How do you pray ?

[countmeworthy]

If there ever was a time I was/am thankful for a link to former LCrs, this is it!

I am troubled in my spirit about something...and I would appreciate everyone's input, everyone's fellowship. Thanks in advance.

You already know the question by my my title. And I'll explain why I'm asking as you read.
Before I explain, I'm going to cut/paste scriptures which will shed light to my concern and insert some observations as well.

When Jesus was teaching and training His disciples, BEFORE His Crucifixion and Resurrection, He was asked how to pray. His Answer was "Our Father..." and when He prayed, He prayed to the Father.
He was also very specific in John 14:6 that No person could go to the FATHER but through Him for He was the Way, the Truth and the Life.

Jesus said to him, I am the Way and the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except by (through) Me.

(Hold on to THIS scripture, please)
Yet, during His ministry, No one actually 'Prayed' to Jesus to get to the Father. I believe the reason is because He had not yet died, resurrected and ascended. How in the world would it have looked to his followers if He told them to pray to Him ?? They probably would have stoned Him right then and there!! But once He ascended, and the Holy Spirit was sent to us, John 14:6 made totally good sense.

We also know from the next few verses, they (especially Philip) had no enlightenment that they did not know Jesus and Father God were ONE. They did not know Jesus was in the Father and the Father was in Him.

We are also very, very familiar with Isaiah 9:6

]For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father [of Eternity], Prince of Peace.

Now...before my LC days, I had a Catholic upbringing. I remember praying either Dear God or Dear Jesus. Thankfully, I never prayed to Mary or the saints. What a BLESSING in disguise, eh?

When I got saved, I asked the LORD JESUS to come inside of me, to wash me in His Blood as I repented of all my sins, to be my Lord.At that very second, WHOOSH, I felt 'something' come inside of me. I knew it was Jesus since I had just ASKED HIM to come inside of me but it was also the Mighty Rushing Wind of the Holy Spirit. I believe I got baptized in the Holy Spirit right then and there. (again another topic for another time. ) Of course, the Lord Jesus came inside of me too as did the Father.
Yet most believers pray directly to the Father. Even when they pray for eternal Salvation, often times I hear prayers like : Father, I believe Jesus died on the cross for my sins...Forgive me for my sins etc..etc... In the Name of Jesus. Now God is a most GRACIOUS GOD...so I am not judging...just making an observation...for this is not how I prayed to be saved nor did most of us ever pray this way if we got saved in the LC..or once we were 'grounded' in the LC.

Furthermore, when I share the gospel (which is not formulated in any way!), I always point them to pray to Jesus and to make Him LORD of their lives. I am very, very careful instructing them to pray from the deepest part of their being...not from their mind. I explain to them when professional voice instructors are teaching their students to sing or to speak, they teach them to speak/sing from their diaghram...not from their throats.

Throughout my tenure in the LC, I as most of us, if not all of us, focused on Praying 'LORD JESUS', in addition to calling on the Lord.
Aside from all the LC baggage, when I left, I continued address my prayers to the Lord Jesus and I continued to call on His Name. But I have learned NOT to call on the Lord using the same 'tone'..I do call on Him with Boldness in true assurance of Faith, absolutely conscience of Who I'm addressing and calling on !

In the LC, I never prayed to our Heavenly Father God, nor did I pray to God, the Holy Spirit...always to the Lord Jesus. Did any of you ? ( Today, I sometimes address my prayers to the Father, Most of the time to the Son and more than I ever did, to the Holy Spirit. (another post/testimony for another time..)

Now...whenever I attend prayer meetings of any kind, everyone usually prays to God the Father in the Name of Jesus.

Because of my LC baggage, I wanted to open my heart, my spirit, to pray to Our Father and to pray 'in the Name of Jesus.' So I did, although I will say it seemed foreign to me. But as I become more confident in my positition in Christ Jesus, I am addressing my prayers more & more again to the Lord Jesus and explaining to SOME of my Christian friends that although I pray and speak to God the Father and God the Holy Spirit, I pray directly to the Lord Jesus based on John 14:6. I tell them (because it is TRUE) depending on my spirit, I address God the Father sometimes and God the Holy Spirit at other times and sometimes all THREE at once..Even though I totally understand there is ONE GOD--ELOHIM.

