Time For Prayer: The Importance Of Prayer

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,

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.

Prayer is the most power thing you have in your toolbox. There are so many things you can do true this thing we call prayer. Prayer can get you out of trouble even when people are trying to put in you trouble. As we look at our text today we see that now the administrators and people over power over the land have produced a law that makes it basically illegal to pray to anyone other then kind Darius for 30days. The

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.

For Judaism, the word “pray” means “divine” and emphasizes the One to whom prayer is director. With Jewish, prayer is an integral part of everyday life. One of the purposes of prayer is to increase their awareness of God in their life, and the role that God plays in their life. The most important part of any Jewish prayer is the introspection it provides, the moment that they spend looking inside ourselves, seeing their role in the universe and their relationship to God. For Islam, the main purpose of prayer is to lead one to do good, to refrain from evil and to behave better towards others.

Prayer is often a thing that is neglected because of various reasons. We are told in Romans 12:12 to “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” This is similar to Matthew 6: 5-8, which talks about how and where to pray. “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” After explaining this, Jesus says the Lord’s Prayer and talks about forgiveness. Prayer is very crucial part in your relationship with God. Through prayer, you are able to talk to God and tell him about your fears and struggles. This is why you should be devoted and faithful in prayer.

​Prayer presupposes a belief in the personality of God and His power to control all things. Prayer is not a means of informing an omniscient God. Prayer involves the bowing of heads and acknowledging our need for God in our lives.

Prayer is a vehicle through which Jesus is able to nurture and sustain a relationship with God which further provides a source of his wellbeing and inner peace. Christians try to emulate Jesus’ devotion to prayer in order to achieve the same sense of peace and serenity. Prayer is an opportunity to reflect on past events to gain strength to face and overcome challenges of internal conflict. Ministry is seen as the practical expression of the life of prayer and an essential adjunct to the contemplative

Cyzewski makes a great point in chapter 7 when he says “ Theology without prayer is like trying to drive without gas or a destination.” I have heard this before and it is true. Prayer is the glue that holds our relationship with God together. I view prayer as a key element to having a deep meaningful relationship with God. In church when I was younger I heard more sermons than I can count on the importance of prayer. Ranging from praying in public, to praying with others and how prayer keeps your connection with God close.

Johann Baptist Metz approach the fundamental attributions of the courage to pray. As it relates to the historical union of prayer, the significances of prayer, and how mankind resist prayer today. He describes how historians implemented prayer into their daily life’s. Despite, trial and tribulations and countless victories they still called upon God. However, today it has been determined that many traditions are neglected by human beings. Karl Rahner discussed the good advantageous to pray to the saints. He also particularized his views on why some find it difficult to pray.

But for argumentation praying can be used for other things too other than an emotional state other than hope. Prayer could be used to say you pray to be financially stable in your life. Like if your in debt or times are extremely tough with paying for rent you can hold on to prayer and pray that some things pull through as in you pray that something positive will happen. A perfect example for prayer when you see a homeless person who are on the streets who have nothing for themselves so they hold on to prayer. A quick story to get a better understanding of this word is a customer once walked into McDonald's and asked for a sandwich and was denied because did not have enough money so another customer who overheard him get denied ordered him an entire meal and give him the change of $20.The kind man said “God bless you I PRAY all will be well with you.” And the homeless man replied “Prayer is all I have thank you good sir” with a smile on his face. Having a

While attending Korean reformed church, I could redefine Christian worldview based on the Bible; through this work, I saw the diversity of truth because the truth could apply everything, but one of the most significant understand would be knowing the worth of prayer. Through praying, I could confess my sin honestly, and could find my sinful nature again. The reason is that I had been trembling because of the punishment of God, so I repented my sin, but the problem was that I prayed for myself not for God even while I was confessing my sin. Nevertheless, God did not let me perish; let me understood this limitation of sinful man, and let me spiritually communicate with Him as praying. Therefore, personally, the prayer always makes me remind

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.