Essay on Praying in the Bible

In Luke 11:1, the Bible tells us that the disciples of Jesus asked him to teach them how to pray.

Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples. (Luke 11:1)

Jesus used to pray on so many occasions, whenever he wanted to do something, he always prayed to God. Even though Jesus is the son of God, he saw the need to pray. For us human beings, prayers should, therefore, be a fundamental aspect of our lives. The John that the disciples were referring to was John the Baptist. John was a prayerful man, and he taught his disciples how to pray.

Jesus thus taught them the best prayer.

Luke 11:2 And he said to them, When you pray, say: Our Father, Who art in heaven. Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.

The first thing that we note is that Jesus starts by saying, when you pray showing that it is a must for all Christians to be prayerful. Jesus did not say my father, rather, he said our father showing that we should not be selfish and self-centered. Jesus showed us that we are all connected to God. Father is a caring and loving name and God loves everyone. God even loves sinners and whenever a person repents, God forgives them their sins.

The next part of the prayer is to show reverence to God. God is omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, creator of all things and controller of all things. The phrase Thy Kingdom come, has two meanings. The first meaning is that we want Gods kingdom, which is filled with love, righteousness, goodness and piety, to take center stage in our lives. The second meaning is that we are praying for the Gods kingdom, heaven, to come so that we live with Him eternally.

Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth, shows that in all our actions and doings, we should emulate how things are done in heaven. We should do everything with love, purity, kindness and good.

Luke 11:3 Give us each day our daily bread.

Jesus taught us how to communicate directly to God. This phrase means that everything we require comes from God. We should not only ask for physical nourishment but spiritual nourishment and whatever we pray for, God will grant us. Jesus said, "Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you" (Matthew 7:7). Tomorrow is not guaranteed to anyone; we should therefore pray for today and be thankful for it.

Luke 11:4a And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us

God asks to forgive those who wrong us and He will forgive us as well. It is very difficult to admit that we were wrong and it is even harder to forgive those who wrong us. Humans develop grudges and hatred towards those who wrong them. God will not forgive us if we do not forgive others. "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses" (Matthew 6:14-15)

Luke 11:4b And lead us not into temptation.God does not lead anyone into temptation (James 1:13). It is our egos and selfish nature that leads us to sin. We therefore ask God to protect us from these pitfalls and to help us resist sin, this is not an easy thing.

Luke 12: But deliver us from evil. For Thine is the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory, now and forever. Amen.

The devil always tempts us to sin and we should ask God for strength to overcome falling into these temptations. God is more powerful and if we ask for His help, He will help us. The prayer ends with a reminder that everything comes from God and that we should show appreciation and gratitude

Prayer of intercession (Isaiah 62:6-7)

Isaiah 62:6-7 says,

6 I have posted watchmen on your walls, Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night.You who call on the Lord, give yourselves no rest,7 and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth.

The speaker of these words is God Himself. Watchmen refer to angelic guardians and prophets who deliver the message of God to the people. These short phrases ask us not to cease calling out to God; that we should always be praising Him and praying to Him until Jerusalem is established. Jerusalem would also mean the kingdom of heaven. We should not cease praying until Gods kingdom comes and we live eternally. God wants us to persevere and not to stop praying until He establishes His purpose here on earth.

Jesus Take the Wheel 5 minutes

The song Jesus Take the Wheel by Carrie Underwood talks about the difficulties and challenges that a woman is going through in her life and in raising her child. She is completely overwhelmed and has lost all hope. The context of the song was over the Christmas period when Jesus was born. The woman is going to visit her parents but she is low on gas, and her faith and hope have deserted her. She is oblivious to the conditions of the road and how fast she is driving. She ends up losing control and nearly causes an accident which would kill her and the baby. It is at this moment that she realizes she cannot manage her won and calls to Jesus to help her. She asks Jesus to steer her car and life back to safety. Although she has made wrong choices in her life, she goes back to Jesus and prays for help and guidance. The narrow escape from the accident is a wakeup call, and it gets to open her eyes. She becomes religious and grateful (Lyric Interpretation, 2017).

Receiving communion

Communion was first held during the celebration of the Passover feast. The disciples were dining with Jesus, and he asks them to remember all the sacrifices that he has made. Passover is important for Christians since it is a reminder of the sacrifice that Jesus made for our sins when he died on the cross.

Bread and wine are used as the representation of the body and blood of Jesus Christ. Even though taking Holy Communion does not necessarily give us salvation right away, it is an act of worship that we should be doing. There are several bible verses which talk about communion. HYPERLINK "http://www.biblestudytools.com/passage/?q=luke+22:19-20"

Luke 22:19-20 And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me. And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.

Matthew 26:26-28 Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

1 Corinthians 11:27-29 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself

It is important to note that communion is a celebration and it is doing what Jesus did as well. Through celebrating communion, we think about Jesus Christ and the sacrifices he made for us in freeing us from sins. He died for our sins and that is the ultimate sacrifice.

Here I am lord

Here I Am Lord is a Christian hymn. The title of the song helps us remember Isaiah 6:8 which says: Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? And I said, Here am I; send me!

The song shows different attributes of God. The first one is how God is powerful. He is the creator of sea and sky, snow and rain and wind and flame. The second attribute is how God transforms whatever He wants and that He takes care of everyone, nourishes the poor and lame with the finest bread. Each stanza of the song ends with the question, Whom shall I send?but that is immediately answered with the title of the song, Here I am, Lord.

The message of the song is total surrender to the will of God. We should all be ready to do what God asks of us with hesitating. God is all powerful and He will equip us with everything that we need to succeed and be triumphant (Discipleship Ministries, 2017). Irrespective of the religion of anyone, Jesus calls us to God and we need to respond to that call. It is the responsibility of each person to spread the message of God.

References

Discipleship Ministries, History of Hymns: Here I Am, Lord. Retrieved from

https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-here-i-am-lord as at 20/9/2017

Lyric Interpretations, Carrie Underwood: Jesus Take the Wheel Meaning. Retrieved from

https://www.lyricinterpretations.com/carrie-underwood/jesus-take-the-wheel as at 20/9/2017

The Bible. Authorized King James Version, Oxford UP, 2008.