I also totally understand there are times when we pray to the Father IN the Name of JESUS or during spiritual warfare and we address the enemy, I will speak to him and his minions In the Name of JESUS by the Power of the Holy Spirit.
My Christian friends I am sharing my thoughts/scriptures/experience are totally impressed and soaking it up.

But I also know I don't feel at liberty to share these truths with ALL believers. So I just remain mum and wait upon the leading and guidance of the Spirit in my spirit for the right time.

Btw, I do hear many, many more people these days call on the Name of the Lord Jesus and address Him in prayer but still most people I hear pray to the Father in the Name of Jesus.

So....my question to you, since leaving the LC and moving about in Christian circles, learning from them and teaching them too, what has been your experience regarding prayer ?
If it wasn't for my LC background, I would not even ask this question.

Again...thanks for your fellowship in advance.

[OBW]

My prayer habits are one thing that I carried away from the LC and have mostly retained. I am conversational rather than stilted and formulaic. Rather than sound like a barrister in 18th century England entreating the mercy of a stern judge, it is more like a son talking of his day, or asking to borrow the car.

But on the other hand, while the LC was so down on formula, I note that some of the things they said was poor to pray about are included in the so-called Lord's prayer, most notably "our daily bread." In that example, Jesus taught the disciples to pray about everything, not just big-picture, "Christ and the church" kind of things.

But "in Jesus name" is seldom part of my prayer. Either I am praying as an agent of His in line with that agency, or I am not. No incantation of words will change it. But even if I am praying my own prayers, still expecting an answer (even if it is "no") I will pray. If I try to determine whether the prayer is "in Jesus name" I would most likely fail to pray due to lack of certainty, or become disenchanted when I do not get the expected result if I think it must be in his name.

The key is to pray. Do it how you do it. Be sincere. Seek his will. I'm still not that sure about how much precise will He has for each individual life, but even if the LC was right, to pray for it would not mark you as deficient in His eyes.

Outside of that, the key is to pray. Don't worry about form — whether more or less. Just pray.

[countmeworthy]

Thanks Mike/OBW...

I am merely curious if most of us former LCrs begin our prayers with LORD, or LORD JESUS OR are others beginning their prayers with "FATHER we pray or ask...'in the name of Jesus."

I do not use any formula but I do notice I mostly begin my prayers addressing the LORD JESUS first. I sometimes address God, the HOLY SPIRIT first and sometimes I pray to God the FATHER First. Sometimes, I address the FATHER, the SON and the HOLY SPIRIT, speaking to each of them/HIM in my prayer of the moment. It all depends on what I am praying about or praying for, or WHO I'm praying for.

Most people I hear praying, start them addressing the FATHER first.

We were not raised, to my recollection, to address our prayers to the FATHER first. We always addressed them, began them with "LORD!" or LORD JESUS". This is how I am still more comfortable beginning my prayers.

And you are correct, we never ended any of our prayers in the Name of Jesus. What is of absolutely of most importance is we pray from our spirit. That is something the LC taught correctly!!! Does not mean everyone praying in that familiar 'tone' was praying from their spirit but they were a lot closer than those people who play from their minds.

When explaining to people how to pray from their spirit, I use the example of a professional Voice teacher. A Professional Voice instructor will teach his/her student to speak/sing from their diaghram...not from their throat. It's not an easy task to master. But if you listen to broadcasters on the radio and on TV, most are speaking from their diaghram. That is why they get people's undivided attention whether we agree with what they are saying or not.
I PRAY A LOT! And I pray the WORD of GOD A LOT. I LOVE praying and honestly I pray without ceasing most of the time...even if I'm watching TV, I am very, very conscientious of the LORD'S Presence on me and in me. If I'm watching a secular show and it makes me laugh. I thank the LORD for the show or the scene that made me laugh. We ALL need a good belly laugh now and then.

Again Thanks for replying.

[aron]

Originally Posted by countmeworthy

I am merely curious if most of us former LCrs begin our prayers with LORD, or LORD JESUS OR are others beginning their prayers with "FATHER we pray or ask...'in the name of Jesus."

I do not use any formula but I do notice I mostly begin my prayers addressing the LORD JESUS first. I sometimes address God, the HOLY SPIRIT first and sometimes I pray to God the FATHER First. Sometimes, I address the FATHER, the SON and the HOLY SPIRIT, speaking to each of them/HIM in my prayer of the moment. It all depends on what I am praying about or praying for, or WHO I'm praying for.

Most people I hear praying, start them addressing the FATHER first.

