Disposition of our heart in prayer

What is the meaning of Disposition?

Definition of disposition (n) Bing Dictionary

dis·po·si·tion

 [ dìspə zísh'n ]   

1. personality: somebody's usual mood or temperament
2. behavioral tendency: an inclination or tendency to act in a particular way
3. settlement: settlement of a business or legal matter

Synonyms: nature, character, temperament, temper, outlook, mood, personality

[dis·po·si·tion

/ˌdɪspəˈzɪʃən/ Show Spelled [dis-puh-zish-uhn] Show IPA

noun

1. the predominant or prevailing tendency of one's spirits; natural mental and emotional outlook or mood; characteristic attitude: a girl with a pleasant disposition.

2. state of mind regarding something; inclination: a disposition to gamble.

3. physical inclination or tendency: the disposition of ice to melt when heated.

4. arrangement or placing, as of troops or buildings.

5. final settlement of a matter] ¹

Here are the two men who went to pray and both of them were at the same public place and time addressing themselves. The Pharisee went up to pray because it was a place where many would know that he is praying and many would applaud his devotion. The publican went up to pray because it was appointed to be a house of prayer for all people; Isa 56: 7.  

⁹ Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: ¹⁰ “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. ¹² I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ ¹³ And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ ¹⁴ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” Luke 18:9-14; NKJV.

We are used to thinking that Pharisees as self-righteous hypocrites but in the first century they were viewed as models of religious devotions and prayer and teachers of law who gets everything right. Tax collectors on the other hand are viewed as one who works for the Roman government while they conquered Palestine and were despised because they collected more money from their country men and increased their own wealth. So when we see the conclusion of the story it would have shocked everyone around and probably they would have expected the ending to be just the opposite.

It is even more surprising to note that Pharisees gave to the poor even more than what was required and even fasted more than what the law required. It is surprising and worth noting that the law required a tithe on what people earned but the Pharisees tithed from all they acquired! Climax of the story was that the tax collector went home justified after his prayer and not the Pharisee. Wow! What is the real story and the real lesson here? Here we notice that the tax collector unlike the Pharisee seeks to rely on God’s mercy and favour rather than on his own self-righteousness.

The Pharisee was free from scandalous sins, but he was thinking a lot about himself and his own praise and not God’s glory. His prayer makes it very obvious that he said many good things about himself and bragged and boasted! It is very obvious that he made God his debtor and might demand anything from him and despise the others. He never thought about God, and not even about the mercy and the grace he needed from God. The publican’s address to God was the reverse of the Pharisee and was full of humility, full of repentance of sin and desire towards God. This parable makes it very clear that with what attitude we pray and the disposition of our hearts are huge to our Heavenly Father. God’s glory works just opposite to man’s glory and God resists the proud but give grace to the humble.

Somewhere in the middle of the crossfire lies the heart and attitude of our heart for true prayer. In other words our prayer does not necessarily change our situation, but changes us or at least our perspective and our disposition of our heart. God is least bothered about our positions or wealth or the respect we hold in our society and when we pray he is more concerned about the disposition of our hearts! God’s ultimate goal is to bring glory and honour to Himself through the changed hearts of people.  Effectual prayer is led by the Spirit of God, and the key is to remain sensitive to God’s Spirit when He often does a cleansing work in our life.

As we continue to draw nearer to God we can share with Him our desires to grow in purity, seeking forgiveness of sin and especially from selfishness. We see from the above story that the Pharisee was full of self in spite of his good deeds and respect he had in the community. Whereas the tax collector was broken, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, beat up his chest and asked God to forgive him and have mercy on him, because he realized he was a sinner and was standing in need of God’s mercy.

Time and again we are reinforced that we are human and we are limited in our ability and we are forced to look up! Pride, lust, self, an unsaved spouse, broken relationships, and our pharisaical attitudes are all examples of mountains in the lives of ordinary people which could hinder our prayer lives. Some mountains are self-inflicted and some are inflicted upon us. No matter what we face, mountains or mole hills, they can not be overcome without the intervention of a Loving Heavenly Father who alone has the ability to scale the unscalable! Then, how do we touch the heart of God when we pray?

