~~~ PRAYER ~~~

______asked about prayer... Dear _____, I felt like I totally needed to "relearn" HOW to pray after I left the 2x2 group. I talked about this struggle with a lady from the Bible study I was attending at the time. She recommended Kay Arthur’s book, LORD, TEACH ME TO PRAY. I thought it was a great help. Brian has also enjoyed her study of prayer.

Also, as to your comment, "I know Jesus opened the most holy place for us to enter in but it still feels off limits to me somehow even though I do pray." Dear _____, one of the myths we get accustomed to in the 2x2 group is that we KNOW what we are doing is RIGHT by how we FEEL when we do it. It is more correct... just as you have stated above, that we KNOW because God’s Word says it is so. Yes, there are times when it seems our prayers stop at the ceiling... that is just our deceptive feelings of the moment... keep praying... God ALWAYS hears our prayers!! (And, as to the ceiling... we don’t even need our prayers to go THAT far if we are believers... the Holy Spirit lives IN us!!!) 6/97

I too had a problem with praying, I do not have the gift of expressing myself to start with, and praying in the meetings was a nightmare, because I always felt soooo guilty, and unworthy. My picture of God was someone 'up there' always pointing a finger at me!!!

I remember begging for HIS forgiveness, and care of my loved ones, and please take care of the workers......When I found out that we don't have to beg, in fear and trembling, but,"ask and it shall be given to you" 1 John 5; that chapter was such a comfort to me!!!!

And the Lords prayer, that we singsonged off, at school, without thinking of the words. That was a model prayer left for us, from Jesus.. it startsout by praising the Father first, then the asking..

The books I found helpful among others......The Power of Prayer, By R.A.Torrey. A layman looks at the Lord's Prayer, by Phillip Keeler. And more recently, Everyone needs a miracle, He still moves stones. by Max Lucado. Some of us who had a good relationship and love from our earthly fathers, I have found, do not have as much problem relating to our Heavenly Father, at least to start with.

I try to praise Him first, then thank Him for all my blessing, safety, health, family, friends, etc. Then the asking comes in thanksgiving for what He is going to do, in His Will and timing. He knows already what we want, what we really need, and what is in His Will to give us, but we are to ask in thanksgiving and faith, that regardless of how we feel, we can be assured God knows best. And because He loves us so much, He will only allow whatever is best for us.

Much love and prayers for you all. Ruth from Ontario. 6/97

You wrote: "I never knew you could pray about material things. Is this true or just another thing I have misunderstood? I guess I always felt that God would take care of these things without having to ask. Later I heard that it was OK to ask. Does God want to have our prayers include such things? He speaks about the sparrow and how they toil not or sew and yet God takes care of them, I think this was the verse that gave me the conclusion not to pray for such things. It is definitely a tightrope act sometimes for me."

I understand how you feel, but believe me, this is definitely a legacy of the 2x2s who often teach that it is SINFUL to pray for things for ourselves, or about anything "earthly"! Nothing could be further from the truth. God is our Father, knows how to give us good gifts, and wants us to have a close, personal relationship with Him. As the Scriptures say, if our sinful earthly parents know how to give us good gifts, how much more does our perfect heavenly Father fulfill our every need? We are to pray giving thanksgiving in all things, and to present our requests and petitions to God.

_____, anything that is of concern to you, God will be interested in! Think of the conversations you have with your close friends, what you share with them. God does not want you to use special flowery language or be stiff and formal when you try to pray - He wants to hear honestly from you! And this includes all areas of your life. You can pray anywhere, anytime!

I read your above e-mail about prayer before I went to lunch. I left work and went to a nearby cafeteria to read, during which time it started to rain heavily. I was stuck without an overcoat or umbrella, and it is winter here! Bad planning on my part, admittedly! I waited awhile for the rain to ease, but it didn’t, and I had to return to work. I knew I would get soaked through, so I paused, and prayed to God that He would enable me to get back to work warm and dry. I stepped out the door under an awning and paused again, wondering if God had heeded my cries for help. Behind me through the door stepped a man (who I do not know) with a VERY large umbrella, which he opened over me and then escorted me back to work. I arrived back at work warm and dry! I guess many of the workers may scoff at this sort of prayer, but God proves to me His concern and care over all areas of my life.

Everyday, God shows His marvelous care again and again, if only we take the time to ask for His assistance! 6/97 God Bless, _______

Ah, you've touched a note we all struggle with. God wants us to struggle in prayer, not struggle with prayer. But how do we accomplish this? For myself, I came to the conclusion that I was treating this as works, not as part of my relationship. Let me explain, sometimes I felt so guilty, that I did not keep a regular time for prayer, something disrupted my day. However, I talk to God all day. In fact, I find the best place for me, is the bath tub. I cannot be disturbed, and at night I praise Him, thank Him, worship Him, and if I feel like a good cry I do this with lots of water around me to wash away the stains. You're wondering if I'm all there in my head. The point is that even in prayer, we've become legalistic. We treat it as a job.

He is my Father, I am His little child, and when I want to cuddle up close to Him, I need not wait for a special place, or position. Tell Him everything, He loves you and me. He knows how we think, we react to a crisis, we respond. He was once in a human body too. The wonderful thing is, He says "just talk to me." We get lonely for God, but how often we forget that He gets lonely for us. He is our friend, and when we see Him like this, prayer is no longer so hard. The word "prayer" is simply talking to God. It is the Holy Spirit that leads you to pray because He leads us into all that is Truth. This means that He was the one to initiate your prayer, so we can come to the throne of grace, and as a child that sometimes falls into the mud we can come and simply say, "please wash me, I'm a sight again today, but the cleansing fountain is what I need."