I pray to the Father, when I am asking. God is my Father, my Source, my Originator, the Giver of all good things. So I always address God as my Father. I see no reason to end my request with a formulaic "in the Name of Jesus" because I am already in the Name of Jesus. Both God and I know this. When I call God my Father it is only because I am in the Name of Jesus, that I have the boldness to do so.

When I am praising, I praise Jesus, and also the Father. It is spontanteous, and is led by the flow of the conversation I/we are having with God.

When I am rebuking the "authorities, powers, principalities", etc. I always use the name of Jesus. I loudly and repeatedly lift up the name of Jesus. I use no other name. I simply loudly and repeatedly invoke the name of Jesus until I am sure all the forces or entities in my sphere realize that I am a herald of the coming kingdom of the One, Jesus the Nazarene. I myself am nothing, perhaps even less than nothing. But I boldly trumpet the Name.

We have the covering of the blood. We can boldly trumpet the Name of Jesus to all, both to small and great.

[countmeworthy]

I am bringing up this thread, dusting it off since it's been a while since any of us have visited it, including MEEEE. And I'm pulling it out for a reason because yesterday I had a very unusual experience to the GLORY of GOD. All Praise goes to HIM and HIM alone.

Here goes:
I went to a Christian bookstore and as I'm getting ready to pay for my items, I see a dear aquaintance/friend whom I had not seen in a very, very long time paying for something. I get her attention and when she turns to me, she is excited as all get out.

And that was the unusual experience I wanted to share with you all.
JUST KIDDING !!!!

She was excited to see me and gave me a hug.....but then as we're talking, she yells...and I mean from the top of her lungs: CAROL !!!! LOOK AT YOU !!!

I'm gazing at her with a puzzled look for I'm not sure why she's reacting like she is. She hugs me again and with TEARS streaming down her cheek, she belts out: YOU ARE WALKING NORMAL !!! You HAVE BEEN HEALED !! The last time I saw you, you could hardly walk. (10 years ago, I was diagnosed with SEVERE Rhumatoid Arthritis and struggled walking. I have been on all kinds of medication, giving myself weekly injections..until a couple of months ago when even the shots were not doing anything for me anymore.)

I then realized......WOW ! That's RIGHT ! I have been walking like a normal person for over a WEEK now ! And this is the 2nd time a person this week has noticed and brought it to my attention !

She then turned to the cashier and to everyone standing in line BELTING OUT "THIS WOMAN HAS BEEN HEALED from SEVERE ARTHRITIS BECAUSE SHE HAS BEEN SOOO INCREDIBLY FAITHFUL TO THE LORD !! SHE KNOWS HOW TO PRAY !! DOES ANYONE HERE NEED PRAYER BECAUSE SHE WILL PRAY FOR YOU MIGHTILY !! WE ARE HAVING CHURCH RIGHT HERE !She's going on and on and everyone is simply STUNNED and AMAZED clapping with joy. Some hug me and the lady behind me asks for prayer so my friend pulled me to her and WE BOTH began to pray. I did not ask her what she needed prayer for. I simply trusted the Holy Spirit to pray through me for her needs. As we are praying for her, very strongly she begins to cry. She was soo incredibly moved. The cashier also begins to cry.

What an experience huh ?

But this is not the FIRST time this has happened to me. Back in January, I went to a conference...in fact, I went to see/hear Benny Hinn teach and pray.

On the last day, the third day, where prayers for healing went up to the Throne, I was standing with the rest of the 7,000 people in attendance praying with my eyes closed. I then felt the woman standing next to me whom I had been getting aquainted with place her arm around me. I thought something like 'Aww...brotherly love'.

Suddenly, I hear a man's voice BELT OUT: 'THE POWER OF GOD IS SOOO STRONG OVER HERE! He kept on and on...ANNOYING ME for he was interrupting my Worship Prayer!' So with one eye closed, I peeked my other eye open to see what all the comotion was about. Btw, I'm in the middle of the aisle wayyyyy in the back of the room. He is on the side of the aisle extending his arm towards me. So I closed my eye and kept focusing on the LORD worshipping Him, Praising Him.

