How To Pray

How to pray?

There has always been a conflict between the people who pray loudly and those who pray silently, the contemplative method of prayer. Each one has looked at the other with suspicion, one accusing the other. 

Those who pray silently say God is not deaf. And those who pray loudly say those ‘simply sitting’ are wasting their time.  I felt the Lord prompting me  to  address this issue, because ignorance does not glorify God.

It is not necessary to pray aloud for God to hear and answer our prayers, because, the thoughts that we think, resounds in Heaven louder than our voice sounds on earth. To make God known about your needs, you need not make any sound; you need to only tell it within yourself.  You just need to think about it and God will hear your prayer.

In the book of Genesis we find something very interesting, that teaches that our thoughts resounds in Heaven loader than we think. “The Lord saw that the wickedness of humankind was great in the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually,” (Genesis 6:5).

The inclination of the thoughts of their hearts was well known to God. When the Israelites were grumbling within them, God knew it. “the sound of grumbling does not go unheard,” (Wisdom 1:11).

Praying with our thoughts is fruitful and sitting in silence helps to know the voice of God, to know His Presence intimately.

            But it is necessary to pray aloud on earth.

            Praying aloud will quickly loosen the burdens within us,

            Praying aloud will cleanse the atmosphere we live in.

            Praying aloud will quickly quicken us.

It is said about Jesus “In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears....,”(Hebrews 5:7).

Praying aloud releases the creative power. When God created the world, He did not think, and the world was created. Bible tells us He spoke, and the world came into being. The world was created by the sound of God. Praying aloud releases the authority we have. Praying aloud releases the glory in our voice.

Just before Jesus was betrayed, he was in the Mount of Olives praying, “In his anguish he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down on the ground,” (Luke 22:44).

The intense prayer of Jesus made him sweat blood; there will be moments in life when you need to pray like that. No matter how we pray, we need to know the circumstances we are in, especially when you are praying loudly in your personal prayer. Try praying out loud, though not loud enough to agitate others. Being able to hear yourself pray, really helps. You will find that your mind doesn't wander that easily and that you can pray more fervently.

Antony Thomas, Author, Holy Spirit:The Reality of His Presence,
                                           Holy Spirit, I love You.
                                           When We Pray: Be renewed by the Power of Prayer,

antonythomas.in

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http://www.amazon.in/When-We-Pray-Renewed-Prayer/dp/B00XULE5SY/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1444218731&sr=1-4http://www.amazon.in/Holy-Spirit-I-Love-You/dp/B00UFG6S5U/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1444218563&sr=1-1&keywords=Holy+Spirit%2C+I+Love+You

You Will Learn to Walk in Love

                        You Will Learn to Walk in Love

As you learn to walk in the spirit of prayer, you will learn to walk in love, because the Spirit of love, the Holy Spirit will teach you the same. He will keep reminding you:

     “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends,” (John 15:12-13).

We are supposed to make “LOVE our AIM”, in other words we are supposed to make “walking in love” our top post priority.

     “PURSUE LOVE and strive for the spiritual gifts, and especially that you may prophesy,” (1 Corinthians 14:1).

Many times we miss the mark of walking in love, when trouble rises from others; we tend to walk in our old ways of resentment.

And at those times the Spirit of God reminds us to forgive and walk in love. Many years ago, one person of our group was going around slandering me; I literally got fed up, and went to meet our Procurator,  as I reached his room, and I was going to enter, I heard the Holy Spirit say, “walk in love”, I returned without meeting Father. I literally shook myself  to get rid of all the resentment that had wrapped me. And continued to walk in love without any resentment against that person.

“Paul had gathered a bundle of brushwood an was putting it on the fire, when a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand…He, however, shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm,” (Acts 28:3-5).

Like Paul we need to shrug of the vipers of bitterness that wraps us as we serve the Lord, the Spirit of God within us will help us do the same.

The Holy Spirit know the words of Jesus “And because of the increase of lawlessness, the love of many will grow cold,” (Matthew 24:12). He will help praying people, to continue to walk in love.

Antony Thomas, Author, Holy Spirit:The Reality of His Presence,
                                           Holy Spirit, I love You.
                                           When We Pray: Be renewed by the Power of Prayer,

antonythomas.in

antony3000@gmail.com.

www.facebook.com/antonythomas.750

Fanning the Power of God

                           Fanning the Power of God

    We need to learn to fan the power of God within us; the power of God within us is like a river. Learn to stir up the Holy Spirit within.

     The power of God remains dormant in us and needs to be stirred up, if you have lost the connection with the Spirit of the Lord in the midst of your day to day activities; you need to stir up the presence of God again and again. And that will keep you protected and energised.