Living Before God Our Father

¹³ Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; ¹⁴ as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; ¹⁵ but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, ¹⁶ because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”^[a] 1 Peter 1:13-16 New King James Version (NKJV)

Preparing your mind simply means “gird up the loins of your mind” which is pulling up our thoughts together. As I have mentioned in my previous blogs, heart and mind has a tremendous connection and it is very important they are united and the prayer has to come from the heart. We can imagine a man ready for war dressed up, and ready to run and when we center our thoughts on the return of Christ, and by trying to live accordingly we can escape many worldly thought patterns. Our thought life has a tremendous impact in our prayer life and we all have to work on it. The worldly things definitely have a negative impact on our mind and this could hinder the progress of spiritual growth and hence our prayer life.

We can ask God to search our hearts and weed out areas which may need His attention and He would help us. Possible good works, righteous acts, any charitable contributions including mission work which we perform with good intention which could bring glory and honour to self than to God are worth thinking about. If it does not bring glory and honour to God, it is equivalent to filthy rags; “But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away”; Isa: 64:6. We may pray and ask that we desire to be the recipient of God’s grace rather than an object of His resistance. As we continue to humble our selves under His mighty hand, we may ask His perspectives of us so that we learn to see ourselves as we really are. God does sees with what disposition and design we come and wait upon Him.

Questions for thought:

1. Think of all the possible ways we can prepare ourselves for effective prayer.

2.  Do we feel we are self-controlled when it comes to our “thought life?”

3. Our thought lives are very important and how can we be pleasing to God in our thought life which could affect our disposition of our heart when we pray?

4. Are our prayers like recanting few words like mantra as in other world religions? OR is it Spirit led from our hearts in our brokenness?

 

     Website References:

1. Disposition | Define Disposition at Dictionary.com

dictionary.reference.com/browse/disposition

noun 1. the predominant or prevailing tendency of one's spirits; natural mental and emotional outlook or mood; characteristic attitude: a girl with a pleasant ...

 

Bibliography:

1. Millard J. Erickson. Christian Theology. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983-85, p. 947-1002.

2. R.T. Kendall. Understanding Theology, Developing a Healthy Church in the 21^st Century, 1996, p. 357-364.

3. Jay E. Adams. A Theology of Christian Counseling, More than Redemption. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1979, p.249-275.

4. Louis Berkhof. Systematic Theology. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996, p. 423-450.

 

5.  Robert P Lightner. Handbook of Evangelical Theology, Historical, Biblical, and Contemporary Survey and Review. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1986, p.527-544.

6. Charles Ryrie. Basic Theology. Chicago: Moody Press, 1986, 1999, p.374-377.

7.  A. H. Strong. Systematic Theology. New Jersey: Fleming H. Revell Co, 1907, p. 869-881.

8.  Wayne Grudem. Systematic Theology, An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994, p. 736-761; 840-850.

9. Steven W. Waterhouse. Not By Bread Alone, An Outlined Guide To Bible Doctrine. Amarillo: Westcliffe Press, 2007, p.188-191. 

 

10. John Theodore Muller, Th.D. Christian Dogmatics, A handbook of Doctrinal Theology for Pastors, Teachers, and Laymen.  St. Louis, Mo: Concordia Publishing House, 1934, p.384-386.  

11. Prayers To Move Your Mountains. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers,2000.

12. John White. Parables, the Greatest Stories ever Told. Illinois: Inter varsity Press, 1988, 1999.

13. ESV Study Bible. English Standard Version. Crossway Bibles, Wheaton, Illinois: Publishing ministry of Good News publishers, 2008.

14. The Matthew Henry Study Bible. King James Version. Iowa falls: World Bible Publishers, Inc.

 

 

Joy cometh in the morning!

Definition of joy (n) Bing Dictionary

 1. great happiness: feelings of great happiness or pleasure,

     especially of an elevated or   spiritual kind

        2. something that brings happiness: 

            a pleasurable aspect of something or source of happiness

3. enjoy something: to delight in something

Synonyms: happiness, delight, pleasure, enjoyment, bliss, ecstasy, elation, joyfulness, thrill, gladness, exultation, rapture

Sequoianoir: the two Greek words used -- chairein and chaironton -- are both forms of the same Greek word: chairo. It means 'to rejoice, be glad, full of joy.' The first is a Present Active Infinitive, the second is a Present Active Participle (genitive case, masculine, plural). This word is related to charis which means 'grace.' In its broader meaning it is a form of greeting, such as 'be well' or 'thrive¹.'

