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The letter by Paul to the Hebrews tells us that faith is the assurance of things we hope for, the demonstration of things we cannot see (Hebrews 11:1). Through Christ, all is achieved, and the fullness of heaven is available to us. The purpose of this teaching is to help us grow our faith in God. The aim is to bring the truth from heaven into the reality of our daily lives.
In the gospel of Mark, Christ gives orders when He says,” Have Faith in God” and “believe that you have received it.” This shows us that faith is not something optional in the life of a disciple of Jesus. We are children of God by Faith and through the unimaginable sacrifice of Jesus, and by following our faith and repentance, we have understood that our evil deeds and sins have been forgiven. By faith, we have been saved, and through faith, we live our lives as His disciples. The word of God clearly states that without faith, it is hard or rather impossible to please God.
We must understand that faith is elementary because it is linked to our knowledge of God and our relationship with God. Christ allows us to have a conversation with Him, and day by day, we continue to know and understand him better on our journey of discipleship. Unbelief is a sin because it makes us doubt what Jesus wants and can do for us. Our lack of trust in God hinders him from taking action, which saddens him.
We trust in God and ask Him, through prayers, to act and intervene while at the same time we behave or act as if God failed to answer our prayers. We then find our words of mouth professing the opposite of what we have just confessed to God through prayer. Knowing God and then having faith in Him is accepting that He is the Almighty and that He is full of love and compassion for us, He is good and faithful, He is just, He is always present, and that everything we have is entirely through Him, (Colossians 2:10).
This knowledge from Colossians 2:10 is not something gained through reasoning or something intellectual. It is knowledge of the heart. Often we know so much about God, but in reality, we understand Him so little. Faith does not come from our intellect. It is stored in our spirit because the spirit is part of our being through which we have established our relationship with God.
If you believe in your reasoning, intelligence, and logic, you will always be disappointed because you will not discover your beliefs. On the other hand, what your spirit knows, nobody can that away from you because God has revealed it to you. This conviction will transform your life and allow you to walk on the path of God. This will stand even if you have not seen what you believe because it is already a reality.
Faith Works in both directions! You are on one side, and Jesus is on the other. First, you have to know God, which comes from experience. On His side, Christ knows us, and He sees our faithfulness and character. God knows that He can take us at our word when we ask through faith.
In the same way, Christ loves it when we take Him at His word. Mathew 8:8, the Roman centurion said, “Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed.” This is the kind of Faith Jesus wants us to have. These words stirred the admiration of Christ to the point he confessed that He has never seen anybody with such great faith in Israel. In the same way, you can stir up the admiration of Christ to you by taking Him by His word.
I will share with you a familiar story my pastor told me years back when I was still a Sunday school kid:
” A girl asked her pastor to come and pray with her dad. When he arrived, he found the girl’s father lying in bed, and there was an empty chair beside his bed. The pastor assumed that the aging man was aware of his visit. He asked, ” I guess you were expecting me, sir.” “No. I was not expecting you,” the man replied. “Who are you?” I am the pastor at your church,” he replied. “When I saw the empty chair, I assumed you knew I was coming.”
“I have never told this story to anyone, even my daughter,” said the old man. ” All my life, I have never known how to pray. I used to hear the pastor pray at the church, but all this went through my head. “I brushed off any attempt to pray,” the man explained, “until one day, a friend said to me, “prayer is just a matter of having a conversation with your God. I suggest that you sit down on a chair and place another empty chair in front of you and see Jesus seated on that chair through faith. It is not a sin because Christ promised to be always with us. Just speak to Him and listen just as you are listening to me now.”
NOTE: SEE BELOW HOW TO PRAY
So, I have tried this method, and I do it for several hours every day. I am careful because if my daughter saw me, she would think I am mentally ill”. The pastor was deeply encouraged by this story and insisted that the man continue this trend. He prayed for him, anointed him, and went back to church.
A week later, he received a call from the old man’s daughter, and she told him that her dad had passed on. “Did he die in peace?” the pastor asked. The daughter replied, ” Yes, when I left, my dad called me to his bedside, told me that he loved me, and then kissed me on the cheek. Hours later, when I got back home, I found him dead. However, his death was strange. Before he died, he had rested his head on the empty chair beside his bed. What does that mean?” The pastor smiled and said, “I wish we could all go like that.”
