Hot answers tagged prayer
14
The closest would be the model prayer given in Matthew chapter 6 as part of the Sermon on the Mount. This prayer is understood by most to be an example, or model, rather than something to be repeated verbatim.
So, no, there are no specific mandatory prayers given in scripture, other than that we are to pray — and to pray without ceasing. Mandatory ...
9
There is definitely precedent:
As Christians, we should be following the example set by Christ, who gave thanks before feeding the multitudes in Matthew 14:19-21 and Matthew 15:34-36. He also did so in Luke 24:30.
Matthew 14:19-21
King James Version (KJV)
19 And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took
the five loaves, ...
8
Muslims believe Allah and Jehovah are One
From the perspective of the Muslim, when they are praying to Allah, they believe they are praying to the same person whom Christians would call God.
And do not dispute with the followers of the Book except by what is best, except those of them who act unjustly, and say: We believe in that which has been revealed ...
8
Key to answering this question is that no mainstream Christian denomination thinks they are actually worshipping any person other than the Triune Godhead - God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
From the outside, however, accusations are often made in this regard.
To the uninitiated, veneration of the Saints can look like worship.
To the ...
7
Realistically, there are just 4 possibilities:
Christians and Moslems are praying to the same God. We all basically believe the same things and believe in the same God.
Christians and Moslems are praying to the same God. One or the other (or both) have wrong and confused ideas about God, but God is understanding of our ignorance.
There is more than one ...
7
My understanding from growing up in an Anglican church:
We pray to God the Father. He is the one that answers our prayers. Not a perfect verse for this, but the only one I could think of:
“Again, truly I [Jesus] tell you that if two of you on earth agree
about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in
heaven" (Matthew 18:19 ...
7
Indeed, Jesus did prayer to his Father, as His Father.
John 17
“Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. ...
7
Very interesting question! One thing you might want to think about specifically with regard to finding examples in the Bible is visions -- those are usually God communicating to us, but it's a similar type of thing -- what is often done with words is instead done with images. Ezekiel's vision of the valley of the dry bones, for example.
If you're ...
7
To which Saints may a Catholic pray, and when can this begin?
Actually a catholic can privately pray to anyone whom he/she thinks can intercede on their behalf. In fact Catholics do not see any difference in asking you to pray for me and asking my dead grandma (if I believe she is in heaven) to pray for me.
Is it restricted to only those who are designated ...
6
St. Joseph is the terror of Demons because all of demons effort is nullified if one seeks refuge to St. Joseph and also because he is pure, and demons cannot stand against his purity.
Even though there is no official dogmatic pronunciation in this regard by the Catholic church, numerous private revelationsexample and traditions have held that St. Joseph, ...
5
When the believer in your example prays, he (or she) is acknowledging his weakness and inability before God, and calling out to God for help. In so doing he is drawn closer into relationship with God. Praying in this circumstance provides practice of thinking about God in the right way, which can a have a lasting effect on the state of mind the one who ...
5
The key issue is not what is in the prayers, but that the prayers are repetitive. It seems to follow from this that prayers would not arise from a person's heart. Protestants generally believe pretty strongly that prayer should be spontaneous from a person's heart--not words that someone else wrote for them to read or recite.
In the Sermon on the Mount, ...
5
This may not be completely answerable in a way that applies to all Protestants, but I'm going to put forth an answer that I believe will apply to a large swath of protestant belief.
The generally accepted Protestant understanding of what prayer is can be found at http://www.whatchristianswanttoknow.com/10-prayer-tips-how-to-talk-to-god/
Prayer is simply ...
5
I am unaware of any protestant denominations that have a special focus on contemplative prayer, but I'm also unaware of any that outright ban it. In my experience it is practiced only by a minority of Protestants, and that they are spread throughout many denominations. Of course it is practiced only by a minority of Catholics too.
A good place to start is ...
4
Some early forms of Rosary were known before 1200, although they were probably not as popular as from 13th century on. Jesus prayer popular in Orthodox church was definitely known. Angelus is prayed outside monasteries since 13th century. Way of the Cross is even younger. Wikipedia article on novena is a stub and brief search didn't find anything much ...
