lee trainor

My christian hope is not as strong as it should be. I did change some of the ways that I live, and I believe that is the Holy Spirit changing our hearts, but I still struggle everyday with making more changes. It is not easy to make changes in our lives, even if we know that it is the best thing for us to do. All we can do is spend time with our father and ask him for his help with what we are struggling with. I ask God to break the bond or bonds that is holding that person or people down. I also ask him to give that individual a yearning to want something better for themselves.

I think we should all learn that as believers, we need to constantly pray for each other to mature in our faith, as well as "grow up in Christ". We should want other believers to experience God's awesome power!. I don't really know if people would come to God on their own or not. Everyone is different, it might depend on circumstances for each individual. But we as followers of Christ have a responsibility to ask that un-believers come to Christ. This kind of prayer is imperative for the faith of the Body of Christ.

WHAT IS THE BASIS OF NEHEMIAH'S APPEAL?. HE IS APPEALING TO GOD TO KEEP THE PROMISES THAT HE MADE TO MOSES, AND TO HAVE HIS KING, (ATRAXERXES) REVERSE HIS RULING. HOW DOES HE ARGUE HIS CASE BEFORE GOD? WITH FAITH!. AGAIN HE REMINDS GOD OF THE COVENANT THAT HE HAS MADE WITH ISREAL, AND THAT THEY ARE THE CHOSEN, AND THAT THEY ARE GOD'S PEOPLE AND SERVANTS. WHAT DO WE LEARN FROM THIS ABOUT INTERCESSION?. WE LEARN THAT THIS IS THE WAY TO PETITION GOD'S HELP FOR THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS, AND THE ANSWERING OF OUR PRAYERS.

NEHEMIAH HAS TAKEN ALL OF THE BURDEN OF THE ISREALITES UPON HIMSELF, JUST LIKE DANIEL DID. HE FEELS THAT IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT HE FAST AND PRAY IN THE WAY THAT HE DID. HE KNOWS THAT HE IS A TRUE SERVANT OF GOD, AND TO SHOW GOD THE RESPECT AND REVERENCE HE DESERVES, IT IS NECESSARY FOR HIM TO SUFFER FOR THE SINS OF HIS PEOPLE. NEHEMIAH IS HEART BROKEN WHEN HE FINDS OUT ABOUT JERUSALEM. HE KNOWS THE ONLY WAY THAT HIS CITY WILL BE REBUILT IS THROUGH GOD.

I think by identifying himself with the sins of his people, even though he himself did not commit these sins, he was showing God that he is acknowledging the sins of his "fathers", and praying for mercy. I also think that he is not trying to portray himself as rightous, but as someone who is not perfect. Jesus loved his people so much that he" became sin " so that we would be forgiven by God.

Daniel had been truly sorry for the sins of his people. He was extremely serious about seeking Gods' forgiveness. He showed his seriousness by first fasting, then in sackcloth and ashes which was a sign of penitence for his people. He didn't give any excuses for the sins that his people committed, he just came right out and said "we have sinned". Then he pleaded to God to forgive them. I believe that by studying the word, fasting, and going through the preparations , Daniel showed God that he determined to wait for an answer to his prayer. I don't think that there too many people like Daniel that would do what he did for his people. I think that Daniel is a perfect example of how to prepare, and present yourself for true intercession.

Daniel was a student of the word and a prophet. He appeals to God's merciful character. Daniel believes that by taking it upon himself to pray a "confessional" prayer, praying for everyone mind you, that God will hold true to his word and forgive his people of their sins. The trait that Daniel possessed was humility.

One of the reasons that people want to flee from God is because they do not want to acknowledge their sin. They don't want to accept any responsibility for their actions. I think that sometimes it may be easier to think that God doesn't know what we are doing, that he doesn't pay any attention to us. If he isn't paying any attention to us, then we can do whatever we want with no reprecussions for our actions. Yes I have definately felt that way before, I think everyone has.

Hezekiah asks for healing on the basis of devotion, obedience, and faith. God listens to the prayers of his children," he honors the prayers of the upright over those of the backslidden ". I think he hears all prayers, but he gives special attention to the prayers of someone who walks in faith, who knows when he sins, but repents and tries to follow God in his life. God is the only one who knows if someone is truly righteous or not, it is up to him whether or not he will answer someone's prayers.

Hezekiah healing is vital for his nation. He did not have a successor for his throne. He did not have a son yet to take over for him. God promised David that out of his line there would come a messiah.