My daughter, _____, calls Him "Daddy", when she prays out loud, and talks to Him like a Father. The more we see that we are His helpless little children, the more He loves to commune with us.

Have you ever told God a joke? I tell Him of the way the enemies looked and acted when they thought they had won, and how they looked when He stepped onto the scene. He already knows, but yes, He and I share the private joke, and I know, He has a chuckle too.

He is my Father, my friend. Let’s forget all the protocol. Let's ask for a hug today. When everything is going wrong, remember, we can always tell Daddy, He understands, He wants to tell you, you're just a little child. "The problems may seem big toyou--like losing your balloon, but I am GOD, I take care of you."

Have a good day today with Him,

Sheila 6/97

If you are repeating a prayer that is genuinely the cry of your heart, it is NOT "meaningless repetition"!! Jesus also told us to ask and keep on asking... like the one who needed bread for his friends in the middle of the night... the need was supplied because of his "importunity"! (Luke 11)

Another book that I might recommend to you regarding your desire for "honesty" was one that I actually read about a month before I left the 2x2 group and found VERY helpful... informative and proof of the genuine love for the Lord of many in "false" churches! It is HONEST TO GOD! by Bill Hybel. 6/97

Of course, with God... HE understands our HEARTS... so even if our WORDS come out all upside-down, He is NEVER confused... we never need to fear that we are unable to articulate what we are feeling with HIM!! He knows our needs before we speak them!

One of my favorite pictures of prayer combines Jesus' words that God is our "Abba" Father (Abba was an affectionate term for Father in Greek... like our term "Daddy") and the words in Hebrews which invites us to "approach the throne of grace with confidence so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."

Picture with me this Majestic King on His throne managing the affairs of his Kingdom. His attendants are passing in and out of the throne room (as they are granted an audience with His Majesty the King) to advise Him of those affairs, seek His direction, to assist Him as needed, etc. It’s a very regal and very ordered scene... suddenly a back door pops open! Into this regal setting runs a little child! With a most unseemly squeal of delight and arms out-stretched, this child runs pell-mell into the open arms of the beaming King singing out, "Daddy!!"

"My child!" the King responds as He wraps His arms around His precious child and draws the child into His lap... all else in the room is now silent... the affairs of the Kingdom are temporarily suspended while the Child babbles on and on and the Father listens and speaks back and the two enjoy one another's presence. If this child has a need, do you think that King can and/or will respond to that need!? THAT is how available to us God is and how He delights to spend time with us! (Of course with OUR King, the amazing part is that He can be giving each of us that same "undivided" attention and still running the other affairs of His kingdom all at the same time... all perfectly!!)

I wouldn't/couldn't pray in a church meeting for about 5 years after I left the meetings. I felt that in the 2x2s I had to, and wasn't going to be pressured into it again. Now I do it without any trouble, because the pressure is off. The good thing in church is that they encourage your gifts, knowing that we do not all have the same gifts. Some people are good speakers, or good at praying in public, others aren't. 6/97

I got so used to the friends NOT praying in meeting for each other that when I attended a Christian church and heard people there praying for "Joe with cancer" and "Mary, who just lost her husband" I scoffed. "Why would they be praying for THESE things!?" I mused.

I/we/the friends are/were notorious for THAT kind of attitude.

There was one time I DID feel that prayer (or SOMETHING!) should have been offered for one young professing woman.

It was Wednesday night. All in the meeting knew that the woman at the end of the room had lost her baby in childbirth earlier in the week. I'm sure we all felt her pain. This was NOT the first child she had lost. She gave her meek little testimony in tears and with much anguish. BUT NO ONE PRAYED FOR HER in that meeting. And I don't recall anyone offering her comfort after the meeting either.

We all felt for her but could not (because of the system/training?) offer a prayer of comfort for her or her husband.

What a shame. 6/97

I started in women's Bible studies at our church 7 months after we started attending there... meeting and studying with and praying with other Christian women was GOOD! (_____ recently mentioned the lack of praying for one another by name in the 2x2 meetings. One of the things that made a POWERFUL impact on me was hearing another woman pray for me by NAME and for my particular burden of the day... for the first time!) 6/97

____--you asked about praying for "natural" things. I learned in the Way not to pray for "specific" things--as if you shouldn't put God on the spot! I am so glad that God is like a kind and loving father and he is interested in every part of my life. There is nothing that I can't talk to him about. There is nothing I can't pray about or ask him for. If there is anything I am worried or afraid about I bring it to Him. I try hard to leave it with Him and let His will be done in the matter. I always pray for people by name--I believe in good communication! I pray for you who write [on the List] and have special concerns, too. 7/97

Something I've found is that when I forget to thank God for something He has done for me (something I've asked for) HE reminds ME that He DID for me what I asked of Him! It happened again last night! I had asked Him for some clarification on something and within 24 hours another person (don't think person is even a Christian) gave me some words of wisdom such that I KNEW what I must do; the route I must take. A few hours later I got a subtle little message in my head. It was GOD reminding me that I had asked for clarification in this matter! He used that other person to help me see CLEARLY what I needed to do!

Often, in prayer, God TELLS me what to pray for! It is so NEAT!