Alicea

Why is Hezekiah's healing important for his nation? How did it relate to God's promises to David? It is important because if he had died the nation would not have a leader. It related to God's promise that David's throne would be established forever.

How do the first two sentences of Hezekiah's prayer (verse 15) correspond to the first sentence of the Lord's Prayer? How are they important to faith? How are they important to God answering the prayer? They correspond in that they place God and His postion, He is Our Father and Lord, He is high and lifted up ruler over all. They are important to faith as they identify just who God is and where He is to dwell in our lives and hearts. They are important to God answering prayer because it evidences that the prayerer understands exactly who God is and is under His power.

What is the significance of Hezekiah spreading out the enemy's message before the Lord? What is the underlying principle illustrated here? How can we apply this principle to our own lives? What happens when we don't apply this principle? Hezekiah was pointing out that the enemy was in essence attacking God. The underlying princple is the battle is the Lords. In our lives we need to allow God the control over the battle, the stresses, let Him bring the answer and then obey His directions. When we don't obey this principle we are trying to play God and take control.

Why is a person's attitude with regard to giving related to that person's attitude towards praise? Why does an attitude of possessiveness with regards to giving get in the way of worship? In what sense do all your possessions belong to God? What then should be your relationship to your possessions? How will these truths re-energize your giving? Your praise? All comes from God, when we praise Him we are acknowleging that and when we have the right attitude towards giving we are also understanding that it all comes from God. Because it shows that we consider our money ours and not God's. Without His help, blessings and empowerment I could obtain nothing, I can't even take in a breath without His allowance. We need to remember to hold all things loosely. This reminder is humbling and timely, it will re-energize my attitude in all aspects of life.

Verses 11 and 12 both attribute various characteristics to God, such as glory, honor, and might. How might you begin to mention God's greatness in your own prayers? Where is this kind of praise found by example in the Lord's Prayer? What are your favorite songs that point to God's greatness? By doing the same, praising Him for what we see around us and what we see Him doing, expressing our thankfulness. Where it mentions that His is the power and the glory forever. The standards, How Great Thou Art, There is a Fountain, I See A Crimson Stream of Blood, Amazing Grace.

In what way does praise exalt God? Why should we exalt God? What does this exaltation do in us? What does it say about us? Praise exalts God because it puts God where He belongs in our hearts, high and lifted up. We should exalt God because of who He is and what He has done for us, it is an expression of recognition of who He is and of our love and appreciation of Him. I releases faith in us, it reminds us of how great the God is, whom we served. I shows that we love Him and have our priorities straight.

In what way do our prayers of praise "bless" God? What do we mere humans have that God desires in a blessing? What are prayers like, that don't include blessing God? Our prayers bless God when they express our love for Him and gratitude to Him which recognizes all He has done for us. God desires our love, freely given. Prayers that don't include blessing God, are mere petitions, or like on order form we are filling out. They are arrogant and presumptuous.

What does it mean to have a broken heart and spirit? Why is this essential in the prayer for pardon? In what sense is this a "sacrifice"? Why do we tend to resist a "broken and contrite heart" in ourselves? It means to have a full understanding of our sin and how it has hurt our Lord and to be devastated with sorrow that we have caused pain to the one we love so deeply and has loved us beyond all comprehension. It is a sacrifice because it requires the "killing" of ourselves, our pride and laying ourselves open before the Lord. This attitude is essential because it only then we are totally open before the Lord, no games, just bald faced honest openess. We tend to resist this because it requires us to get down from the throne we place ourselves on, laying down of our pride, our arrogance. It is embarrassing and it hurts and most of all it is humbling. We generally don't like to be humbled.

Is it possible to have a pure heart? How does God bring about a pure heart? What is our part in this? I believe it is possible to have a pure heart and still make mistakes. God brings about a pure heart by His fellowship and contact with us and by His word being available to us, also by the shed blood of Christ Jesus. Our part is to seek to please Him in all possible ways and to repent when sin is revealed to us.

In his prayer does David seek to minimize his sins? To maximize them? Why does an authentic prayer for pardon require clear, unvarnished acknowledgement of sin to be effective? David is transparent and clear about his sin. He says it exactly as it is. If we are truly repentive of our sin then we will acknowlege the sin and it wrongness clearly before the Lord without trying to justify it.

In what way does a prayer for pardon require faith? What is that faith based on? How does a person gain the faith to pray this prayer in confidence? If we don't believe in God or His willingness to forgive us we won't bother to pray and ask for forgiveness. That faith is based on God's mercy. We gain this faith by knowing God and being familiar with His character, which we do be reading and studying His word.

In what way does Abraham show persistence? Why is persistence necessary in prayer? Have you ever experienced "praying through"? What was it like? Abraham shows persistance when he starts out asking for 50 to be saved and goes down to 10. Persistence is necessary in prayer because it shows that we are serious in what we are asking for, that we really care about our petition. I have experienced "praying through". I knew that I had been heard when I literally felt the need to continue praying to lift. This didn't always mean the answer was yes, I have experienced times when I was praying for someone or something when I have sensed that the Lord did not want me to keep on praying about the situation.

Do you think Abraham's boldness pleased God? Why or why not? What might cause God to take delight in your prayers to him? Yes, I think Abraham's boldness pleased God because it showed a confidence in God as in His Father. The prayer was also showing love for his fellow man which is pleasing to God. God takes delight in our prayers to Him when they are borne out of love for Him and for others.

