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more and more day by day to walk
in His ways and to keep His laws,
then He
will
hear aod answer. But if
you will not obey God's law, notice
the result: "He that turneth away
bis ear from hearing the law,
even
his prayer sha/1 be abomina/ion"
(Prov. 28:9).
It's not complicated. Just really
study
the Bible and do what you
find that God says. "He
heareth
the
prayer of the righteous" (Prov.
15:29).
(You may not be fully aware of
how you are breaking God's law.
Yo u may not even be aware of all
the implications of the Ten Com–
mandments. If not, please write for
our free book enti tled
The Ten Com–
mandments.
But, in the meanwhile,
God will
begin
to hear you in accor–
dance with your sincere motives and
your dedication to follow what you
do know ofHis ways.)
Pray to the True God
Though you may be offended by
this assertion, it is a fact that mil–
lions of people pray regularly to the
wrong "God" or "gods"!
"For though there be that are
called gods, whether in heaven or in
earth, (as there be gods many, and
lords many,) but to us there is but
one God, the Father, of whom are
all things, and we in him; and one
Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all
things, and we by him" (I Cor. 8:5-
6).
In
this passage, the true God is
identified as being the Creator-a
real Spirit Personality who designed
and created the universe; a God of
law, order, symmetry, beauty, and
total power.
Under threat of persecution, the
· early Christians " lifted up their
voice to God with one accord, and
said, Lord, thou art God, which hast
made beaven, and earth, and the
sea, and all that in them is ..." (Acts
4:24). Notice here and elsewhere
how the true God
is
constantly iden–
tified as the Creator, and the God of
David or, often, the God of Abra–
ham, Isaac and Jacob.
This is because the true God is
understood in terms of His charac–
ter- by how he dealt with Abraham,
Moses or David- and by His tre–
mendous power in creating the uni–
verse, with His vast sense of design,
beauty and unchanging law which is
20
manifested by and through His cre–
ation.
So, when you pray, learn to bow
your knees and
üft
your heart and
hands to the great Creator God, the
originator of all that exists in the
entire universe (Eph. 3: 14-15). Rec–
ognize the great privilege it is to be
able to come into the very presence
and receive the personal love and
attention of the Almighty God of
heaven and earth!
As a begotten Christian, you can
pray to Him in a very humble and
Faith becomes a whole way ot
lite.
lt
involves a deep under–
standing and commitment to
the great central tact othuman
experience: God ls, and He ls
working out a purpose here
below. He has laws and stand–
ards by which human lite
should be governed; He re–
wards those who surrender to
His wi/1 and walk In His ways.
personal
way, as Jesus taught: "Our
Father which art in heaven ..."
(Matt. 6:9).
How To Ask In Jesus' Name
If someone commands you to "open
up in the name of the Iaw," they
had better be bona fide representa–
tives of the law. Otherwise, they are
imposters and are themselves acting
illegally. Likewise, when one prays
" in the name" of Jesus Christ, he
should be sure he is acting and ask–
ing within the authority Jesus has
given-which means to ask in accor–
dance with the revealed will of the
Son ofGod.
Fortunately, the Bible is a de–
tai led setting forth of Christ's will.
Anyone who sincerely studies the
way of life, the examples, tbe prohi–
bitions and the promises in the
Bible has literally hundreds of pages
of information to tell him what God
wants him to do, what God directly
instructs him to pray for, and many
examples of what and how God
does answer prayers! Of course, you
need not always have a specific
promise in the Bible to know that
something is God's will . Often it is a
matter of applying the principies
from biblical si tuations to modern
situations which may arise.
Notice, for sorne examples, the al–
tributes David mentions in bis
prayer to God: " 1 wiJllove thee, O
Lord, my strength. The Lord is my
rock, and my fortress, and my deüv–
erer; my God, my strength , in
whom
1
will trust; my buckler, and
the horn of my salvation, and my
high tower.
I
wiU call upon the
Lord, wbo
is
worthy to be praised:
so shall
1
be saved from mine ene–
mies" (Ps. 18: 1-3). God, then, will
give us
strength, protection
and
de–
liverance.
In what is called the
"Lord's Prayer," Jesus instructs us
to pray for
forgiveness,
for our
daily
bread,
for
His kingdom
to come, and
for
deliverance
from temptations or
trials (Matt. 6:9-13). The apost le
James instructs us to ask for
wisdom,
and for
healing
when we are sick
(James 1:5; 5: 14-16).
Jesus stated: "And whatsoever ye
shall ask
in
my name (that is, by my
authority], that will
1
do, that the
Fatber may be glorified in the Son.
If ye shall ask any thing in my
name,
1
will do it" (John 14: 13-14).
Visualize Christ now seated at
God's right hand in heaven- at the
magnificently impressive and glori–
ous throne of the universe. Know
tbat He understands your trials and
feelings; that He was tempted in
every basic way a ll of us are
tempted and He is there to be for us
a merciful and understanding and
faithful High Priest (Heb. 4 : 14-15).
With that profound realization, do
come boldly before God and talk to
Him about anything, reason with
Him and ask Him to even help you
understand what to pray for and for
the strength and merey you need
(verse 16).
What a fantastic opportunity !
Be grateful for this privilege, and
use it often to pour out your heart
befo r e your Crea tor and your
Father.
Ask In Faith
"Now the just shall live by faith: but
if any man draw back, my soul sball
have no pleasure in him" (Heb.
10:38).
Faith becomes a whole way of
life. It involves a deep understand–
ing and commitment to tbe great
central fact of human experience:
The
PLAIN TRUTH June 1977