Yaarbiriah: Hebrew has several words for joy, each with different shades of meaning.
'Simcha' (ch is a soft gutteral, between h and the ch of 'Bach') means happiness in the most full sense.
'Gila' is a stronger sensation of joy but more transient and worldly (related to 'gal' = wave.)
'rina' is a joy related to singing and shouting.
'ditza' is joy related to dancing.
'hanaah' enjoyment (of something specific².)

The Greek word makarios reveals much about some of the major sources of Biblical joy which means blessed. If we look at Beatitudes of the Sermon on the Mount in Matt 5:3; it says, “Blessed are the poor in Spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.”  Spiros Zodhiates' Complete Word Study Dictionary (p. 937) gives a more comprehensive definition: Blessed, possessing the favour of God, that state of being marked by fullness from God. It indicates the state of the believer in Christ, . . . said of one who becomes a partaker of God's nature through faith in Christ. The believer is indwelt by the Holy Spirit because of Christ and as a result should be fully satisfied no matter the circumstances. Makarios differs from the word "happy" in that the person is happy who has good luck (from the root hap meaning luck as a favourable circumstance). To be makarios, blessed, is equivalent to having God's kingdom within one's heart. Aristotle contrasts makarios to endees, the needy one. Makarios is the one who is in the world yet independent of the world. His satisfaction comes from God and not from favourable circumstances³.

The Amplified Bible translates Matthew 5:3 as: Blessed (happy, to be envied, and spiritually prosperous—with life-joy and satisfaction in God's favour and salvation, regardless of their outward conditions) are the poor in spirit (the humble, who rate themselves insignificant), for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Verse 5 reads, "Blessed (happy, blithesome, joyous, spiritually prosperous) . . ." and verse 9, "Blessed (enjoying enviable happiness, spiritually prosperous). . . ."It is clear that for us to experience biblical joy, the fruit of God's Spirit; we need godly inner qualities that we do not possess by nature.

The book of Psalms is full of joyful statements, often created amid difficult circumstances. Happiness and joy can present at the same time, but happiness is conditional on circumstances whereas joy is from God and that runs deeper. It can be present in a believer’s life in spite of the situations even if it is overwhelming. A good example is seen in Psalm 30, which is a Psalm and song at the dedication of the house of David.

“¹I will extol You, O Lord, for You have lifted me up, And have not let my foes rejoice over me. ² O Lord my God, I cried out to You, And You healed me. ³ O Lord, You brought my soul up from the grave; You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.^{[a] 4} Sing praise to the Lord, you saints of His, And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.^{[b] 5} For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning. ⁶ Now in my prosperity I said, “I shall never be moved.” ⁷ Lord, by Your favor You have made my mountain stand strong; You hid Your face, and I was troubled. ⁸ I cried out to You, O Lord; And to the Lord I made supplication: ⁹ “What profit is there in my blood, When I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise You? Will it declare Your truth? ¹⁰ Hear, O Lord, and have mercy on me; Lord, be my helper! ¹¹ You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, ¹² To the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever”Psa:30.

The above psalm expresses freely that remembrance of God should go from generation to generation and in some measure we are all partakers of His holiness. Partaking in His holiness does not come naturally to a fallen man and it is a process and very often we learn a lot and get closer to God when we are in a valley. Please refer to my writing on valleys and this will give deeper understanding in this perspective. V.5; says that though we deserve God’s anger continuously, it lasts for a brief time and He is a loving and compassionate God. Book of Romans reminds us that God loved us even when we hated Him.  V.6, 7, goes on to explain how David in his prosperity thought he will never be removed, and he even thought his prosperity is fixed like a mountain which can not be shaken! His prosperity was his health of body and God has given him freedom from his enemies and David thought this will last for ever.  When he thought he was stable, suddenly he fell into trouble to the extent “his mountain” was shaking and he lost his so called stability. What did David do when his mountain was shaken? He lifted his eyes to the Lord and cried out. The Lord heard his prayer and turned his mourning into dancing and David was rejoicing in the goodness of the Lord.

