Despite the flexibility of Christian prayer, it is not to be used to put on a show: “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by men. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. And in praying do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for their many words.” Matthew ch 6 v 5 - 7
From this, we see that prayer is a very private union between Christians and God. However, there is also reference in the Bible to the importance of praying together and fellowship: “...not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”
Christians need not feel selfish when praying for their own needs. “Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ” Philippians ch 4 v 6
God wants to meet His people's needs, and it seems all we must do is ask. The Bible teaches that there is great power in praying for the needs of others, as well as our own. “And the prayer of faith will save the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.” James ch 5 v 15
Prayer is a gift from God. When Christians exercise a little faith and devotion, God is delighted to meet their needs. This characteristic of prayer reflects the personality of God beautifully and further demonstrates his uniqueness and love.
Explain how praying affects the life of individual Christians and the life of the Church as a whole. (AO2)
Prayer, by its very nature draws the believer out of themselves and away from the noise and distraction of the world. As many activities involve and develop the body, prayer develops and strengthens the spirit of a person. The world’s attitude towards money is also very different to what the Bible demands of Christians. “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” Matthew ch 6 v 24
1 Timothy ch 6 v 9 – 10 demonstrates the contradicting views of God and the world on money: “But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and hurtful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all evils; it is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced their hearts with many pangs.” This is a demonstration of how prayer may lead to a change in a person’s view on worldly possessions and priorities.
When Christians pray they adore (worship) God, they confess their sins, they thank God and they ask Him to meet their needs (supplication). A helpful way to remember these aspects of prayer is by using the acrostic ACTS.
The Lord’s Prayer immediately affects prejudiced attitudes. The opening words state “Our Father”. This is a bold declaration of God’s love for all people. This kind of universal acceptance is also exhibited in the most famous Bible verse – John ch 3 v 16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” In the Lord’s Prayer, it says “forgive us our sins as we forgive them who sin against us”. This affects Christians directly, as they become acutely aware of any unforgiveness towards others in their lives when they come to God in prayer.
A Christian’s personal life and life within a community is deeply affected by prayer and the teachings of Jesus. The Ten Commandments can all be included in just two simpler teachings. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” Luke ch 10 v 27
Just by praying, the believer is giving their time to God, which demonstrates a love for Him. In this way, Christians are fulfilling the first and most important commandment – to love God. By doing this, the believer is experiencing God who is love. “We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.” 1 John 4:16
This experience of God’s love through prayer changes the believer enabling them to love others, and so fulfil the second greatest commandment – to love others as they love themselves.
“It is illogical for Christians living in a scientific age to pray.” Do you agree? Give reasons for your answer, showing that you have considered more than one point of view. (AO3)
Modern day science would suggest that religion is an illogical activity. Science deals with hard facts and tangible evidence. There are rarely elements of “faith” in scientific theories. If there are, they are swiftly proved or disproved. Therefore, for a generation growing up with ever developing scientific methods and discoveries, belief or faith in a god in general seems like a waste of time to many. Even more doubtful is communication with that being, even if they do exist!
The effect prayer has on people’s lives is evidence in itself. Sometimes people are healed, and the only explanation that scientifically minded doctors can come up with is that the person has been healed by prayer.
I am of the opinion that science and Christianity validate each other. The general uninformed opinion is that there is no scientific evidence to back up such events as the resurrection of Jesus, or creation etc… in spite of this, if one looks into this, there is plenty. I believe that if the Bible’s authenticity can be proved, then its content must be reliable. If Jesus was who he said he was (the Son of God), then prayer to God cannot be a waste of time. A good way to look at how trustworthy the Bible is, is to look at who approves it.
Albert Einstein said: “The scientific method can teach us nothing beyond how facts are related to and conditioned by each other...knowledge of what is does not open the door directly to what should be. One can have the clearest and most complete knowledge of what is, and yet not be able to deduce from that what should be the goal of our human aspirations. This goal is to please our Creator.”
Many other intelligent and knowledgeable people have found themselves concluding that the Bible is the word of God, and that He must exist. This Bible says that this God is a loving being who wants a relationship with us. In this way, Christianity can be “proved”, yet there are still steps of faith to be taken (i.e. – prayer). There must be some element of faith involved in Christianity as there is in every religion. However, it is not “blind” faith as many people think.
