From my X / Twitter ”For you” feed comes this interesting question:
”What do you pray for the most?”
(Paul David Tripp)
”What do you pray for the most?”
(Paul David Tripp)
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For other people.From my X / Twitter ”For you” feed comes this interesting question:
”What do you pray for the most?”
(Paul David Tripp)
From my X / Twitter ”For you” feed comes this interesting question:
”What do you pray for the most?”
(Paul David Tripp)
to find one like me
Apologies, Matthias. If I had seen the thread earlier, I would have asked. :)No one bothered to ask what I pray for the most, and it doesn’t appear likely that anyone here ever will. (That’s fine.) If someone had asked I would have replied by quoting Psalm 122:6, which is tantamount to praying for Jesus to return and sit on the throne of his father David; the government of the world in the age to come, in which all those who belong to him will have a position.
Maranatha.
Apologies, Matthias. If I had seen the thread earlier, I would have asked. :)
As for myself, I rarely pray. But when I do, it's usually for help.
I don’t have a name for God. He never gave one to me, and I doubt He gave one to anyone. Wise people, when talking about Him, say "He Who Exists" or "He Who Is." These are not names.Jesus taught us to pray….…so what did he tell us were the most important things to pray for?
Its the most repeated prayer in this world, yet not many actually stop and consider what his words mean, and what the order indicates from Jesus perspective, as the most important.
Can we take it apart?….
Matt 9:6-13….NASB…
“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” (ESV)
Prayer is an intimate conversation with God, an opportunity to speak to him about whatever is on your mind. It doesn’t have to be out loud because if it comes from the heart, God can hear it.
“And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.“
Meaningless repetition is not what God requires of his children…..if our own children repeated the same things over and over again….what would we do eventually? Stop listening.
God wants us to talk to him on a personal level, about our worries and concerns and about the things we might want to thank him for…we can look for things in our day that went well and express gratitude for them.
“Pray, then, in this way:‘“
You notice that Jesus says to “pray in this way”….NOT…. “Pray this prayer”?
“Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.“
First priority was the sanctification of God’s name….do we use God’s name when we address him in prayer?…the earthly servants of God in Bible times, did so openly and with reverence.
At Psalm 143 King David wrote….
”O Jehovah, hear my prayer, Give ear unto my supplications, In Thy faithfulness answer me -- in Thy righteousness. And enter not into judgment with Thy servant, For no one living is justified before Thee. For an enemy hath pursued my soul, He hath bruised to the earth my life, He hath caused me to dwell in dark places, As the dead of old. And my spirit in me is become feeble, Within me is my heart become desolate. I have remembered days of old, I have meditated on all Thine acts, On the work of Thy hand I muse. I have spread forth my hands unto Thee, My soul [is] as a weary land for Thee. Selah. Haste, answer me, O Jehovah, My spirit hath been consumed, Hide not Thou Thy face from me, Or I have been compared with those going down [to] the pit. Cause me to hear in the morning Thy kindness, For in Thee I have trusted, Cause me to know the way that I go, For unto Thee I have lifted up my soul. Deliver me from mine enemies, O Jehovah, Near Thee I am covered. Teach me to do Thy good pleasure, For Thou [art] my God -- Thy Spirit [is] good, Lead me into a land of uprightness. For Thy name's sake O Jehovah, Thou dost quicken me, In Thy righteousness, Thou bringest out from distress my soul, And in Thy kindness cuttest off mine enemies, And hast destroyed all the adversaries of my soul, For I [am] Thy servant! (YLT)
Addressing God by his name shows that we respect his name and all attempts to hide it should be exposed.
It is found in the OT alone almost 7000 times, and countless times in the NT when Jesus and the apostles quoted OT scripture. Why is it missing? Who took it out of the Bible?
‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.”
What is Jesus teling us to pray for?
For God’s Kingdom to “come”….how does it come?
And for “God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.” How does the coming of the Kingdom result in God’s will being done “on earth as it is in heaven”? The earth is still a mess and getting worse as each year goes by. Jesus came the first time almost 2000 years ago…why has it taken so long for him to put in another appearance? Do any of us know why? Does the Bible tell us?
“‘Give us this day our daily bread.“
Notice that it was only for what we need that day….taking one day at a time as each day has enough to deal with. (Matt 6:33-34)
“And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.“
Interesting that our own forgiveness is dependent upon how forgiving we are. If we do not forgive others, God will not forgive us.
‘“And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.“
Temptation is everywhere because the devil rules this world and he has not stopped tempting mankind since Eden. He cannot force us to do anything against our will, but he can tempt us to do things we know we shouldn’t.
[For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’] (NASB) This last part is not originally part of the Lord’s Prayer, but was added later.
So what are the main things to pray for as Jesus demonstrated in this famous prayer?
What are your thoughts?
He gave his name to his people…it’s in the Bible. “Yahweh/Jehovah” is the only name that God gave to himself.I don’t have a name for God. He never gave one to me, and I doubt He gave one to anyone.
You are correct…..these are not “names” but titles, and they do not reflect the meaning of his name at all.Wise people, when talking about Him, say "He Who Exists" or "He Who Is." These are not names.
We can all do that…..prayer is a private conversation between us and our Creator, but prayer can also be for a collective, as prayers were said on behalf of others. Jesus prayed on behalf of his disciples.I pray without words, and I know to Whom I’m praying.
And therein lies the problem….when people pray for the heavenly Kingdom to “come” what are they praying for? What is this heavenly kingdom……and how does it come?What you posted about the way to pray is true. You might start your spiritual journey from praying about your problems. But if you will keep going in the right direction you will pray for Heavenly Kingdom to come, naturally through understanding.