¹¹ You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, ¹² To the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever”.Psa:30:11-12. We observe that in due time God has delivered the Psalmist from all his troubles, and he starts to praise God more than ever.

What was David’s response to turmoil? How did he handle his emotional conflicts? Does he whine, or complain, miserable or did he blame God? When everything around us is crashing how do we respond? We observe that David is quickly turning his situation to God and crying out for help and he knows that only God is able to change his circumstances. 

A good observation would be that all of us should be beware of carnal security and try to hold things loose in this part of eternity. David, knew that the joy he is experiencing is very temporal and very soon he will be in a place where the joy is eternal. The prosperity and the inward peace we experience in this part of eternity are temporal too and we have to set our focus heavenward where it becomes continuous. Surely the Lord has set believer’s safety and security as deep as the depth of the oceans and everlasting, but trials, temptations and afflictions are part of the process to get to that eternal joy. The Lord is able to turn our mourning into joy for His glory and can we trust Him to do that?

End Notes:

       1, 2 What are the Hebrew or Greek words for joy and rejoice?

www.funtrivia.com/askft/Question24774.html

What are the Hebrew or Greek words for joy and rejoice - trivia question /questions answer / answers

3 Spiros Zodhiates' Complete Word Study Dictionary (p. 937) gives a more comprehensive definition

Website References:

1.        The Fruit of the Spirit: Joy

www.cgg.org/.../Library.sr/CT/PERSONAL/k/280/Fruit-of-Spirit-Joy.htm

Joy, the second fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22, is more than just happiness. There is a joy that God gives that far exceeds mere human c

2.        What Is Joy? - Thriving Family

www.thrivingfamily.com/Family/Faith/2010/jan/joy.aspx

The book of Psalms is full of joyful statements, often created amid difficult circumstances. Although happiness and joy can be present at the same time, happiness is ...

3.        joy - definition of joy by the Free Online Dictionary ...

www.thefreedictionary.com/joy

joy (joi) n. 1. a. Intense and especially ecstatic or exultant happiness. b. The expression or manifestation of such feeling. 2. A source or an object of pleasure or ...

Bibliography:

1. Millard J. Erickson. Christian Theology. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983-85, p. 947-1002.

2. R.T. Kendall. Understanding Theology, Developing a Healthy Church in the 21^st Century, 1996, p. 357-364.

3. Jay E. Adams. A Theology of Christian Counseling, More than Redemption. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1979, p.249-275.

4. Louis Berkhof. Systematic Theology. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996, p. 423-450.

5.  Robert P Lightner. Handbook of Evangelical Theology, Historical, Biblical, and Contemporary Survey and Review. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1986, p.527-544.

6. Charles Ryrie. Basic Theology. Chicago: Moody Press, 1986, 1999, p.374-377.

7.  A. H. Strong. Systematic Theology. New Jersey: Fleming H. Revell Co, 1907, p. 869-881.

8.  Wayne Grudem. Systematic Theology, An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994, p. 736-761; 840-850.

9. Steven W. Waterhouse. Not By Bread Alone, An Outlined Guide To Bible Doctrine. Amarillo: Westcliffe Press, 2007, p.188-191. 

10. John Theodore Muller, Th.D. Christian Dogmatics, A handbook of Doctrinal Theology for Pastors, Teachers, and Laymen.  St. Louis, Mo: Concordia Publishing House, 1934, p.384-386.  

11. ESV Study Bible. English Standard Version. Crossway Bibles, Wheaton, Illinois: Publishing ministry of Good News publishers, 2008.

