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God communicates with us
directly through his Word (with the Holy Spirit using
it to teach us), and indirectly through creation and the
circumstances of life (example Psalm 19:1). Other sections deal with
these issues.
Our focus here is on our
communication with God.
If we love God, we will want to communicate with him. We will
want to talk to him - prayer in all its dimensions. We will also want to
express our love in worship. (We will also want others to know the greatness
of God - but telling others about the good news of Jesus is not the
focus of this section.)
We cannot overemphasize the fact that worship and
prayer are not a synonym for "religion." A person can be very
"religious" and still be hostile to the God of the Bible. In
contrast, a person can
be worshiping and praying without any visible actions that resemble
what most people think of as "religion."
There are many modern
counterfeits for true worship and prayer. Often worship is
reduced to some basic form of ritual. Prayer is often reduced to an
empty quotation of words that someone else wrote down on paper - though
quoting a prayer is not necessarily wrong, if what it says is the true
reflection of one's heart. (Some of the psalms are prayers.) Worship and prayer that
is acceptable to God is
God-centered (not self- or people-centered) and from the heart. We should heed the
parable given in Luke 18:9-14.
Luke 18:9-14 - a parable about prayer...
He [Jesus] spoke also this parable to
certain people who were convinced of their own righteousness, and who despised
all others.
"Two men went up into the temple to pray; one was a Pharisee, and the
other was a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed to himself like this: 'God, I thank you,
that I am not like the rest of men, extortioners, unrighteous, adulterers, or
even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week. I give tithes of all that I get.'
But the tax collector, standing far away, wouldn't even lift up his
eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner!'
I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the
other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles
himself will be exalted."
Praising the Lord - A
Commentary and Study Guide for Psalm 117 |
Included here are a commentary and a study guide for
Psalm 117. The study guide includes an extended focus on God's love
and faithfulness. |
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Worship: A Study guide for Matthew 4:10 & Luke 4:8 |
This is part of a study about values and priorities. This
specific study guide is mainly a list of questions for personal
reflection, based on these two verses. [There is also a section that
uses the "Value Chart" (a link is included for that page), but you can
skip it, if that is not the purpose of your study.] |
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The "Lord's Prayer"
- How Should We Pray? |
The "Lord's Prayer" is a model for us to
follow. It reminds us of the focus our prayer should have. |
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The "Lord's Prayer"
- Prayer and Our Values |
As we think about what Jesus said in the "Lord's
Prayer," we can reflect on the nature of our own prayers. Our
ultimate goal is to have the same values as Jesus did... and if we
do have these values, our prayers will reflect it!
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Paul's Prayers - An Example
for Us to Follow (What Do You Pray About?) |
Most people have self-centered prayers, if they pray
at all. In contrast with this are the prayers of the apostle Paul.
He provides us with some excellent examples of how we ought to
pray. May God give us the grace to follow Paul's example!
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Learning to Pray |
Like the apostles in the garden, we often find it
difficult to pray. "Learning" to pray involves not only
learning facts about prayer, but learning to do it. |
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The Purpose of Prayer &
Prayer Requests |
Why do we pray - especially if God knows everything?
There are many reasons, and this article looks at some of them.
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Selected Verses About Prayer |
This is just a list of verses about prayer, that you
can use in your own study.
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The Bible says...
God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth. (John 4:24)
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