. How did Abraham demonstrate his humility before God? Why must boldness be tempered with humility? Abraham demonstrated his humility before God by asking God His permission to be bold. Boldness must be tempered with humility or it will be arrogance and presumption.

What is the basis of Abraham's argument that God should spare Sodom? How does it relate to God's character? the basis of Abraham's argument is God's righteousness and mercy. God is righteous and merciful.

Q4. How can prayer change God's mind without conflicting with the doctrine of the Immutability of God? Can God answer a prayer for something outside of the scope of his will? Prayer can change God's mind without changing His will. God's will was to have a people; He would accomplish that if He destroyed Israel and started over again with Moses or if He spared Israel and used them. So God's will and purpose were not changed but the way His will was accomplished was changed. Yes He can answer prayer outside the scope of His will. He says NO. Hi to Lorraine Wright. Looking forward to seeing you soon.

How can a wrong understanding of determinism and predestination keep us from the kind of gutsy prayer that Moses prayed? What do you call a belief that our prayers make no difference to God's response? If we don't believe that anything we pray is going to make a difference then we won't bother to pray. Predestination.

What aspects of Moses' prayer of intercession should we emulate in our own prayers? Upon what logical grounds does Moses offer this bold appeal to God? What do you think it means to "pray the promises of God"? How does knowing the Bible help you get your prayers answered? How does this help our prayers be within God's will? Recall God's promises, character, righteousness, and precedents. If God didn't save the people the heathen would say He was unable to and brought them into the desert to kill them thereby giving the impression that He was not a loving God. It means to be familiar with the scriptural promises God has made and include them in our prayer, reminding both ourselves and God of them. When you know the scriptures when you pray you have the confidence that you are praying according to the will of God.

What had the people done that was so bad? How can a loving God be angry? Is God's sentence to destroy Israel and raise up a new nation through Moses justified? Not only had the people turned to worshipping an idol but they gave the idol credit for delivering them from Egypt. Anger indicates a concern about something, therefore God was showing that He cared. It is a just sentence, by worshipping the false god and crediting it with what God did for them they were spitting into the very face of their deliverer and the only true lover of their souls.

Why should we continually ask forgiveness? How can unforgiveness on our part block God's blessing? How can unforgiveness block God's forgiveness We ned to continually ask for forgiveness becasue we continually sin. Unforgiveness is a sin in itself, and sin always blocks God's blessing, we also pray a curse down on ourselves when we ask God to forgive us AS we forgive others. Holding unforgiveness in our heart is unrepented sin, unrepented sin can not be forgiven. We cannot hear God's voice or mercy when we hold unrepented sin such as unforgiveness in our hearts, so we cannot even by God's mercy offer the forgivenss in faith that God will help us. We must first acknowledge our unforiving heart, recogize it as disobedience, repent of it, ask God to help us be obedient. Then we have a open heart and channel with God to receive His forgiveness.

Q3. Why do we seek to be independent of asking anyone for help? Why do we seek to be independent of God? Why should we ask God to "give" us daily bread so long as we can earn a living for ourselves? Our desire to be independenat of God and others goes back to the same problem that was in the garden of eden, when satan used the temptation with eve, that you shall be as gods. A god has rule and dominion. we want rule and dominion in our lives. We should ask God for our daily bread even if we earn a living because our ability and availablity of being able to earn that living can be taken away in a heartbeat. We must acknowledge our dependency on God for all things in our life.

Q2. In what sense are we asking that the Father's kingdom should come? Why are we asking for the Father's will to be done here on earth? How should this prayer affect our living? In two senses, we want the Father's kingdom to be established within us and our lives and also we want the coming of the Lord Jesus to establish His kingdom here on earth. This prayer affects our daily living in two ways also. We are live our lives day by day wanting the Father's will and authority and to be manifest and also we are to live as though Christ will return any moment.

What about our lives and words "hallows" the name of our Father? What desecrates and besmirches it? How should we "hallow" the Father when we begin to pray? As Christians we bear the name of the Lord when we act disrespectful or take the name of the Lord lightly or in jest we are not holding that name holy. This may be taking it to the exteme, but I grew up in a very small town and my family was well known. My grandmother was always admonishing me not to do anything that would bring shame on the family name. I think if I remembered that more as I went about my daily life I might walk more circumspectly. When we hallow the Father's name before we pray it brings us into a state of reverance and awe of the majesty of our Lord and therefore also reminds us of His authority and leads to an attitude of worship. I quote I have on my living room wall is, the power of worship is that it reinstates God's authority.

What does it tell us about the status of the Lamb that he is worshipped alongside "him who sits on the throne"? That the Lamb is God, God the Son. Thanks be to Him forever and ever, Amen

What's the significance of Christians "reigning on the earth"? Of being "priests"? Do you think we are to "reign" now or later (or both)? Here in lies the rub, the kingdom of God is within us, we are called to be priests, a so in that sense we reign on earth now. However there is still the future when we have a new heaven and a new earth, where we will reign and be priests. The significance is that we are redeemed now unto that day, when the earth and mankind will be what God originally intended them to be in the first place, before sin in the Garden of Eden.