SpiffyDinosaur Member Posts: 29 From: MO, USA Registered: 09-28-2002 |
I was listening to I think.... Charles Stanley (SP?) today and he was going thru chalenges to our prayer life. For example falling a sleep, wandering thoughts, distraction, bad ( unclean thoughts ) in the middle of praying. He had a good take on it. Basicly he was saying they offer opportunity to pray about those challenges as they occur. For example one of my personal problems with prayer wandering thoughts. Maybe GOD is allowing them to come in, so I can follow them to find a spacific need for prayer. It seems that when I pray, I can get to thinking about any number of things, using his idea I can examine the thoughts and look for a trend. Then pray in a direction or pray for the subject of the thoughts. i really like the way he handles falling to sleep, (I tend to agree with him) He say falling to sleep allows GOD to tweek our minds programming and allow us to think (see) situations and problems in a new way. I think this can be verified in scripture. Seems like some of the prophets in the Bible fell asleep and when they woke; they had new understanding of the way GOD was handeling the problem. Just wondering what Ya'll thought. Spiffy |
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SpiffyDinosaur Member Posts: 29 From: MO, USA Registered: 09-28-2002 |
Guess this isn't to hot a topic. I'll post something here just to get my total off the 13th post. Hmmm! Guess I'll go pray about something. I would fast but supper is on the table. Spiffy |
InsanePoet Member Posts: 638 From: Vermont, USA Registered: 03-12-2003 |
Yes, God doesn't stop us from messing up, he wants us to learn. ------------------ |
Mack Administrator Posts: 2779 From: Registered: 01-20-2001 |
Actually SpiffyDino this topic has answered a few questions I've had about praying (thanks!). I too often get wandering thoughts or sometimes fall asleep while praying, so wierd yet cool how God uses ways to help us. A question, do you guys/gals often feel like you can pray forever, and your list to things to pray about keep on getting longer and longer and longer? Or when you start to put a close to your prayer, you feel a longing to keep on praying? I know what they mean, but I'm wondering if anyone else has run into the same thing? ------------------ |
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SpiffyDinosaur Member Posts: 29 From: MO, USA Registered: 09-28-2002 |
@Mack Yes, the prayer list, Oh! man. I have so many things in my family and with the people I am surrounded by. Instead of getting down to it and not wanting to stop, I have a hard time getting started, it gets so overwhelming. One of the biggest problems I have currently is no prayer closet. I use to have a studio and and amiga in my parents basement. It was so nice to sit down and spend a couple hours typing to GOD. The best part of it is GOD dosen't care how I spell or about my grammer. Getting married, and now having children, means privacy is a thing of the past. I tend to need time for a warm up, then quiet, so I can think. One great thing about having the children, is helping them pray and letting them lead in prayer. It's amazing how they can bring up some of the most direct and to the point things to pray about. GOD definately uses the small things to confound the wise. Children are such a blessing. @ Insanepoet Spiffy |
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InsanePoet Member Posts: 638 From: Vermont, USA Registered: 03-12-2003 |
I simple believe that falling asleeep is caused by Satan. He wants us to say away from God. God uses Satan as a tool to sharpen us. ------------------ |
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SpiffyDinosaur Member Posts: 29 From: MO, USA Registered: 09-28-2002 |
I don't think satan can hinder GOD. If it is from him that we do fall asleep in prayer GOD jsut uses it as I mentioned above. GOD uses sleep to rejuvinate and recondition us as well 1 kings 19. Elijah had a terrible time after defeating the prophets of baal. Heck King Ahabe & Jezebel were out to get him.... and good. I am sure there are more examples of where GOD used falling asleep to the benefit of the sleeper. I most definately don't think it's to be considered a mistake or a mess up. |
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InsanePoet Member Posts: 638 From: Vermont, USA Registered: 03-12-2003 |
I never said that Satan hinders God, I said that falling asleep in prayer is Satan's work. God allows Satan to do what he does to sharpen us. You see, ALL THINGS, unbelievers, demons, Satan, everything is a tool of God. Read Romans 13 ------------------ |
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SpiffyDinosaur Member Posts: 29 From: MO, USA Registered: 09-28-2002 |
We are arguing the same point from two different perspectives. That's the beauty of all this, your way of saying it will hit home to some my way of saying it will hit home to others. It will all work for the Good and Glory of GOD. |
gingerellies Member Posts: 50 From: Orlando, FL Registered: 05-28-2002 |
