I know that I still have to give you the second half of my E-Women Conference notes, but since it is finals week, my life has been a little crazy lately and I'm writing this on my best friends couch at almost 1AM without my notes so I figured now would be a good time to write what's been playing in my head for a couple weeks now
But before I launch in to the main topic, left me first say Happy Easter. Isn't it a blessing that we can celebrate His Resurrection? And more than that, Isn't the Resurrection just a breathtaking miracle in and of itself?
I am finishing up a speech class tomorrow, and during the semester I have heard some very interesting speeches. One of these speeches was a comparison on Pagan and Christian holidays. During this girl's speech she mentioned spells saying that they were attempts to manipulate the energy and world around you by the things you say, like prayer for a Christian. This, of course, didn't sit well with me. Is this really what the rest of the world thinks about prayer? Then I remembered that the girl had said that she was raised in the church and met a pagan friend in high school who taught her about the pagan holidays. Do the very people in the church know so little about prayer that their children will think that a prayer is simply our version of casting spells? Is that how much understanding we have of our faith?
So what is prayer?
According to dictionary.com:
prayer
1.
a devout petition to god or an object of worship.
2.
interchange or sharing of thoughts or emotions; intimate communication
9 "Therefore, you should pray like this: Our Father in heaven,
Your name be honored as holy.
10 Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And do not bring us into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.
[For Yours is the kingdom and the power
and the glory forever. Amen.]
There is a reason why Jesus prayed first to give praise (Vs. 9), then to accept the Father's will (Vs. 10) then to ask for what he needed physically (Vs. 11), then for forgiveness (Vs. 12), then guidance (Vs. 13a) and finally to praise once more. (Vs. 13b).
This is the prayer that Jesus told us to model our own prayers after. Not once does He try to manipulate the world around him. Instead, he accepts the Father's wisdom and guidance and fully submits to His plan. Those who practice spells aren't submitting to God. They are trying to change things on their own accord. And quite frankly, that is the polar opposite of prayer.
Your Fellow Water Walker,
Ashlee
a spiritual communion with God or an object of worship, as in supplication, thanksgiving, adoration, or confession.
By it's very definition, Prayer is a petition, a communion. An
Prayer is not a human attempt at manipulation of the physical world. Prayer is a conversation with the Maker, asking for guidance or offering thanksgiving or praise or confessing your sins. Even when we are wanting to change the outcome of our circumstances, prayer should be us asking God what his will is and requesting that He show us the way.
Just think about the Lord's Prayer in Matthew 6:9-13:
Your name be honored as holy.
10 Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And do not bring us into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.
[For Yours is the kingdom and the power
and the glory forever. Amen.]
There is a reason why Jesus prayed first to give praise (Vs. 9), then to accept the Father's will (Vs. 10) then to ask for what he needed physically (Vs. 11), then for forgiveness (Vs. 12), then guidance (Vs. 13a) and finally to praise once more. (Vs. 13b).
This is the prayer that Jesus told us to model our own prayers after. Not once does He try to manipulate the world around him. Instead, he accepts the Father's wisdom and guidance and fully submits to His plan. Those who practice spells aren't submitting to God. They are trying to change things on their own accord. And quite frankly, that is the polar opposite of prayer.
Your Fellow Water Walker,
Ashlee
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