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Many Christians consider prayer only as the channel through which we can
communicate our needs to God. While prayer does provide an opportunity for this
human need, it is only one aspect of prayer. The Bible gives us many examples of
prayer offered by the saints to express a variety of needs. Abraham’s prayer
for a son (Gen 15:1-6, David’s prayer for God’s favor (2 Sam.
7:18-29), Elijah’s prayer for triumph over evil (Baal) (1 Kings
18:36-38), Hezekiah’s prayer for victory (2 Kings 19:15-19),
Habakkuk’s prayer for revival (Hab 3:1-19), the early Church’s prayer
for great manifestation of God’s power (Acts 4:23-30), apostle Paul’s prayer
for the fellow believers in Ephesus (Eph. 3:14-21) are only few
examples.
A closer examination of the above examples of prayer will convince us that
prayer involves much more than making our needs known to God. Prayer in its
highest form is an expression of the innate need of our spirit to rise
heavenward and commune with God. It is an acknowledgement of the sovereign will
and purpose of God. It is at the same time a confession of our nothingness and
God’s omnipotence to meet every need of our children. When prayer is
understood from this perspective, it will be easier to see its relevance to
worship.
The Scriptures clearly teach that prayer, whether it is personal or
intercessory, must be offered to God with thanksgiving (Eph. 5:20; Phil. 4:6;
Col. 3:15,17; 1 Thes. 5:18). Some of the prayers of Paul, as well as his
doctrinal treatment of certain topics, are highly seasoned with thanksgiving and
hymns of praise (Rom 11:33-36; Eph 1:16-23; 3:14-21). Such prayers are nothing
short of real adoration and worship of the Lord of heaven and earth!
If you would like our church to pray for anything specific, please fill in the
prayer request form below.
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