12. The Matthew Henry Study Bible. King James Version. Iowa falls: World Bible Publishers, Inc.

 

Litmus test for relationship with God

Definition of litmus test (n) Bing Dictionary

lit·mus test

       1. test determined by single factor: a test in which a single factor determines the outcome

 2. test to identify acid or base: a test in which litmus is used to find out if something is an acid or a base

Synonyms: acid test, proof, confirmation, test, measure

Prayer is a kind of litmus test of our relationship with God, and very often our prayers reveal who and what is most important to us. They also expose our inner most feelings our thoughts about ourselves and God. For example Psalm 35 is a plea for protection by David and it is an appeal to God concerning his integrity and the justice of his cause. In other words we can say prayer is raising our mind and heart to God and the first part is generally easier for any one than the second part. What I intended to say here is that prayer involves our whole person and that is mind, heart and emotions, in a relationship with God.

Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with a deity, an object of worship, or a spiritual entity through deliberate communication. Prayer can be a form of religious practice, may be either individual or communal and take place in public or in private. It may involve the use of words or song. When language is used, prayer may take the form of a hymn, incantation, formal creed, or a spontaneous utterance in the praying person. There are different forms of prayer such as petitionary prayer, prayers of supplication, thanksgiving, and worship/praise. Thus, people pray for many reasons such as personal benefit or for the sake of others¹.

Tefilah: Prayer

The Hebrew word for prayer is tefilah. It is derived from the root Pe-Lamed-Lamed and the word l'hitpalel, meaning to judge oneself. This surprising word origin provides insight into the purpose of Jewish prayer. The most important part of any Jewish prayer, whether it be a prayer of petition, of thanksgiving, of praise of G-d, or of confession, is the introspection it provides, the moment that we spend looking inside ourselves, seeing our role in the universe and our relationship to G-d².

I want to take an earthly example to bring my point regarding our relationship with God. Let us think of a very close friendship or marriage and we know instinctively that a key relationship in our life is a matter of the heart and the other person in marriage the spouse is important to us. If this relationship is the one that is growing in love, the other is one I want to serve and this comes naturally and I want to give myself for. Relationships are hard to work with because it involves time and this will fade if we have no continuing interest in spending time with and connect with the other. In marriage, intimacy in the bedroom is an important, but a smaller part of the relationship bond and if the hearts are not connecting in relationship we fall apart and this intimacy in bedroom can be affected and becomes problematic. We see that communication is the mark of relationship and for husbands and wives it is recommended to stay together on the earth in the natural sense and they are to exhibit the highest level of relationship.

What do we understand by the following conversation? (Abraham Intercedes for Sodom- Gen: 18:16-33)

¹⁶ Then the men rose from there and looked toward Sodom, and Abraham went with them to send them on the way. ¹⁷ And the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing, ¹⁸ since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? ¹⁹ For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice, that the Lord may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.” ²⁰ And the Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave, ²¹ I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will know.”

²² Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord. ²³ And Abraham came near and said, “Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked? ²⁴ Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city; would You also destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that were in it? ²⁵ Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”²⁶ So the Lord said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.”²⁷ Then Abraham answered and said, “Indeed now, I who am but dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord: ²⁸ Suppose there were five less than the fifty righteous; would You destroy all of the city for lack of five?”

So He said, “If I find there forty-five, I will not destroy it.” ²⁹ And he spoke to Him yet again and said, “Suppose there should be forty found there?” So He said, “I will not do it for the sake of forty.”³⁰ Then he said, “Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Suppose thirty should be found there?” So He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”³¹ And he said, “Indeed now, I have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord: Suppose twenty should be found there?” So He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of twenty.”³² Then he said, “Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak but once more: Suppose ten should be found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of ten.” ³³ So the Lord went His way as soon as He had finished speaking with Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place.

The above conversation definitely talks about Abraham’s deep relationship with God and Abraham considers God as his best friend and he keeps on talking and bargaining as if God is his friend. As Christians we are privileged people and we can pray to communicate with God and more we pray we are building relationship with God and we begin to understand Him. Apostle Paul mentions that praying consists of two components which is praying with understanding and praying with spirit; 1 Cori 14:2; 14-15, 18. This means our whole being is involved in prayer, which directly engages our renewed spirit from the Holy Spirit of God. This is not possible without our relationship with God, and there is a definite mind and heart connection while we pray.

