Prayer For A Deeper Knowledge Of God

If God knows what I need and want, why is prayer important?

Just as the Bible is important for teaching us about who Jesus is, what He has done for us, and who we are in Him, so also is prayer a key part of building a deeper and abiding relationship with God.  When we read the Bible, God speaks to us.  When we pray, we speak to God.  

We know that we can pray directly to God and that He hears us (More about praying directly to God. Read, “Why Do Catholics Pray to Saints?”).   We long to hear God’s voice.

 But do we also remember that God desires to hear our voices?  The God of the universe, the omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent God of all creation invites us into His presence to speak to Him and to share with Him all that is on our hearts.

Our Purpose in Life?

The Westminster Shorter Catechism answers the question, “What is the chief end of man?” with this statement:

“To glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.” 

Every person who belongs to Jesus should strive to live their lives for God’s glory.  In doing so they will find joy in Him.  Prayer is one way in which we can glorify and enjoy God.  

Why Pray?

Read about this year’s National Day of Prayer. Watch an adorable puppy pray, thanking God for food.

It’s sometimes easy to fall into the trap of thinking, God knows my every thought and all my needs.  He loves me and has promised to care for me.

  So why do I need to pray?  If God is immutable (without changing) and He is eternal and omniscient (knowing the beginning from the end), then why should I ask for something He might not be willing to give me?  Or why would I tell Him about things He already knows?  Why should I tell Him of my cares, if I trust He is good and cares for me?

So why should we pray?  The reasons for praying are both biblical and personal.  

Biblical Reasons to Pray

The first mention of prayer is found in Genesis 4:

Genesis 4:26 And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD.

Seth was the son of Adam and Eve who had enjoyed perfect communion with God in the Garden prior to their disobedient sin.

  Once sin entered the world, man found it necessary to seek God, “to call upon His name,” to guide and direct them and to discern His will for their lives. We too must call upon His name.

 Not because God won’t guide us, but because we will more readily receive His guidance and direction. 

Prayer is a necessary part of communion with God.  It is a time of asking of God and receiving from God.  It is also an exercise of faith—knowing and believing that God hears and answers according to His good will and love for us.

 With each passing generation, man has become further removed from God and His ways. He increasingly follows the secular culture and is all too often overcome by worldly influences.

Prayer returns our focus to Jesus and enables us to turn from the world.

There are many reasons that God has given us prayer, and many reasons that we should pray.  As you read through the following reasons, consider the importance of prayer in your life and allow these reasons to become personal and to motivate you to a more frequent and deeper prayer life.

We are Invited to Pray

Psalm 50:15  And call upon me in the day of trouble…

Jeremiah 29:12  Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me…

Matthew 7:7-11 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

We are Commanded to Pray

Matthew 5:44  …pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you…

Mark 13:33  Take ye heed, watch and pray:

Luke 18:1  And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;

Ephesians 6:18  Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit…

Rom 12:12  Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;

Colossians 4:2  Continue in prayer,

1 Thessalonians 5:17  Pray without ceasing.

1 Timothy 2:8  I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.

We are to Respond to God’s Invitation and Command

We are invited and commanded to pray because God loves us and desires a prayer relationship with us.  When He calls us to something we are to respond as the prophet Isaiah did, “here am I.”  (Isaiah 6:8)  Responding to God in prayer is not only an act of obedience, it is also an act of honor given to the One who gave His all for us.

Jesus Prayed

We are told that in our walk of sanctification we are being conformed to the image of Jesus (Romans 8:29).  Prayer was a regular part of the Lord’s daily life and it is to be part of ours also. 

Jesus prayed because He was living in a human body.  When Jesus set aside His divinity (Philippians 2:7), He no longer shared the union with God that He had in glory.  Prayer for Jesus, was just as it is for us, a personal way of communicating with God.  

Let His example be a motivation to seek God early in all things.

“After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray.” –Matthew 14:23

“Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, ‘Sit here while I go over there and pray.’” –Matthew 26:36

“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” –Mark 1:35

“But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” –Luke 5:16

“One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.” –Luke 6:12

“Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.” –Luke 18:1

There is Power in Prayer

The power in prayer is not a power that comes from the act of prayer.  It is a power that flows from the One to whom we pray.  In our impotent humanity, we are blessed to be able to reach upward to God in prayer knowing that He hears.

  In His omnipotence He responds and we receive—that’s the power of prayer! Prayer unleashes a deeper communion with God in our hearts and it comforts our souls.  It grows a richer faith in who He is, and unleashes power in us to live our lives in service to Him and others.  The power is not in our petition.

The power comes from His response and a confidence in knowing He is ever-present with us.

John 14:13-14 – And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 

1 John 5:14-15 – And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:  

James 1:5 – If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all [men] liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

James 5:16  …The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

Luke 11:9 – And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.

How Should We Pray?

God loves our prayers and He desires us to enter into closer communion with Him through prayer. There is no required method of prayer.  It truly is simply a conversation with our Father in Heaven. 