4
Short answer: yes, He can forgive if we make a vow and fall short. I'd specify that this is from [insert denomination] perspective, but I think this is agreed upon by all mainstream denominations.
Longer answer, with support:
Yes. Even to those that believe you can "lose your salvation", you can repent and confess it. To those that don't believe you can ...
4
Yep, I just looked on amazon.co.uk to find the Divine Office published by Harper Collins for the use in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, etc... Didn't have a preview or anything, but I did find this which says:
Psalms are from the 1963 version of the Grail Psalter.
4
I'll answer for the Catholic position. According to the Catholic position, Muslims can be said to pray to the one God. For example, the Catholic Church will say the following about Jews, Muslims and all others who are unaware of the Trinity but worship One God -
"Finally, those who have not yet received the Gospel are related in
various ways to the ...
4
It's not a prayer for the Pope; it's a prayer for the intention of the Pope.
From the Enchiridion of Indulgences issued on 29 June 1968:
26. To acquire a plenary indulgence it is necessary to perform the work to which the indulgence is attached and to fulfill the following three conditions:
• sacramental confession,
• Eucharistic ...
4
You are presenting a false dichotomy. "Prays to" does not mean "worships", and, along those lines, "worship" does not always mean what we think of when we think of "worship."
If by "worship" you mean "provides honor due to God" then I will say that it is sinful to place a Saint at so high a level. Perhaps this is what happened when John saw the Angel. If by ...
3
The subject of prayer during the reformation also took on a revised meaning. The reference I think best illustrates this is John Owen’s Works Volume 4 - ‘A Discourse of The Work of The Holy Spirit in Prayer; With a Brief Inquiry into the Nature and Use of Mental Prayer and Forms.’
In this work Owen makes several key concepts, which to me, represent the ...
3
To Catholics, observance of the Sabbath as mandated by the 3rd commandment:
Remember the sabbath day—keep it holy. Six days you may labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God.f You shall not do any work, either you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your work animal, or the resident alien within ...
3
The Church’s relationship with Muslims. The plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator, in the first place among whom are the Muslims; these profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful God, mankind's judge on the last day (Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 841, quoting Lumen Gentium ...
3
"Should" is going to be contingent upon your faith. I don't pray to an all powerful mystical being that is ready to cast me in to the pit of brimstone and fire... I pray to a loving Heavenly Father, on my knees and with a bowed head, and in the name of Jesus Christ.
To me, prayer is an act of the the will of the Father and the will of the child converging. ...
3
We pray to our heavenly Father, in Jesus' name, for several reasons (most reasoning sourced here):
We are told to address all prayer to God the Father. (see also 1 Peter 1:17 and Ephesians 3:14)
This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,' (Matthew 6:9)
We can only approach the Father in the name of Jesus, the ...
3
As @Matt said it's not that significant because they can be used interchangeably (and are both used, I use our in prayer all the time when with other people).
I wanted to address your comment to Matt's answer.
Heavenly Father is used so often in a indirect manner because of the personal relationship LDS feel they have with God.
If I was talking to my ...
2
The confusion comes in when we conflate "salvation" with "ending up in Heaven for eternity."
"Salvation" has three meanings in Scripture:
Initial conversion (being "born again")
Sanctification (of believers)
Ultimate redemption (resurrection, etc.)
It is clear that the first two can happen without the person necessarily ending up in Heaven for eternity, ...
2
You have to remember that the Old Testament canon was not set by Christians. but Jews. The RCC Old Testament canon is that of the Septuagint, a Greek translation of the Jewish Holy Scriptures done by Jews in the third century before Christ, and by extension, before the church was even thought of. Back then, the Jewish canon obviously included these extra ...
2
the author left God out on purpose. It is not a mystery. Just read a bit about the meaning of the story and the literary style. It is pretty evident that it is a literary technique.
The RCC version of Esther has been shown to be invalid, as we all now know that God was added into the book hundreds of years later. Not to mention that doing so totally ...
2
We know that God listens to and answers our prayers:
Matthew 7:7: "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the
door will be opened to you."
John 14:13: "And whatever you ask in my name, I will do it, so that the Father may
be glorified in the Son."
Psalm 116:1: "I love the LORD because he hears and answers my prayers."
Matthew ...
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