We live by faith, not by sight— 2 corinthians 5:7
HOW TO PRAY
Complements from the Church of Jesus Christ Of Latter Day Saints website, how to pray.
God is your loving Father in Heaven, and He wants to hear from you. You can reach out to Him by praying to Him. As His child, you can ask your Heavenly Father for help and guidance in your life.
Four steps to prayer
Praying can be done out loud or in your mind. You can speak to God like you would any other person. Your words do not have to be eloquent or memorized. It is more important to open your heart and not hold back. Believe He is there and listening, because He is. Believe He will help you, because He will.
Prayer is one the most valuable gifts you have received from your loving Heavenly Father.
1. Begin your prayer
Before you begin, find a quiet place where you feel comfortable. A good way to start is to address God by name. You could try “Dear God,” “Dear Heavenly Father,” “Our Father which art in heaven,” or simply “God.”
2. Have a conversation with God
Speak from your heart and share your hopes and desires as well as your worries and problems. You can ask God for help, direction, forgiveness, or healing. Whatever is on your mind, bring it to Him, acknowledging that His wisdom and timing is greater than yours. You can ask Him what He wants for you.
Share your feeling with God about others. You can pray for their needs or ask for ways you can love and help them.
Express appreciation to God for all the blessings in your life. Even challenges can be a blessing. Gratitude helps us feel humble, which keeps our hearts and minds more open to God’s answers.
3. End your prayer
Once you’ve said all that you wanted to say, you can end your prayer by saying, “In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.” We do this because Jesus commanded us to pray in His name.
“Therefore ye must always pray unto the Father in my name;
“And whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is right, believing that ye shall receive, behold it shall be given unto you.” —3 Nephi 18:19–20 (BOM)
Act on your righteous desires
There is wisdom in the saying, “Pray as if everything depends on the Lord, then work as if everything depends on you.” It is in the process of doing that we often get guidance and help from God.
When to pray
There is no such thing as praying too much. God wants to hear from you when you’re happy, or sad, or if you just need someone to talk to. You can pray whenever you feel like it or need it. In fact, if you don’t feel like praying, or feel like God doesn’t want to hear from you, that might be one of the best times to pray.
“For if ye would hearken unto the Spirit which teacheth a man to pray, ye would know that ye must pray.” —2 Nephi 32: (BOM)
Pray on your own and with others
You should speak with God individually and regularly. But pray with others too—during worship services, before a meal, and in family prayer. One person usually offers the prayer on behalf of the group while others listen respectfully, think of the words being said, and show their agreement by saying “amen” at the end of the prayer.Come pray with us at church
Pray throughout the day
In Psalm 55:17, King David said he would pray in the “evening, and morning, and at noon.” Typical times for personal prayer are as you start your day in the morning, before each meal, and before you go to bed at night. But there is never a wrong time to pray. God is always listening, so we can “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17).
Pray for special circumstances
There are times that call for extra prayer—like a prayer for healing, for protection, or for urgent needs. Fasting (purposefully going without food or drink for a period of time) combined with prayer helps show God your sincerity and provides spiritual strength.
Getting answers to our prayers
God promises that when we turn to Him in prayer, He will give us answers and guidance.
“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” —Matthew 7:7
God communicates with us through the Holy Spirit in the form of good thoughts and ideas or peaceful, comforting feelings. When we feel those things, it means God is encouraging us, showing us truth, and giving us direction.
Everyone will feel the Holy Spirit in their own way. In the Bible, it’s often described as a “still small voice” (see 1 Kings 19:11–12) that almost seems to whisper to your mind.
Often, God answers our prayers through others. God can put people into our lives at the right time who can give or be the answer we have been looking for. We can also get answers to prayers by reading what His prophets have taught in the Bible and Book of Mormon. When we pray and read these books, the Holy Spirit can give us personalized ideas and direction. Taking time to study His word is also a way we can show God that we truly desire an answer from Him.
The above (how to pray) Complements from “The Church of Jesus Christ Of Latter Day Saints”; website, how to pray.
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/comeuntochrist/believe/god/how-to-pray
Originally posted 2022-02-26 01:50:00.
