Although we do not understand everything about God’s providence (Esther 4:14; Rom. 11:33), faithful Christians should firmly believe in the non-miraculous providence of God today. We can ask our loving Heavenly Father for anything according to His will, and He hears and grants our requests (1 Pet. 3:12; 1 Jn. 5:14-15). Sometimes we do not know what God’s will is (such as when we are deciding where to live or what job offer to accept), and we simply pray for wisdom and for God’s will to be done (Mt.… Read more
Month: October 2024
10 Things for Which Christians Can Pray
Those who believe and obey the Gospel of Christ are blessed to have access to God the Father through His Son (Acts 2:36-42), and they may pray for things such as:
1. Forgiveness (Acts 8:22-24; Jam. 5:16; 1 Jn. 1:9)
2. Daily necessities (Matt. 6:11)
3. Deliverance from evil (Matt. 6:13)
4. Strength, boldness (Eph. 3:14-21; 6:18-19)
5. Opportunities (Col. 4:3; cf. 1 Cor. 16:9)
6. Wisdom (Jam. 1:5)
7. Other Christians (1 Thess. 5:25; Heb. 13:18)
8. Government leaders and all men (1 Tim.… Read more
The “Model Prayer” of Matthew 6 (for us)
1. Address the Father
2. Honor His name
3. Pray for the kingdom (the kingdom/church has come, but we can pray for it to spread, pray for the members, congregations, etc.)
4. Pray for God’s will to be done
5. Pray for daily necessities (“daily bread”)
6. Pray for forgiveness
7. Pray for deliverance from the evil one
8. Acknowledge God’s sovereignty and glory
9. Today we pray in Jesus’ name (John 16:23-24)
10. Say, “Amen”
Note: Jesus gave us an example of prayer, not to be quoted verbatim.… Read more
Ten Tips for Leading Public Prayers
1. Speak clearly and respectfully to God the Father in Jesus’ name
2. Use first person plural pronouns (we, us, our), not I, me, my
3. Think about your prayer in advance if possible
4. Honor prayer requests as much as possible (glancing at a note is ok)
5. If you make a mistake, fix it if possible and move on
6. Pray pertaining to the situation (Is this an opening prayer? closing prayer? prayer before communion? prayer before giving? prayer for someone to be forgiven?… Read more
A Living Faith
Works without faith = dead works (Heb. 9:14).
Faith without works = dead faith (Jam. 2:14-26).
Faith including works of obedience to God’s New Testament commands = a living faith granting salvation by God’s grace and the blood of Christ (Matt. 7:21-27; 26:28; 28:18-20; John 14:15, 21-24; 15:10, 14; Acts 2:38-41; 10:34-35, 48; 22:16; Rom. 1:5; 2:5-10; 6:3-5, 16-18; 16:26; Gal. 5:6; Eph. 2:1-19; Php. 2:12; Titus 1:16; 2:11-14; Heb. 5:9; 10:22; 1 Pet. 1:22; 3:20-21; 1 John 1:6-2:6; 5:3; Rev.… Read more