     You should learn from your relationship with the Holy Spirit, how his presence and power can be stirred. You should learn what stirs him up.

      In our relationship with people, we know how to stir up our relationships. A simple phone call, a small gift, an e mail, a visit is more than enough to stir up our relationships.

     In the same way for those who walk in partnership with the Holy Spirit, simple spiritual exercises is enough to stir him up in our day to day routine.

     Worshiping God is the shortest route to experience his Glory. Remembering the word of the Lord, and speaking it through our lips is another shortest route to stir up the tangible presence.

     Frequently visiting the sacrament of confession is the key to keep our relationship intact. Searching your hearts for sins and confessing them is the key to keep going with the Living God.

Praying a little prayer here and there in our day to day life will stir up the Holy Spirit within us.

     We should also learn to stir the presence of the Holy Spirit in our meetings, whether it is spiritual and secular. There are certain spiritual principles, when we follow them, the glory presence of the Lord is manifested, and the glory increases when we follow the anointing, by following the promptings of the Spirit.

     When we speak things that the Holy Spirit likes, the presence will increase, when we speak things he does not like the tangible presence wanes down. When we do things he likes the glory of God will increase, when you do things he does not like the glory will wane. So be careful and sensitive.

     The days of baptism, communion, marriages, and anniversary in the lives of the people of God are not the days of alcohol, worldly shows, for criticism, backbiting and gossiping, quarreling but days to manifest the glory presence of the Lord.

Antony Thomas, Author, Holy Spirit:The Reality of His Presence,
                                           Holy Spirit, I love You.
                                           When We Pray: Be renewed by the Power of Prayer,

antonythomas.in

antony3000@gmail.com.

www.facebook.com/antonythomas.750

Mediating on the word of God

                                                     

                                                      Mediating On the Word of God

We have heard of the word “meditate” many times. Different religious circle uses this word.For some the word meditate is pondering or thinking about something deeply. For some it is emptying their mind. In our Catholic tradition we call it “contemplation”, where we spend time pondering on the “word of God”, or pondering on an image in our mind.

In recent years I discovered that meditation includes “muttering” the word of God. That is to keep saying the word of God. In the biblical tradition it is so.

When God told Joshua “you shall meditate on the law day and night” he was expecting Joshua to mutter His word.

Since then I have started meditating on the word of God in this manner, after learning from the Scriptures and the Living tradition. I just want to share some of the benefits I have discovered in meditating the word of God in this manner.

1.       There is a change in the atmosphere we carry. We all carry different atmospheres in our life.Muttering the word of God changes the atmosphere around me.

2.       A divine light is lit within me. All kinds of heaviness leave me. There is lot of unnecessary      heaviness that we carry in our day to day life. They leave when I start muttering the word of God.

3.       There is a stirring up of the anointing within me. As a believer the anointing that I have received       from Christ abides in me. Sometimes the anointing becomes stagnant, and the anointing needs to be stirred up. And that's what muttering of the word does.

4.       There is a increase of faith. Doubts leave when I mutter the word of the Lord. As "faith comes from hearing and hearing the word of God" A strong faith is developed within me.

5.       The powers of darkness leave, when I keep on muttering the word of God. You can resist the devil by muttering the word of God.

6.       The main purpose of Christians mediating the word of the Lord is to listen to his voice. As we meditate on the Word by muttering, and getting into silence we can hear what God has to say.  Many times while muttering the word, the Spirit of God drops wisdom into my spirit.

7.       A holy boldness is released in me as I keep muttering the word of God. The inner man is strengthen within me, because the word of God is the food for our spirit man.

8.       A divine life is released in me as I keep muttering the word of God. The ever increasing divine life is becomes stronger in me.

As start meditating on the word of God, my muttering you will discover many of the benefits in your own life. Start of with a word of your choice. And keep saying it for ten to fifteen minutes. This practice can be done in your personal prayer time or while washing cloths/walking around doing your daily routine.

(Joshua 1:8-9, Psalms 1:2-3, Psalms 119:97-99, Proverbs 4:20-23, Sirach 6:37, John 1:1, John 1:5, Mathew 4:4, Ephesians 6:17b, Hebrews 4:12-13, James 1:21, Romans 10:17, 1John2:27, Colossians 2:10, 2Corinthians 1:21, 1Peter 5:9, Ephesians 3:16-19, Ephesians 1:17-19, Job 33:33, John 10:27, John 10:10, Psalms 119:130, Psalms 119:18).

Antony Thomas, Author, Holy Spirit:The Reality of His Presence,
                                           Holy Spirit, I love You.
                                           When We Pray: Be renewed by the Power of Prayer,

antonythomas.in

antony3000@gmail.com.

www.facebook.com/antonythomas.750