A Key Christian Belief Essay Example For Students

A Key Christian Belief Essay Prayer is a universal human experience. There is not a culture in the world that does not have some means of prayer, some way of communicating with the Divine. That is why I have chosen to examine prayer. Prayer is one of the key beliefs of Christians. Prayer illuminates our relationship with God and allows us to express our love for Him, our faith and hope in Him. We have the opportunity to share our concerns, fears, needs and desires with the Almighty. The quality of our prayer life is directly related to the quality of our spiritual life and our knowledge of God. If we understand the purpose of prayer and its components, we are able to strive towards enhancing our prayer life where it becomes rich and fulfilling. When we develop our prayer life, we develop a stronger and deeper relationship with God; our prayers become our point of power. Pray is a means of communicating with God. Aside from studying the Word of God, prayer is a method used to help us develop a relationship with G od and also to know His will for our lives. Prayer is the privilege of speaking and listening to God. Eastons Bible Dictionary defines prayer as conversation with God; the intercourse of the soul with God, not in contemplation or meditation, but in direct address to him. Prayer may be oral or mental, occasional or constant, ejaculatory; or formal. It is a beseeching the Lord (Ex. 32:11); pouring out the soul before the Lord (1 Sam. 1:15); praying and crying to heaven (2 Chr. 32:20); seeking unto God and making supplication (Job 8:5); drawing near to God (Ps. 73:28); and bowing the knees (Eph. 3:14). There are four components of prayer: worship or praise, confession, thanksgiving and supplication. Praise is an acknowledgement of Gods goodness, greatness, and loving kindness. After King David assembled the building materials for the future temple, he declared, Yours, O Lord, are the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory and the majesty; yours is the kingdom (1 Chr 29:11). Kind David was praising God. He was acknowledging Gods goodness and greatness because even though he was building a temple to offer to God, he knew that only by Gods greatness is he able. According to Fee and Stuart (1993), God deserves praise for his greatness and goodness in spite of and in the midst of our misery. This life holds no certainty of freedom from distress (p. 205). Christians pray to confess their sins. Confession might be defined as telling God the truth about oneself. Confession is the process of bringing the darkness of ones faults to the light of Gods forgiveness. If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened (Psalm 66:18). This means that one must not only confess ones sins but one most also repent. When the Lord convicts us of sin, we need to own it, confess it, and then believe in Gods willingness to forgive us. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are justified in your sentence and blameless when you pass judgment (Psalms 51). This Psalm is Davids prayer to God after Nathan condemns him for killing Uriah the Hittite and then making Uriahs wife his wife. The Bible tells Christians to give God thanks for everything. It is very important to thank God when He has answered a prayer. In Deuteronomy 8:17-18, Moses said, Do not say to yourself, My power and the might of my own hand have gotten me this wealth. But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth. Moses was warning the Israelites not to forget God in Prosperity and that they should thank God for bringing them out of Egypt. Finally, Christians pray for supplication. There are two types of supplication: petition and intercession. Petition means to ask for our own needs. Jesus said, So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you (Luke 11:9). Jesus was telling his disciples to persevere in prayer and God will give them what they ask. God invites us to ask Him to meet our needs and even our wants. Medicinal Marijuana EssayIn addition, relationship is dependent on communication. Our relationship with God, or anyone, will never grow and develop without communication. Prayer should not be used only as a way of getting what we want from God; a method of solving our problems or having our needs met. The main purpose and the power of prayer are in the relationship between God and man. Prayer is one of the most important beliefs of Christians. Prayer helps us to develop a relationship with God. Pray keeps us connected with God. Prayer is an intimate communication between an individual and God. There are four basic elements to prayer: worship, thanksgiving, confession and supplication. When we pray in worship, we are praise God for being a loving, caring and great God. We pray in thanksgiving to give thanks to God for all the blessings he has bestow on us. We pray to confess our sins to God and to ask for his forgiveness. Finally, we pray when we need or want something for ourselves or for others. In addition, when we pray, we should follow Jesus example by praying at all times and praying for Gods will to be done. Also, we should have faith when we pray. We should also be comfortable and truthful in our communication with God. The meaning and the concept of prayer have not changed. However, I dont believe we, as Christians, pray as often as we should. Not many of us spend time in prayer. We believe in the power and importance of prayer but just dont seem to do enough of it. We dont pray enough for several reasons. A few of the reasons are as follows: First, we dont want anything. Too many of us lead satisfied, complacent lives. Other than an occasional problem or two, things go pretty well for us in our comfortable homes and churches. We have money, houses and quite a few other material things. Why pray a lot when we got basically everything we want? Second, we dont care enough about others. We say Good morning and Have a nice day to people at work and at church, and we commiserate with our neighbor about the yard and the weather, but thats about as far as it goes. We dont care enough about others to go beyond bland superficiality, so we dont pray for them much. Third, we are too busy. Whether it is becaus e of our jobs, the kids or our social life, must of us are too busy to take time to pray. Especially since we have basically everything we want. In addition, some of us dont have time to attend Church on Sundays. How could we neglect one of the most blessed things that God has given to us? How is it possible for us as Christians to go for weeks, months and maybe even years without really taking the time for prayer? I believe it is because the world system has distorted our thinking. We are more concerned with our jobs, our families or friends and our activitiesour own plans, than our spirituality and prayer. However, we need to keep God central in our life. Otherwise, we will miss His plan. Bibliography:Barth, K. (1985). Prayer. Philadelphia, PA: The Westminster Press. Carey, G. (1996). The Bible for Everyday Life. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. Easton Bible Dictionary. (Online). www.interhack.net/projects/library/easton/Fee, G. D. ; Stuart, D. (1993). How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth. 2ed. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House. Foster, R. J. (1992). Prayer: Finding the Hearts True Home. New York: HarperCollins Publishers. Lustiger, J. M. (1987). First Steps in Prayer. New York: Doubleday. The Holy Bible. New Revised Standard Version. (1989). New York: American Bible Society