speaking when the van lurched sideways, back onto the correct path and right back down the center of the lane. It was like a big, old angel body checked it back onto it’s right path.

My daughter and I just looked at each other in shock. I was sure we were going off the road into the ditch.


14 posted on 09/27/2016 1:59:48 PM PDT by metmom (...fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith...)
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To: chuckles
You asserted: "The gifts of God are supernatural. If you aren't living a supernatural life, you can't be living a life of faith."

You are confused. And men like Kenneth Copeland and his ilk cannot help you out of your confusion with their 'prosperity gospel'.

15 posted on 09/27/2016 2:01:50 PM PDT by MHGinTN (A dispensational perspective is a powerful tool for spiritual discernment)
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To: 353FMG

The church today is filled with Job’s worthless friends.

There are lots of people out there who think they have God all figured out and know exactly how He works and how He ought to be working in your life as well as theirs.

And when He doesn’t do what they expect Him to, something that doesn’t fit in the nice, tidy box they have Him locked in, they sit back and pass judgment on you and condemn you. It’s ALWAYS the fault of the person struggling or suffering.(in their eyes)

Don’t listen to them.

When I was going through a time of struggle where it seemed like God hadn’t answered anything I had prayed for in a long time, I found a prayer journal I had kept while in a Bible study and was rereading it and noticed that God had answered virtually everything we prayed for in the way we had asked. I had just forgotten it.

God does hear and answer prayers and there’s no easy answer for why we go through seasons, or years, where it seems that prayer is completely ineffective and a waste of time. It’s a tough place to be. I’m sorry you’re going through that.


16 posted on 09/27/2016 2:06:30 PM PDT by metmom (...fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith...)
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To: chuckles; metmom; ealgeone; HossB86; Gamecock; MHGinTN
I also don't believe that God is a spiritual vending machine. I don't think the name it, claim it idea is valid either. God answers ALL prayers. Sometimes it's yes, sometimes it's no, sometimes it's not yet, or sometimes it's answered differently than we expected, but all prayers are answered 🙏😇
17 posted on 09/27/2016 2:16:58 PM PDT by Mark17 (Calvary's love has never faltered. All it's wonder still remains. Souls still take eternal passage.)
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To: chuckles

Sometimes the answer is different than you expect. It may be positive, negative or no answer at all. Sometimes the answer comes down the road. He knows everything and He can see the future. He knows your future and knows what is best for you. He is the answer.


18 posted on 09/27/2016 2:45:00 PM PDT by MamaB (Heb. 13:2)
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To: Mark17
What you will find is someone who never has an answered prayer will leave the faith and never examine why they aren't answered. Mine are answered and answered quickly and frequently. The testimony that brought me to Jesus was my wife's prayer for her mother to be healed of Aplastic Anemia, a terminal condition. She was in a group of 18 people for an experimental treatment. All died except for her and she stopped the experiments to cause death. My wife heard from God to pray for her specific need and she heard immediately what to pray for. God told her to ask for one stem of bone marrow from Jesus. She prayed and one hour later she was healed and left the hospital 3 days later and never went back. I've prayed and anointed a Baptist minister's wife for pancreatitis, and she is now healed. I have literally thousands of answered prayer from the smallest things to healing terminal diseases, checks in the mail, jobs and raises, selling homes, and every aspect of normal life, and you say I shouldn't count on getting anything? Doy you pray in expectation? Do you pray in faith?

If you pray for $100 to pay a bill and you have $1000 in the bank, that's not faith. If you have $1000 in the bank and need $50k, that's faith. You guys think that's unreasonable. I wouldn't have a job, house, children, and be dead of cancer, if I thought that way.

19 posted on 09/27/2016 2:51:58 PM PDT by chuckles
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To: metmom

That reminds me of a trip back home from visiting my relatives in MS. We were on the Natchez Trace when we noticed we were out of gas. I had forgotten to gas up before we left. We were driving on fumes. I knew the next gas station was in Cherokee, AL where we got off. We started praying to be able to get to that exit. Her 2 small kids were with us. Well, we made it. I do not understand how except for God’s answer to our prayers. When we got back on the road home, I told her I had never prayed so much in my life. She said her, too. He is the answer.


20 posted on 09/27/2016 2:55:12 PM PDT by MamaB (Heb. 13:2)
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