The first two sentences of Hezekiah's prayer are ackowledging that he knows who God really is. Hezekiah is showing the Lord that he has complete faith in him. That he alone is holy, and is the God of everyone and everything. The principal here is reverance and total faith. The way we can apply this principal to our own lives is, not to try to solve our problems alone, but to give them to God, and trust that he will always take care of us. When we try to do it on our own, without God, we are not walking in faith. We are not doing the will of God, we are doing our own will!.

By spreading out the letter from the enemy before the Lord, Hezekiah is showing reverence towards the Lord, he is recognizing that the insult is being directed toward the " living God ", and he wants to know what God intends to do about it.

To have a broken heart and spirit means to have the heart and the spirit of the Lord. To have your heart broken by what you have done, and honestly repent and ask forgiveness. To change inside, not just on the outside. It is essential to feel this way because God knows the true hearts of men. You cannot be forgiven if God doesn't feel that you are worthy of his forgiveness. So, I guess that is how it is a sacrifice, you are giving up your will, and receiving his .

Yes, I do believe that it is possible to have a pure heart. But it will not be an easy thing to accomplish. You have to walk in all his ways, obeying him at all times. And that is how God brings about a pure heart in you.

David just tells it like it is. He knows that he doesn't have to minimize or mazimze what he has done. God already knows exactly what he did. David knows that God can look into his heart and see his sins, so why bother going to the trouble of making them seem small or large. I think that this also answers the question of having a prayer for pardon contain clear, precise acknowldgement of sin to be effective, you have to be willing to lay everything on the line to our heavenly father, because he already knows how you feel, and if you are being sincere.

I believe that you must have faith in order to pray, period. David's faith is based on his knowledge of God's character, which is love and compassion, not condemnation and unforgiveness. The only way to gain this faith and be able to pray this prayer, is to have a personal relationship with God, spending time in his prescence, studying his word.

He shows that he is persistent by continually asking God to spare the rightous ( if there is any ) in Sodom. Being persistent in prayer is extremely important. If you want something that bad, you are determined to get it, it means that you are serious about what you want! God sees this as something that is very important to you.

Yes, I do think that God was pleased with Abraham's personal strength and self confidence. It showed God that Abraham truly loved and respected him. God would feel the same way about us if we prayed in the same manner. I believe that it gives him great delight when his children lift him up and glorify him.

He demonstrates his humility by declaring to the Lord that he is "nothing but dust and ashes". By doing that , he is telling the Lord that he as a human being, is nothing compared to him. He approaches the Lord with reverence, but also with boldness. The reason that boldness must be tempered with humility is because when you show someone that you are bold, you are also showing them that you are strong in your beliefs. And being humble is like saying that you know that you are not better than them.

Abraham is appealing to God's perfect character by asking him to spare the rightous, not to condem them with the wicked. I think that Abraham was a pretty smart and sly guy, he felt completely comfortable in his relationship with God, so he knew just how to approach him to plead for the rightous.

It all comes down to praying according to his will. Most of the time we don't know what is best for us, we think we do, but that does not always line up with what God wants for us. Do I think he can answer a prayer for something that is outside of his will?, yes, he is willing to change the outcome of a situation if it is a good thing.

If we have a "wrong" understanding of predestination, then we will have the attitude that "it doesn't matter what I pray, because God has already planned what is going happen anyway!!. We would have no reason to pray the way that Moses did, because it would all seem like a waste of time. In response to question # 2, I do not in any way believe that our prayers make no difference to God's response!!. God wants us to "come to the throne boldly", just the way Jesus and Moses did!.

I agree with Ron S. I too feel that he was testing Moses to see how much faith he had. Moses had a huge responsibility!!, an enormous task!! By speaking the word, Moses showed God that he could appeal to God's character. I think by doing that, he showed God that he was the right one for the job! I believe Moses passed his test with flying colors!!

The Isrealites had totally disregarded the commandments that God gave them. They had no faith. They immediately started to worship other gods. God is a loving god, these were his chosen people, whom he saved from slavery, and he had every right to be angry with them. What they did was like a slap in the face to God. I don't really know if what he wanted to do with Isreal was justified, maybe he thought he could raise up a new nation, and that they would be different from the Isrealites, maybe they would have faith and obey him.

The reason we should be continually asking to be forgiven for our sins is because we are far from perfect. We all sin. But if we do not practice the action of forgiving others, we will not be forgiven for our transgressions.