How could prayer be a relationship with God, if it only remains a lifting of our minds to God?  We need very special times of intimacy with God, but that time needs to be prepared for and built up to.  To enrich our relationship with God, we have to engage our hearts and we have to learn to love Him with all of heart and mind, soul and strength. This does not come naturally to a fallen man, because we want to do it on our own, and this relationship of intimacy is a process and it is a life long journey. The more we talk to Him, depend on Him, and involve Him in our life, we begin to understand who He is and we will be able to trust Him despite our situations. That involves finding intimacy with God in the midst of our everyday busy lives, much like we do with the other important relationships of our lives. 

If the above article stirs a desire for that kind of deep relationship with God, one place to begin is to let God tell us about how much He loves us.  We will never know what God is telling us unless we read His Words and God says, "You are precious in my eyes and I love you." Isaiah 43:4. If we are open to God's expressions of affection towards us that can open our hearts to stir up affection in the form of grateful response.  Remember it only takes a spark to get the fire going and we need to take ongoing care to keep the fire from going out if that relationship is to continue. The Word of God, Spirit of God, and people of God will help us to build that lasting relationship with God and help us improve our prayer life. Our journey is very personal to Jesus Christ and Prayer is indeed a litmus test which assesses our relationship with Him.  With special care, it can become a long lasting, warm and comforting, life-long relationship.  

End Notes:

1.        Prayer - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prayer

Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with a deity, an object of worship, or a spiritual entity through deliberate communication. Prayer can ...

2.        Judaism 101: Prayers and Blessings

www.jewfaq.org/prayer.htm

Tefilah: Prayer. The Hebrew word for prayer is tefilah. It is derived from the root Pe-Lamed-Lamed and the word l'hitpalel, meaning to judge oneself.

 

Website References:

        1. Prayer and relationship with God | daily meditation

dailymedit.wordpress.com/2013/06/11/prayer-and-relationship-with...

2013-06-11 · Genesis 18:33: And the LORD went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place. Communication is the mark of ...

        2. Prayer and the God who listens - Resources for the seeking spirit

www.spirithome.com/prayersp.html

Prayer as communication within a living relationship with God. Praying for enemies. Praying amiss. What God is listening for, and what you might discover.

        3. How Do You Have A Relationship With God? - Clarifying Christianity

www.clarifyingchristianity.com/relationship.shtml

Although not part of the model prayer, when God does ... these examples show a belief system that does not allow a personal relationship with God. From Part ...

        4. Prayer Secret #1 - Your Personal Relationship With God

www.bible-knowledge.com/prayer-secret-1

5. Prayer Secret #1 Your Personal Relationship With God. This, in my opinion, is the #1 secret for being able to get more of your personal prayers answered by God the ...

Bibliography:

1. Millard J. Erickson. Christian Theology. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983-85, p. 947-1002.

2. R.T. Kendall. Understanding Theology, Developing a Healthy Church in the 21^st Century, 1996, p. 357-364.

3. Jay E. Adams. A Theology of Christian Counseling, More than Redemption. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1979, p.249-275.

4. Louis Berkhof. Systematic Theology. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996, p. 423-450.

5.  Robert P Lightner. Handbook of Evangelical Theology, Historical, Biblical, and Contemporary Survey and Review. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1986, p.527-544.

6. Charles Ryrie. Basic Theology. Chicago: Moody Press, 1986, 1999, p.374-377.

7.  A. H. Strong. Systematic Theology. New Jersey: Fleming H. Revell Co, 1907, p. 869-881.

8.  Wayne Grudem. Systematic Theology, An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994, p. 736-761; 840-850.

9. Steven W. Waterhouse. Not By Bread Alone, An Outlined Guide To Bible Doctrine. Amarillo: Westcliffe Press, 2007, p.188-191. 

10. John Theodore Muller, Th.D. Christian Dogmatics, A handbook of Doctrinal Theology for Pastors, Teachers, and Laymen.  St. Louis, Mo: Concordia Publishing House, 1934, p.384-386.  

11. ESV Study Bible. English Standard Version. Crossway Bibles, Wheaton, Illinois: Publishing ministry of Good News publishers, 2008.

12. The Matthew Henry Study Bible. King James Version. Iowa falls: World Bible Publishers, Inc.

One of my personal testimonies on the power of prayer.

