How much should one pray about sickness? I believe Jesus was clear that we are to persist in our prayers, no matter what the subject. Again, as long as we believe our motives to be pure and of God. God is the Healer God and desires to bring healing to His people. Jesus said in Luke 18:1 to "always pray and never give up." So be encouraged and keep praying!
How important is it to confess your sins during prayer, because He already knows what you have done? 1 John 1:8-10 says, "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and His word has no place in our lives." We see here that confessing our sins is very important to God. If we say a blanket prayer like, "Lord, please forgive me for all the bad I've done today." we lack sincerity of heart. It would be like going to your spouse and saying, "I'm sorry if I did anything against you today." Our spouse would be like, "What did you do to me?" Now contrast that with, "Honey, I'm sorry for when I snapped at you when you asked me to take the trash out." When you name the sin by name, you and your spouse connect at a deeper level. The same goes for our relationship with God. Yes, He already knows what you have done, but there is something very healing about talking it out with God. King David is famous for saying in Psalm 139:23 and 24, "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." Very transparent and very open to God revealing even more sin. How many of us are willing to do that?
What is important for small children to pray for? Obviously, I think sky is the limit on what children can pray for. However, I would try to guide them a bit. When they are very little, they will probably thank God for mom and dad, brothers and sisters, for food, family, friends, etc. They will also probably pray for people who are sick. I think it is good to teach your children to pray the ACTS prayer. I do this with my kids from time to time. "A" stands for adoration. So I'll say, "Logan would like to praise you for being..." and then I let my son finish it with his own words. During this time of praise, it's important to teach your children to praise God for who He is, not for things He's done for us. So focus on His attributes. "C" stands for confession. So I'll say, "Logan would like to ask forgiveness for when he..." During the confession times, it's important to teach our children to name their sins specifically (see above question). "T" stands for thanksgiving. So I'll say, "Logan would like to thank you for..." Finally, "S" stands for supplication, which means, requests. Here I'll say, "Logan would like to ask you to..." I would also talk to your kids about motives (again, see above questions). But for prayer to be important to your children, they have to see it being important in your life. So be sure to model a strong prayer life and talk about your prayer life openly with them.
Can prayer be a weapon to fight against the enemy? Of course. As I've sometimes mentioned in sermons, remember Satan does not have the attributes of God. So just in case he cannot read our thoughts, it might be a good idea to pray out loud at times when praying against Satan. In Ephesians 6, Paul talks about putting on the armor of God. In verse 16, he writes, "take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one." Notice Paul said, "all" the flaming arrows and not some. Tying that into prayer, Paul goes on to say in verse 18, "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints." No coincidence that Paul finished up his writings on the armor of God with a call to pray.
Does prayer need said out loud, or can God hear us if we say them in our minds? God can hear your silent words and can also implant His thoughts into your heart and mind. Psalm 94:11 says, "The Lord knows the thoughts of man."
Do you need to pray on every occasion, even about the smallest things? Do you want God to be involved in only the big things of life, or also the small things? While I think there are some prayers that are a bit silly, like, "Lord please allow there to be a parking space up front." I do believe God wants us to pray, as stated above, "on all occasions."
What are items God doesn't like in prayer? I think going back to one of the questions above, God does not like selfish motives. While I think He is OK with praying for things that will benefit you, we must check our motives and make sure we are in the right frame of heart. Are we wanting to prosper in order to have nicer things and go to nicer places, or do we want more in order to do more for His Kingdom? Also, God would not want us to pray for anything that goes against His character. For example, God is against adultery, so He would not want you to pray for Him to allow it in your circumstance.
Is there a point at which prayer becomes more powerful? James 5:16 says, "The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." So one answer to this question might be, "Yes, if a person pursues righteousness in their life, then their prayer life will become more powerful." We are only righteous because of the presence of Christ in our lives. Romans 3:22 says, "This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe." So if you are a true believer in Christ and pursue Him passionately, I believe your prayers will be powerful and effective.
God is not bound by time and we pray for things in the future. Can we pray for things in the past? I'm not exactly sure what types of issues you would like to pray for concerning the past. If you are talking about past issues in your life or surrounding your life, I would say, yes. If you are asking about changing things that have happened in the past, then I would say, no. Isaiah 43:18 says, "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past." I may be taking this passage a bit out of context, but I think you could apply it here, depending on the angle of your question.
Is prayer with your eyes open disrespectful to God? Check this out...Here are the positions of prayer as described in the Bible. Prostrate with face to the ground, 56 times. Facing toward Jerusalem, 20 times. Kneeling, 9 times. Hands up, 10 times. Standing, 5 times. Head bowed, 8 times. And eyes closed, 0 times! Jesus' most common way to pray was lifting His eyes toward Heaven. Obviously, praying with your eyes open is not disrespectful to God, however, I would make sure you are in the right frame of mind and not being distracted.
Does prayer prayer have to be a formal occasion, or can it be like conversation with God? Conversation with God, for sure. God talked with Moses as a "friend talks with friend."
Is it OK to keep your prayers between you and God, or do you have to ask others to prayer with or for you? I think it's OK to have prayers that are just between you and God, but the Bible is full of stories of people of God praying for one another. So while, private prayers are fine, I would encourage you to share some requests with trusted friends once in a while. Sometimes, there can be power in numbers.
I am only 11 and I need some help on what to say to a person when I want to tell them about Jesus. Can you help me? That is a great question and I'm glad you have a heart to share Jesus with others! I would encourage you to talk with our Junior High Pastor, Steve Schlatter. He will have materials suited for someone your age. However, I would suggest you keep it simple and cover the basics. We have a sin problem that separates us from a Holy God. God loves us and wants to have a relationship with us, so He sent His Son Jesus to die on a cross to pay the penalty for our sins. Now, if we choose to love Him and believe in what He did for us, we can live in Heaven forever when we die. Be sure to see Steve Schlatter. He would be happy to talk with you. Good job!
*If your question does not appear in the list above, that means the question was either answered live or did not pertain to the 12:12 series.