Prayers can be long or short, petitions or praises, questions or affirmations. Prayers can be for oneself or for another.

  They can be from a joyous heart, a downcast heart, a repentant heart, or a broken heart,  but all prayer should be in reverence of God and with a desire to submit to His will.

The prayer of the upright is the Lord’s delight.   Proverbs 15:8  

Pray often.  Pray reverently and fervently.  

Wait upon the Lord—He answers prayers.  

Give thanks.

Источник: //reasonsforhopejesus.com/why-is-prayer-important/

Know God (or steps towards knowledge of God)

This column first of all is intended for those people, who have already asked themselves a question: “What do I live for?”. It may seems to be a very simple question, though you`ll not find an answer to it in any study book. Perhaps you may say: “I do not ask myself such a question”.

Right, many people live their life and do not even ponder over it. But definitely, everyone is looking for happiness and they even devise and invent it. Everybody wants to be happy. We live in a special time.

Today we may find answers to the questions, which humanity sought for many centuries and even millenniums.

Our amazing planet

Let’s ponder over it. We live on the planet Earth. It is amazing planet, you can find here everything necessary for human life support.

“ The earth brining forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind” (Genesis 1:12).

We know that nothing and no one can live without water – so there is a lot of water on earth to provide life to everything. There is a lot of living creatures in the water that is good for food. The Earth is full of variety of living souls.

These are animals, cattle, reptiles and insects, – everything is intended for life sustenance. There is a great number of birds in the sky. Earth`s deep interiors are full of all sorts of fossils so that man could create and build. Could it all be arranged so wisely, harmoniously and simply just by itself?

Diverse and unique world

Today television allows us to see variety of earth, seas, rivers and even the depth of the oceans. We see how beautiful our earth is and how unique every corner thereof. Rivers always flow by the given routs, seas and oceans are not flow its depths. Every day morning comes, sun rises to walk its way.

Every night we see the vault of heaven, spattered with stars and the moon performs its way. Trees puts its clothes on in spring time and during autumn they put it off. Spring comes after the winter, then summer comes after the spring, then autumn supersedes and then winter takes it turn again. Each season is unique in a special way and it never changes.

And no matter how smart we are, no efforts can change preset pace of life. Just ponder over it?

Our body is designed incredibly difficult

In first two steps we have discussed what a perfect and amazing world we live in. Nevertheless the same amazing and perfect world is inside of us. All organs are located at very convenient for communication scheme. Blood circulatory system arranged so that life blood could reach each cell of the body.

Protection system functions for the whole organism. We can see, hear, think, understand, breath, move and even talk, no other living creature on Earth can do it as well. People trying to find explanation to origin of Earth and every living things on it.

They create various theories, philosophize on the mater, trying to explain unexplainable.

Accident or Creator?

All theories and philosophies offered to us in study books in schools and universities are trying to persuade us that the Earth and all creatures on it came into existence without an INTELLECT. But let us consider simple example.

To build a house someone needs to make the plan thereof, to draw it, to think what material it should be built of, to estimate how much material and other means is necessary etc. So intellect is essential to consider and to determine it all.

How come we are looking at the world we live in where everything is well-considered to the smallest detail, where everything is so perfectly arranged we still believe those silly theories which says that everything appeared just by itself or by chance?

The theory of evolution does not work

People naively believe that the man – the most perfect creation on Earth is descended from monkey. Nevertheless during all time this theory exists it never happened that monkey gave birth to a man, or some monkey would turn into man.

If we pay attention to the world around us we could see that each seed produces only by its kind. The same way each living creature give birth by its kind. Apples can not grow on the vine and raspberries will never grow grapes. Field flowers will never become roses.

The life is included in the seed and the seed produces only by its kind and nature.

Who controls all this?

Thank you for your patience while walking these five steps with us. Let us think now: if intellect is required to build a house, then moreover intellect is required for the Earth (and everything on it) to come into existence. To live in the house for a long while it is necessary for someone to watch over that house, to do renovation, to replace something etc.

To sustain the life on the Earth water and the air are the most necessary and the most consumable. If no one would take care of it constant cleansing those would soon become useless. Intellect is also required for it. The Earth does not exists just by itself. It exists in the Universe where everything is interconnected.

Again we come to the conclusion that someone should manage it all.

God created us and wants to communicate with his creation

If up to this time you have ponder with us then you have probably come to the conclusion that for the Earth to come into existence and to exist with all living creatures on it, the Creator with Higher INTELLECT is required. Today He offers us an opportunity to meet Him.

Today the Creator has become available to anyone seeking the Truth. He longs to have fellowship with us, because He is God and He created us for fellowship with Him. His greatest wisdom in its simplicity, available and understandable to everyone. When He created man He also gave him a manual for living.

This manual is a Bible, the Book of books, where we can find all laws and rules of life.

The way to God begins with prayer. Click HERE, to pray with us.  

Источник: //lifeline.victorychurch.org.ua/en/content/know-god-or-steps-towards-knowledge-god