A complete salvation 12: to be a saint (9): Pray, pray and again pray
Dear All:
All glories, praises and thanks be to God - the only One worthy to receive glories, praises and thanks.
"Not to us, O LORD, not to us but to your name be glory, because of your love and faithfulness." (PSALMS 115:1)
A complete salvation 12: to be a saint (9): Pray, pray and again pray
5. "Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors." -- Before we pray and ask for forgiveness from God, we must forgive others.
In our prayers, we come to God to confess sins and we all need to ask for forgiveness in front of God.
"If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness; therefore you are feared." (PSALMS 130:3-4)
"He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy." (PROVERBS 28:13)
"I said,' I will confess my transgressions to the LORD' - and you forgave the guilt of my sin." (PSALMS 32:5)
Remember our family relationship. God is our heavenly Father. And each human being is brother and sister to each other. The golden rule that God give us is: treat others the way you want to be treated and keep in mind that God will treat you the same way you treat others!
"Do to others as you would have them do to you." (LUKE 6:31)
"So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets." (MATTHEW 7:12)
"The entire law is summed up in a single command:' Love your neighbor as yourself.'"(GALATIANS 5:14)
Therefore, if we want to be forgiven by God, we must forgive others.
"Forgive, and you will be forgiven." (LUKE 6:37)
"For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins." (MATTHEW 6:14-15)
"'Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when sins against me? Up to seven times?' Jesus answered,' I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.'" (MATTHEW 18:21-22)
In the parable of the unmerciful servant, the servant who was forgiven by his master but then didn't forgive his fellow servant was finally rejected because of his mercilessness.
"This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart." (MATTHEW 18:35)
"...because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!" (JAMES 2:13)
We all know that without forgiveness the bitterness will poison and destroy both our spiritual and physical health. And certainly this won't please God if we hold this negative feeling when we are praying.
"I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing." (1 Timothy 2:8)
"...slow to become angry, for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires." (JAMES 1:19-20)
"Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift." (MATTHEW 5:23-24)
"And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive your sins." (MARK 11:25-26)
Forgive others no matter what they did to us. Jesus Christ set the perfect example to us by forgiving those even when they were killing him.
"Jesus said,' Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.'" (LUKE 23:34)
"And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ." (ROMANS 8:9)
And we should love our enemies. Then we will have the Spirit of Christ.
"Love your enemies and pray for those persecute you," (MATTHEW 5:44)
"Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you." (LUKE 6:27-28)
"If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." (ROMANS 12:20)
"And what I have forgiven - if there was anything to forgive - I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes." (2 CORINTHIANS 2:10-11)
6. "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."
Remember that God is our strength, our refuge and our rock to rely on.
"Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation." (MARK 14:38)
"...the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment,..." (2 PETER 2:9)
"Be aware of turning to evil, which you seem to prefer to affliction." (JOB 36:21)
"In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I (Jesus Christ) have overcome the world." (JOHN 16:33)
We cry out to God in the troubles and distress for the help and rescue.
"For he (God) will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help." (PSALMS 72:12)
"You hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more." (PSALMS 10:17-18)
"This poor man called, and the LORD heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles." (PSALMS 34:6)
"Away from me, all you who do evil, for the LORD has heard my weeping. The LORD has heard my cry for mercy; the LORD accepts my prayer." (PSALMS 6:8-9)
"Blessed are all who take refuge in him." (PSALMS 2:12)
"In the day of my trouble I will call to you, for you will answer me." (PSALMS 86:7)
"In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears." (PSALMS 18:6)
"The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my delivers; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies." (PSALMS 18:2-3)
"Our help is in the name of the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth." (PSALMS 124:8)
We must build a good relationship with God by obeying His words and trusting in Him. Thus, we can turn to Him and rely on Him when we are in the troubles.
"If anyone turns a deaf ear to the law, even his prayers are detestable." (PROVERBS 28:9)
"He does not answer when men cry out because of the arrogance of the wicked. Indeed, God does not listen to their empty plea; the Almighty pays no attention to it." (JOB 35:12-13)
"If I had cherished sin in my heart, the LORD would not have listened; but God has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer." (PSALMS 66:18-19)
"The godless in heart harbor resentment; even when he (God) fetters them, they do not cry for help." (JOB 36:13)
"Will evildoers never learn - those who devour my people as men eat bread and who do not call on the LORD?" (PSALMS 14:4)
"For what hope has the godless when he is cut off, when God takes away his life? Does God listen to his cry when distress comes upon him? Will he find delight in the Almighty? Will he call upon God at all times?" (JOB 27:8-10)
7. "for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever." - Give praises and thanks to God all the time.
Besides the three meals, it is proper to give praises and thanks to God all the time because He is the true provider of everything and all goodness are from Him. By doing this, it will keep us rejoicing in God
always, getting strengthen in God, focusing our eyes on Him and reminding us of obeying His words.
"Praise the LORD. How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him!" (PSALMS 147:1)
"I will praise the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live." (PSALMS 146:2)
"I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever. Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever." (PSALMS 145:1-2)
"My mouth is filled with your praises, declaring your splendor all day long." (PSALMS 71:8)
"Praise the LORD. Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise in the assembly of the saints." (PSALMS 149:1)
"Let everything that has breath praise the LORD." (PSALMS 150:6)
"Let them praise the name of the LORD, for his name alone is exalted; his splendor is above the earth and the heavens." (PSALMS 148:13)
"Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom." (PSALMS 145:3)
"Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever." (PSALMS 118:1)
"He (an angel) was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne. The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints, went up before God
from the angel's hand." (REVELATION 8:3-4)
"I will sacrifice a thank offering to you and call on the name of the LORD." (PSALMS 116:17)
"May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice." (PSALMS 141:2)
A tip to get one's prayer answered is to give praises and thanks to God always, claimed in a survey of Reader's Digest by most of the respondents.
8. We pray in Jesus' name.
We know that only because of Jesus Christ, we are reconciled to God and get the chance to be back to God. We pray in Jesus' holy name - the beloved Son of God so that we will be forgiven by being cleaned and covered by the precious blood of Jesus Christ.
"In that day you will ask in my (Jesus Christ's) name." (JOHN 16:26)
"...my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name... Ask and your will receive, and your joy will be complete." (JOHN 16:23-24)
"Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." (ACTS 4:12)
"And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us." (1 JOHN 3:23)
To be continued ...
To be one in Jesus Christ.
All glories, praises and thanks to God.
God bless us to pray constantly in His will
In Jesus
servant of Christ
Warnings from the watchman:
"Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs." (LUKE 12:1-3)
"This what the LORD says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of his oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the alien, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place." (JEREMIAH 22:3)
"He (Jesus Christ) did not need man's testimony about man, for he knew about what was in a man." (JOHN 2:25)
