Merry

In what ways does stress pull us away from God? Stress causes our minds to be preoccupied, pulling us away from God. When our focus is on our troubles, we lose hope. But, when we focus on the promises of God, we have hope. In what ways does stress draw us closer to God? As believers, our first response to stress should be to turn to God. By doing so, we draw closer to Him as we turn our burdens over. Have you given your stress points to God fully? Yes, I have (praying unceasingly) What are you asking him to do about your stresses? I ask Him to change the things or help me accept the situation.

How might you begin to mention God's greatness in your own prayers? I use a digital prayer journal, and in it I have a list of praises for His Greatness. Great Healer, Deliverer, Holy, Everlasting, God of Light, Creator, God of Wonders and Miracles, God of Peace, Provider, Comforter, Mighty, God of Justice and Mercy and many more. Where is this kind of praise found by example in the Lord's Prayer? In the Lord’s Prayer, the words of praise are ”hallowed be thy Name.” What are your favorite songs that point to God's greatness? My two favorites are: Great is Thy Faithfulness and How Great Thou Art. I also like To God Be the Glory and Holy, Holy, Holy

In what way do our prayers of praise "bless" God? Prayers of praise are like music to God’s ears. When we praise Him it demonstrates that we know who He is and acknowledge His greatness. What do we mere humans have that God desires in a blessing? He wants our hearts! What are prayers like, that don't include blessing God? These prayers are selfish prayers. They aren’t Spirit-filled prayers.

Is it possible to have a pure heart? Yes! This line from the lesson answers this question. “God is in the heart purification business.“ How does God bring about a pure heart? What is our part in this? God brings about a pure heart through the blood of Jesus. Our part is to fully and completely confess our sins and seek pardon from Him.

What does it mean to have a broken heart and spirit? It means that we are in such deep sorrow for our sins, such that we feel unclean. We feel separated from God. Why is this essential in the prayer for pardon? It is essential because it means we have stopped rationalizing our sins, making excuses for them. Instead we are fully acknowledging our sins before the Lord. In what sense is this a "sacrifice"? The Father wants obedience, not sacrifice, so when we come to Him with a broken heart and spirit, we are sacrificing our hearts and souls to Him. Why do we tend to resist a "broken and contrite heart" in ourselves? Our free will gets in the way sometimes, so we make excuses for our sins. If we acknowledge them fully, that means we must repent as well. We don’t always like change. But, repentance of sin is crucial to our relationship with God.

In his prayer does David seek to minimize his sin? To maximize them? Not at all. He is very clear and complete in his confession. Why does an authentic prayer for pardon require clear, unvarnished acknowledgement of sin to be effective? In order to receive God’s mercy and grace, we must be clear and complete when confessing our sins and asking for pardon.

In what way does a prayer for pardon require faith? Without faith in God’s compassion, we would simply be wishing and hoping. With faith, we know God is compassionate and merciful, so we sincerely ask for pardon. What is that faith based on? Faith is based on the knowledge of God as is written in His Holy Word. How does a person gain the faith to pray this prayer in confidence? We gain faith through Bible study, meditation on His Word and asking Him to make His message clear to us.

In what way does Abraham show persistence? Abraham shows persistence by not accepting God’s first response, but continued to ask, lowering his number each time. Why is persistence necessary in prayer? Persistence is necessary because the Word tells us to pray without ceasing. He said, “Ask and it shall be given, seek and you shall find, knock and the door will be opened to you. If we know our friend is home and we knock on the door, we don’t just knock once and leave if they don’t answer, we knock again. Have you ever experienced "praying through"? What was it like? I have been praying through a concern and, although I’ve been doing it for ten years, I continue to pray. I know God hears me, because I’ve seen tiny steps of improvement. Persistence and praying through takes patience and “stick-to-it-ness.”

Do you think Abraham's boldness pleased God? Why or why not? I do think his boldness pleased God, because it demonstrates Abraham’s belief in Him. He is also demonstrating that he listens to God by repeating God’s own promises about the righteous back to Him. What might cause God to take delight in your prayers to him? When we praise Him, demonstrate our fear and respect for Him, and recount His promises in our prayers, He is delighted.

How does Abraham demonstrate his humility before God? Abraham showed humility by acknowledging his humanity. Think “I am only human, while you are the all-knowing God.” Why must boldness be tempered with humility? Boldness without humility breeds arrogance. Being arrogant before God would be dangerous.

What is the basis of Abraham's argument that God should spare Sodom? Because God said He loves and protects the righteous, so if there were righteous in Sodom, God would go against His word. How does it relate to God's character? God’s character is that all things He does are for good. Destroying righteous along with wicked would go against that character.

How can prayer change God's mind without conflicting with the doctrine of the Immutability of God? We can pray using His Promises and the examples in the Bible where He did change His mind. Can God answer a prayer for something outside of the scope of his will? Since I believe that God answers all prayers, even if the answer to a petition or intercession is no, I believe He answer that type of prayer, but the answer will always be within His Will.

How can a wrong understanding of determinism and predestination keep us from the kind of gutsy prayer that Moses prayed? If we believe that we cannot change God’s mind, what is the purpose of intercession and petition? Wrong understanding of this will result in rote prayers and lack of prayer, other than “if it is Your Will prayers.” We have no true understanding of the meaning behind the parts of the Bible that discuss predestination. It doesn’t mean we can’t change God’s mind. What do you call a belief that our prayers make no difference to God's response? I call it a belief that does not take into account all of God’s Word.

Q1. We can emulate Moses’s repeating of the things we know about God and His promises. (Praying the scriptures) Q2. Moses uses God’s own words and the effect His anger would have on His reputation with unbelievers. He’s reminding God of His promises to Israel and what the Egyptians would tell others about Him. (Praying the scriptures) Q3. To pray the promises of God is to use the scriptures in our prayers. Using God’s Word demonstrates that we are aligning our will with a His. Q4. Praying the Scriptures helps us to get our prayers answered. In order to pray the scriptures, we must know them. Q5. Reading the scriptures, knowing them and using them in our prayers helps us align our will with God’s because we are using His own words.

What had the people done that was so bad? They broke the first of the Ten Commandments. How can a loving God be angry? He can be angry because His people continually disobey Him. The Israelites did it over and over again, despite His blessings on them It is part of His love. Is God's sentence to destroy Israel and raise up a new nation through Moses justified? God is the ultimate judge. His idea of justice is far beyond our understanding. Any of His actions are the right ones, so all are justified.