Hey thanks! My friends and I have discussed these very things and come to many of the same conclusions! I do many times feel overwhelmed when trying to decide where to begin on my seemingly endless prayer list. And, almost always do not want to put an end to my prayer. I sometimes say, I'll be right back, or stay with me while I have to take care of this in my life (ie. sleep, talking to people - pretty hard to have two conversations at once  ). But, I never want to stop praying, I want to leave the line open, I NEED constant help. I try to remember, God knows my heart and all my thoughts, so I don't persecute myself for forgetting someone I really wanted to pray for or not knowing where to start in my prayers (I don't want it to seem that I am putting them in order of importance, none is really more important than the other). And, He knows I want Him to be with me ALWAYS, and by that I mean ALWAYS!! I like what you said about wandering thoughts, I will use that as a que to pray about those things and my wandering thoughts. I do think that falling asleep while praying is a blessing for me. I have a lot of trouble sleeping sometimes and sometimes I am just rambling on to God and He eases my mind and allows me to rest. I fully understand this may not be the case for everyone else. Anyway, I just wanted to say, Thank you. I really got a lot from your post. I will be sure to tell my friends about your take on it, they will be pleased as well. ------------------ |
silicon_chippy Member Posts: 208 From: Scotland Registered: 10-26-2002 |
Just a quick note. I dream almost every night. Dreaming brings me to places I did not know existed, and teaches me how to go forward. In my view, it is not bad to fall asleep. It is great to wake up in the morning and realise that I have already learned something new. Falling asleep is not bad. ------------------ |
D-SIPL Moderator Posts: 1345 From: Maesteg, Wales Registered: 07-21-2001 |
Except at work... -D--SIPL |
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silicon_chippy Member Posts: 208 From: Scotland Registered: 10-26-2002 |
I can daydream at work too ------------------ |
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D-SIPL Moderator Posts: 1345 From: Maesteg, Wales Registered: 07-21-2001 |
is that like dreaming during the day whilst asleep or do you have to be awake?? --D-SIPL |
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silicon_chippy Member Posts: 208 From: Scotland Registered: 10-26-2002 |
I am not a prophet. I do find dreams make certain problems clearer. Yes I do daydream. ------------------ |
praiseJesus Junior Member Posts: 6 From: Registered: 11-13-2002 |
Ha ha! I feel so good reading your posts. These are good things to think about; praise God! It may help to remember this: 1 Thess. 5:17 says "Pray without ceasing"!! We might say: "Well, I'm going to stop praying to you, God, while I talk to this other person, so I'm not carrying on 2 conversations at once." ..But, if we are to pray without ceasing .. well, I see 2 things here: 1. Maybe we should take the phrase "Pray without ceasing", not as a new commandment of God, but as a goal we should all be going toward. 2. We can, therefore, pray without ceasing! (even when we're talking to someone else.) A primary question: What is praying? I think prayer is not only conversation (talking) with God, but also communion (being with) God. So to pray without ceasing or praying itself, could be, I think, just thinking about God, or seeing His face, or being conscious of your belief that He is, in all literalness, right there with you, because He sees you. Even when I, a man, write this, since you're reading it at a later time, you are still with me because you're thinking about my thought, and also, I right now am trying to think about what you might think, and include more than my own statements here, partially, with these posts, because of the limitations of going back and forth in talking with one another over time, and that we don't want people to misunderstand us -- so, even us people can think about each other, even though we've never met each other. How much more will God know that we DO constantly, consciously remember Him and thereby REMAIN OPEN TO HIM!!! This is a huge part of the normal praying, talking to God, that I think we forget sometimes -- That God wants to respond back to us, that the only reason for verbalizing or thinking out words when we pray, is so our minds (which is located in our soul, not our spirit) can be edified. So we truly can pray without ceasing, once we remember to always remember God. And we can try to pray without ceasing, as a tool to help us to always remember God (the 2 things are not one then the other in some definite order that I can pick out, but we have tools, like prayer, that can help us get closer to God, and interact with Him, even with our minds and emotions and will. We will speak when we want to...but what is in our heart(spirit or our "core", not emotions) is what will come out of our mouths, so that God doesn't NEED us to pray, but we should be thankful to God that He allows us to pray and express ourselves in this way to Him) Pray without ceasing, and see the remarkable power that God has over us, when we believe Him and straight do what He says!! Praise Jesus Christ and all glory to the King of all kings and the Lord of all lords. Praise God! Brother Jeremy (praise God!) |