All of a sudden, I am being yanked out to the side of the aisle. I am all confused by the comotion. The man, a pastor under Benny Hinn's leadership, tells me the POWER of GOD is ALL OVER ME. I have no idea what he means !!
He asked me how I felt and I replied 'NUMB!' ( Goodness-Gracious, I was just yanked out of my WORSHIP time! ) He exclaims that I have been healed. I AM ?? I didn't feel healed. He asked me if there was anything I had been afflicted with and I told him RA. He REJOICED AND PROCLAIMED the LORD had HEALED ME ! Well...Ok..... but I DIDN'T feel healed.

Next thing I know, I'm the first person up on stage talking to BENNY HINN about what just happened ...IN FRONT OF 7,000 people !!!!

I DID NOT WANT to be up on stage although I HAD wanted to meet Benny but NOT LIKE THAT !!

When I returned back to my seat, the lady next to me hugged me and as we talked, she told me I was shaking like a leaf which is why she put her arm around me. She was afraid I was going to fall and thus she was holding me up. I told her I didn't feel a thing ! I didn't feel as I was shaking at all. I was simply standing there Worshipping the Lord.

Then she told me her husband who was standing next to her felt a very strong warmth come from me as I was being 'yanked' out of the aisle. And as I passed in front of him, his arthritic hands began to unstiffen.

This is also not the first time someone has told me they felt something STRONG from the LORD come upon them when I prayed.

Anyway....it's only been in the past 2 weeks that while I still have some 'residue', I am walking totally normal, not taking any medication except for some Aleve now & then.

And there you have my Prayer Report. The GLORY and PRAISE and HONOR belongs ONLY to the KING of kINGS and LORD of lords---the Anointed ONE- JESUS. NOT to ME !! I'm only special in the Eyes of the LORD as each and everyone reading this report is. Each and everyone of us is Wondersly made for each and everyone of us were created in the Image and Likeness of GOD (Genesis 1:26) and chosen IN HIM before the foundation of the world Ephesians 1:4 to be kings and priests to the Most High God according to Revelation 1:6 and Revelation 5:10.
Thank You Jesus.. Thank You Lord Jesus. Praise You and Thank You for healing me and using me..All Glory is YOURS and YOURS alone ! I'm simply YOUR Vessel to be USED by ALMIGHTY GOD. Thank You for using me. Bless and Heal all my brothers and sisters in Christ. Supply ALL their needs and grant them the desires of their hearts for YOUR WORD in Psalm 37:4 tells us when we delight IN YOU, YOU will grant us the desires of our hearts. Surely we delight IN YOU !! We LOVE YOU. We WORSHIP YOU. WE ADORE YOU. We PRAISE and GLORIFY YOU for YOU ALONE are Worthy of all Praise, Honor and Glory forevermore.............Halleluia to the Lamb of GOD.

[aron]

Originally Posted by countmeworthy

He exclaims that I have been healed. I AM ?? I didn't feel healed. He asked me if there was anything I had been afflicted with and I told him RA. He REJOICED AND PROCLAIMED the LORD had HEALED ME !

Thank You Jesus.. Thank You Lord Jesus. Praise You and Thank You for healing me and using me..All Glory is YOURS and YOURS alone ! I'm simply YOUR Vessel to be USED by ALMIGHTY GOD. Thank You for using me. Bless and Heal all my brothers and sisters in Christ. Supply ALL their needs and grant them the desires of their hearts for YOUR WORD in Psalm 37:4 tells us when we delight IN YOU, YOU will grant us the desires of our hearts. Surely we delight IN YOU !! We LOVE YOU. We WORSHIP YOU. WE ADORE YOU. We PRAISE and GLORIFY YOU for YOU ALONE are Worthy of all Praise, Honor and Glory forevermore.............Halleluia to the Lamb of GOD.

I think it's a pretty good thing to declare by faith God's goodness and power and coming kingdom. The darker the situation, the louder we can praise Him, and the stronger the Spirit.

The louder we declare it the better. The more often we declare it the better. The more people we declare it to, the better. The more assurance and conviction we can muster as we open our mouths, the better. The bolder we are, the better.

The more we point to God's word, and declare with joy, "Amen, hallelujah! Praise God!" the better.

My own experience is to get revelation from God's word, and rush around to all my acquaintances, and go, "Wow! Look at this!" Then they get impressed with what is declared to us all, and they begin to share it with their neighbors. Amazing experience.

I especially liked your friend's declaration "We are having church right here"... when we have the experience of having "church" wherever we are, with whomever we are with, surely that is an encouragement as great as anything possible.

Grace be with you. May God bless every one of your steps home to the Father of all.