Falling Leaves
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10 Forms of Prayer
The forms of prayer are simply the various expressions of our personal life toward God that agree with the various moods or attitudes we have or choose to have. Thus the many forms of prayer are quite endless, for there are as many forms of prayer as man has characteristics of personal life—as he has moods or attitudes. Here are ten forms of prayer, which I will describe briefly:
1. The prayer of adoration. We should adore God in all our praying, but generally, this is the way we should begin our prayers (and our day)—saying, “Hallowed be Thy name.”
2. The prayer of confession. This is the only form of prayer that should come out of our lips when we have sinned. For, it is the only form (or expression) that would be true and honest. Moreover, without confession fellowship with God would be impossible.
3. The prayer of thanksgiving. We…
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Jesus and the Pharisees: from Matthew 23:23-24
This is our seventeenth study. Please click HERE for an intro to this study. Today we will look at how the Pharisees tithed.
Matthew 23:23-24
23 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices — mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law — justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. 24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.
Observations
It is a little puzzling to me why the Pharisees concentrated on the little things as the spices but neglected the larger and spiritual things. But here are my ideas. Maybe they thought people would be impressed with them, that they were so diligent in giving a tenth of their spices; or maybe it was all they knew how to do; they were just doing things as they were taught. As for neglecting the larger things of justice, mercy and faith, I suggest that it was because they were unconverted and they did not understand those spiritual things (1 Cor. 2:14).
Application
We should regard first the things of the Spirit and His kingdom. First give your life totally to Him and then He will direct you in what else to do. Never do things to impress people, but only to obey God in love.
Jesus and the Pharisees: from Matthew 23:13-15
This is our sixteenth study. Please click HERE for an intro to this study. Today we will look at how evil the Pharisees were.
Matthew 23:13, 15
13 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.
15 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.
Observations
The Pharisees must have known how to enter heaven, or else they would not know how to shut it off to others. It wasn’t out of ignorance that they missed heaven. They plain out rejected it. And when they made converts, they made them not for heaven but for hell. It sounds to me like they had some kind of a bitterness against God and His Son that they would be so rejecting of God.
Application
Beware of this kind of teacher. And stir others away from this kind of teacher, who will try to keep them from true conversion to God.
9 Descriptions of Prayer by Various Authors
Prayer is so very basic, yet it is also so deep and boundless in it meaning. In my reading I have found nine different descriptions of prayer.
1. Prayer is asking and receiving. According to E.M. Bounds, “Prayer is the outstretched arms of the child for the Father’s help. Prayer is the child’s cry calling to the Father’s ear…Prayer is the seeking of God’s greatest good, which will not come if we do not pray.”
Matthew 7:7-8 says, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”
Again E. M. Bounds writes, “Prayer is asking, seeking and knocking at a door for something we have not, which we desire, and which God has promised to us…Prayer is the voice of need crying out to Him who is inexhaustible in resources. Prayer is helplessness reposing with childlike confidence on…
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The News: Is Changing the Channel the Solution?
Changing the news channel is the solution to so many conservatives these days. I can see how that will reduce your stress and give you peace. But is that the real solution? Can you really go through life without knowing what’s going on in the world? Doesn’t God want you to be aware of things so you can pray intelligently? Isn’t it our Christian duty to try to make our country and our world a better place? If we are commanded by God to pray for our leaders, should we not also know what to pray for them (1 Tim. 2:2)?
I know that almost all of the news these days is slanted toward the left side. But there are things we can do. When I read the newspaper, I generally just read the title and only as much as I can stand. And I always talk to myself about it and ask questions. Here are four articles headlines I read—with my comments and questions.
Parents relieved as Pfizer seeks child vaccine approval
–But how many parents really want this?
Trump tried to pressure atty. General
—Yes, he was trying to do what’s right! He was trying to stop the election fraud! Is anyone tired of all the Trump bashing?
Senate Ok’s temporary debt limit extension
–Is that really good news? Do we really want more debt?
Biden makes case for vaccine requirements
—Is that good to take away our freedom?
I think it is important to ask questions. Also, I think it is important to have alternative news sources—other than the mainstream sources. Fox news is still fairly good. I know that they have tried to plug in those liberal voices to make it fair or something, but you have a brain and you can see what voices are the best.
Check your radio stations. Here in Minnesota, there are a number of channels that have more conservative voices. Here is a list of them that I think are fairly good.
- Clay Travis and Buck Sexton program (they are replacements to Rush Limbaugh)
- Sean Hannity show
- Jay Sekulow
Tree Graveyards
Three Types of Petitions—from the Disciples Prayer
The following article is an excerpt from this book.
When we look at the Disciples Prayer (or The Lord’s Prayer), I believe we see three types of petitions that Jesus taught (Matthew 6:8-13).
1. Invocation
We get this idea from the first three requests: “Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name; Your Kingdom come; Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
This first type of petition, according to Jennings, is the invocation of our prayer; it is the summoning of the Spirit of God that He would come to us and be God to us, to help us pray and do His will.5
Yes, it is asking Him to help us pray that His name be hallowed–let Your name be hallowed. And bring your kingdom to us; and bring your will to us.
But it is even more than that. It is asking…
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Update: Life Changes
Church change. I have been praying about this and churning it over in my mind for a few months. And I finely now have made the change. I feel a little sad about it—not to see certain folks regularly. But I feel I must move on to what I think is the right move. I’m not going to talk about the reasons, but there are doctrinal reasons. So, I feel that I am following the Lord, but yet I am sad. I feel a peace about it. Yet I know there will be struggles, and I must endure them and push on.
Working less. This last summer I worked much more that I figured I would. And I was suffering in the heat—90-degree heat for many days. I think I have to push myself to slow down. I have resolved to take more days off between jobs—I’m a house painter; semi-retired. And I will take only easy jobs. I will not quit working completely, because I really like what I do. But I also like days off and having time to write and read more, etc.
Health issues. I’m finding that I’m having more and more health issues—because of my age I suppose. But it is also a challenge to concentrate more on good eating habits and regular exercise, etc. Nobody wants to be sick—unless you have a death wish. I know that much sickness in people is because of heredity. But we can’t use that as an excuse. We all, especially us older folks, must work extra hard to keep ourselves healthy—watch our diet, exercise, and deal with any illnesses. And I find that daily prayer is very helpful. I follow the Jabez prayer. Why not? He prayed that God would bless him and keep him from harm (1 Chron. 4:10).
More Fall Colors
