Theological Response Paper: Addicted To Hurry. Hurry Hurts.

You may wonder what type of prayer arouses GOD 'S attention and get results. Effective prayer is direct communication with GOD. It acknowledges individual faith in a power higher than oneself who can help, guide and bring comfort. Many see prayer as weak, spineless and the last resort of out of touch people in over their heads. I beg to differ. Prayer is the very first tactic of powerful, resourceful people living in complete dependence on GOD.

According to Thomas Keating, “Contemplative prayer is a conversation initiated by God and leading, if we consent to a divine union. It is the way to pure faith.” Unlike with vocal prayers, in which we call out to God asking for things we need, with contemplative prayer our role is to allow God to be God. In other words, God directs Contemplative prayer, His grace opens our hearts and minds to the His presence inside us. Consequently, contemplative prayer begins with a centering prayer, which is a silent prayer that prepares us to receive the gift of contemplative prayer. Keating noted that, “Centering prayer is an effort to renew the teaching of the Christian tradition of contemplative prayer.” Similar to other methods of prayer, the foundation of centering prayer is the Triune God. Keating noted that, “The practice is based on the wisdom saying of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount.” The scripture reads, “But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you” (Matt. 6:6). Practicing contemplative prayer will strengthen our spiritual commitment and enrich our personal lives. I will discuss the origin, methods and benefits of contemplative prayer.

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

I believe Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) (2016) describes Intercessory prayer the best as “Intercession is prayer that pleads with God for your needs and the needs of others. But it is also much more than that. Intercession involves taking hold of God's will and refusing to let go until His will comes to pass” (para. 3). As a Christian, this day and time providing intercessory of prayer for your needs or needs of others can be a battle. It is truly a spiritual battle that takes place in our own lives and the lives of others. So many time I personally, get caught up in the events of the day or the worries of the day and I fail to truly apply myself and pray with my whole heart and soul. My prayers all too often seem to be routine daily

From introductions to soulmates, communication is essential at all stages of a human relationship. In the same way, it is communication with God is a required part of our walk with him. It is easy to look at this aspect of the Christian life and view it as a chore. However, we should not view prayer as an obligation we need to fulfill, but as a blessing we are able to enjoy. While there is no correct way to pray, there are guidelines that can be followed to make your prayer life richer than it would be otherwise. These strategies can be found in Paul’s writings to the church at Ephesus and through the prayer method represented by the acronym ACTS.

As seamless as it may appear at times, an enormous amount of strength and resilience requires us to wait in our relationship with God, ourselves, and other people. Waiting for certain situations to evolve or disappear in our lives can be extremely problematic or stressful, especially considering our limited definition of waiting, which is this continual reiteration of delays that we perceive hinders our personal fulfillment. At times, we are intellectually or spiritually deficient in the knowledge of His purpose for our lives. The pleasures fashioned by the world flash before our eyes, alluring us to hunger, then thirst for our every need or desire, to be obvious and painless; causing this business of waiting to become at times burdensome or mysterious, then at other times frightening to our feeble mind.

Prayer is not intended to be just a part or segment of overall ministry, but is to be a foundation under all that we do. This seminar is for leaders, department heads, intercessors and all those who are part of the congregation or ministry. Our goal is to allow the Holy Spirit to take each individual and the entire ministry to the next exciting level in prayer as we develop an understanding of a culture of prayer.

I myself am a sinner who by the grace of God has been saved and being imperfect have many current and past weaknesses (Fischer). Because Jesus is perfect and my Savior and King it has only been through Him in which I have been able to overcome many weaknesses in my life. A major weakness that Jesus helped me overcome was that of stress, anxiety, and having to be in control over everything in life, especially in work. The Holy Spirit has worked on me in the following ways. With my issue with control, which still comes up from time to time, The Lord specifically spoke to me and told me that, instead of asking Him to show me in situations what I wanted to do with my life, to ask Him to put me where He wanted me to be in life. God who is all knowing and all powerful made me uniquely with a unique set of strengths to serve Him (Fischer). This was an amazing regulation from The Lord and by putting this in practice I ceased to stress about the every day items, as well as what my next career move should be etc. as I was fully putting it in the Lord’s hand’s instead of trying to make my own path and tell the Lord what I wanted, instead of seeking the Lord’s will for me. Another weakness that the Lord gave me victory over was that of anxiety with work. I would always not only stress about my job, but bring my worries

Christopher Raines, I appreciate your emphasis upon prayer. It is something I myself often emphasize while talking with others and think it is a critical aspect of the Christian’s life, both leader and follower. I often see posts on Facebook and hear people saying things like “I’ll pray for you” or “I’m praying”, and while I appreciate the sentiment it is often only that, a sentiment. Saying “I’ll pray for you” has, for many, become just a nice though, what they are really saying is “I’m thinking about you” but prayer is much more than sentiment.

If we pray without unceasing, it will help to protect us from evil. We are always in danger of being tempted. Luther teaches us that in the Lord ’s Prayer it says, “and lead us not into temptation.” So we say””keep us fit and alert, eager and diligent in thy work and service….” There is no position in life in which we may not be assaulted by the enemy. Therefore pray without ceasing. If a man who is going along a dark road where he knows that there are robbers, he will equip himself with weapons. He may have a sword with him in his hand to let the robbers know that he is ready for them. So as Christian, we pray without ceasing - carry our sword which is prayer. As we are tempted without ceasing, so we should pray without ceasing.

“Prayer is essential in the Christian's life. Without it efforts to witness will be far less effective, and will be far more vulnerable to the enemy. When witnessing, the support of the Lord is needed. Fellowship with the Lord is required for evangelism to be successful. Prayer makes this all possible.” (Slick 2015)

I mean, I try to pray everyday, but usually I either forget or feel too rushed to finish. This form of prayer was deep and thoughtful. I also began to think about things. My life, my family, my schoolwork, you name it. I actually ended up finding myself going between these deep thoughts and prayer, almost like I was praying for the things that I was pondering. Asking for help and strength on certain matters; apologizing and asking forgiveness for some of my actions; thanking and praising God for other things. I grew up in a Catholic home and attended church with my family each week. However, since beginning college, my attendance at weekly services has become fewer and farther between. I enjoyed being able to use this time to what I

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.