A Praying Life Chapter Summary

It assisted me in how to look closely at my journey, vocation, devotional and meditational times. As I take on this journey trying my best to stay on path with God, who will lead me in a righteous way I plan to stay close to him. What is my journey consisted of? Paying attention to my call, make sure I am aware that it is a journey that I will not along in, but I will always feel like I am in the presences of God.

I had always felt that to pray there had to be some eloquent way to convey the things that you wanted to say to God. I also was often frustrated, as I questioned that if God was all knowing, why was it necessary to pray to him and tell him things he already knew. Throughout my time at NCYC I came to understand my relationship with God less like a human and omniscient being relationship, but more as a parent and child relationship. Though He may already know what you have to tell Him, it is about building the communication and the friendship, so that He can work best in your life. The best analogy that I have heard about this was from one of the leaders of the trip, and he compared life to being in a marching band. From the point of view of the musicians, it seems chaotic and as though people are going in every direction for no apparent reason; however, from up

Prayer is an essential to any kind of religious faith. Over the years and years of believing in a higher power,

In (Matthew 6:6 NIV), Jesus explains the merits of praying to the lord God and the reward of inner peace, “But whenever 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.” It is through this conversation with God that Christians pursue peace in their lives. Prayer can either be private or communal, spontaneous prayer is one way that charismatic communities can come closer to God. The act of prayer allows believers to have a personal conversation with God; it alleviates stress attributed to the monotony of everyday life. Besides prayer, meditation is another way of attaining inner peace, it is an ancient practice within the Christian tradition, which has undertaken a recent revival, a global group that reaffirms the concept of praying and meditating for inner peace is Taizé. Not as popular as prayer and meditation, Lectio Divina, generally known as bible studies is a way for Christians to feel connected to God and to finally attain inner peace. The studying of the sacred scriptures on a day to day basis and reflecting on prayers also maintain a continual connection with God. It is vital to maintain equilibrium between prayer and service, whereby an individual fathoms the notion ‘ora et labora’, in order to equally partake in both prayer, and the concept of action whereby ora develops inner peace, which is mirrored through the

The third movement is from illusion to prayer. Nouwen (1986) indicated that most people live their lives in an illusion that they will never die. They believe that they hold the key to all that happens in their lives. They do not put God first in their lives and they do not realize that God is in control of every aspect of their lives. There are three essentials elements to a fulfilling prayer life; the Bible, silence, and spiritual guide (Nouwen, 1986). Reading the Bible, and being silence as we mediate on the word of God. We gain understanding through the power of the Holy Spirit. These spiritual references are able to help us work through the challenges we may encounter.

The patient is encouraged to focus on the “stream of experience,” and to think of his experiences as “real life,” never questioning what this real means. a) The patient’s feelings, Screwtape says, should be twisted in such a way that he gauges his prayer’s success by the amount which his desired feelings have been fufilled. b) Praying this way destroys real prayer because the patient will begin to see prayer as an

My ancestral background belief is focused on spirituality and prayers hence, this lecture was a reinforcement towards my daily practice of prayers in my life.

Generally speaking the main idea of this area of the book emphasises the importance of sufferings and hope in the strengthening of one’s spiritual and emotional maturation. Problems outside the academic scoop but in the family and even ones health was at risk. It talked about whom they trust too amidst extreme situations that they even think of giving up but God called them and uplifted from their life aggravating situations. He reminded them that no matter how painful and hard it was towards the kingdom of success in the end it will be paid off. He said to them that put their trust on Him and be faithful because they were not alone in carrying their burdens in life God is just there writing for their call.

It also helps when people don’t know what to say, but still feel called to pray.

She writes that the soul must persevere in prayer and that “Prayer must have one aim only – this is of the utmost importance, so you must not forget it – with every ounce of determination she possesses, and regardless of the cost, she must work to make her will conform to the will of God. Know for certain that in this lies the highest perfection attainable in the spiritual path. ”6 She continues to say that our entire well being consists in doing the will of God. And as Ruth Burrows OCD in her book Interior Castle Explored tells us ‘Prayer is not self-culture but self-forgetfulness.

Prayer is our way as Christians to communicate with God, whether it is from thanking Him for all the blessing He gives us, to asking for a prayer request, to just talking to Him about how our day is going, all are ways to talk to God. In the movie the War Room, Elizabeth was a Christian, but didn’t take time to pray. But through the guidance of Clara, she was encouraged to take time and pray. One of her problems in Elizabeth’s marriage was communication and patience,

In The Sermon on the Mount sermon we find that Jesus gives us one of his most famous sermons of all times. Jesus gives us key point on how to deal with certain situation that we may come against in our everyday lives. One of the points that he speaks about is about prayer. Matthew 6:5-15

Darla disclosed that her relationship with God had became stronger the moment her mother was diagnosed with cancer. She relied on her family and friends but only prayer helped her cope with her grief. Prayer had become her medicine before and after her mother’s death because she claimed it released tension and anxiety from her. This was something that was very personal to her and had shown her that despite all the prayers for her mother, it was God’s plan to take her mother away.

Having been a Christian for many years I thought that I had a fair knowledge of what it meant to pray. I was amazed and humbled by the idea that through Jesus’ restorative act on the cross I am able to come into God’s presence - and not only come but be welcomed and even longed for. I believed that prayer is a powerful tool to petition God , a vehicle to praise Him , and an instrument to increase our intimacy with Him . I understood that people pray in a variety of ways, based on the teaching they have received, their experience, and even their personality. Most commonly, I engaged in prayer as a conversation with God.

While waiting in the Son, our responses in troublesome or anxious conditions become less emotional as we deal kindly versus harshly with people. Furthermore, our tendencies gravitate toward sitting quietly without grumbling and our confrontational nature mellows when our set of events backfire according to our plan. Our inward self, thoughts and emotions extend and lean near God for comfort and affirmation during our wait, instead of depending on others for answers only He can give.