(This article was published in Bay View Glen alliance Church, Toronto, Anglican Orthodox Church, North Carolina and some other churches in their websites and this is only to bring God glory and honor)

 

The Howrah Express

While in India – February 2009

                                                                               

 

 

On February, I fell very ill in Andhra Pradesh, India while on a mission trip. I kindly asked Bishop John to book me a first-class train ticket back to my mother’s house (a little south of Andhra), so that I could rest while Joshua can finish the mission work around the area. Since it was a last-minute request, Bishop John asked his MP friend to get a confirmed ticket for me. During this period, I was praying and asking the Lord whether or not I should leave Andhra at this time. Shortly into my prayer, I had a vision which troubled me. I saw myself sitting in the train alone, and underneath my seat was a huge, coiled cobra. When I saw this vision, my spirit was greatly distressed, prompting me to question the Lord over and over, as to whether I should leave Andhra at this time. Over the course of the next few hours, my spirit wrestled with the Lord in prayer. I asked Him many times to remove the vision from my mind if it wasn’t of Him. However, the more I talked to the Lord, the more the vision persisted, and I began to feel incredibly uncomfortable. Even during a ministry sharing in a little village in Andhra, the image of the serpent kept bothering my spirit to the point of utter distress.

          It was 2:30pm in the afternoon when Bishop John got back to me. He asked if I was all packed and ready to go, because the Howrah Express was leaving at 5:30pm. There were many people in the room when he asked me this, and there was an indirect pressure for me to go. Since much effort was yielded, and higher connections were sought in order to get the confirmed ticket so quickly, I was greatly pressured into agreeing. However, I paused and said, “Cancel the ticket, somehow I will pull along and finish this with God’s strength.” Almost instantly, I felt a great peace within myself. However, the people around me stared with great surprise, and it was evident that they were puzzled. I was physically a mess; I couldn’t eat anything, I was nauseated, and I was literally surviving on bottled water!

After a long, sleepless night, the morning came as bright as ever. Shaking with a bottle of water in my hands, I picked up the telephone, only to hear my mom’s voice on the other end. A little surprised, she asked me why I wasn’t back at home. Without much thought, I explained the previous night’s events, starting from the Howrah Express ticket to the troubling vision. After a long, albeit hesitant pause, my mother sighed heavily. She finally said, “Today’s newspaper has an article about the Howrah Express. That same train derailed, 15 coaches collapsed, 53 people died, and 50 more were injured. The rescue team is still on the process of pulling out dead bodies, and the train service has been suspended!” There was a deep quietness from both ends, for what could only have been hours on end. As if finally waking up from the world’s worst dream, my mom said, “You are precious and God knows how to protect His own; what a miraculous way of protection He’s thrown your way.”

            Later that same day, I called Bishop John and his family in Andhra. Thanks to the papers and the morning news, they had already been aware of the whole situation without me uttering a single word. We prayed together and shortly after, Bishop John shared this testimony with more that 500 people in a prayer service. In their language, Telungu, the people rejoiced to the Lord, singing “Hallelujah, Praise the Lord! God is mighty, and He is powerful. God chooses to speak to His people in His own way, and no man can limit His ways. “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, nor the mind perceived, what the Lord has prepared for His chosen.” 

With great thanks to the Lord Almighty,

~ Dr. Elizabeth Thambiraj

Websites below show pictures of derailed train:

       1. Howrah-Madras Express derails - India Travel Forum | IndiaMike.com

www.indiamike.com/india/indian-railways-f10/howrah-madras-express...

Howrah-Madras Express derails. Chennai. Howrah. Tamil Nadu. West Bengal. Indian Railways. Thread Tools Display Modes. ... #5 Feb 15th, 2009, 10:48. bobby2003; View ...

       2. Train services resumed in Howrah-Chennai route - Thaindian News

www.thaindian.com/newsportal/...in-howrah-chennai-route_100155446.html

Train services resumed in Howrah-Chennai route February 15th, 2009 - 6:26 pm ... High-level inquiry to probe Coromandel Express derailment - Feb 14, 2009; Jat ...