prayer

The best formula for a prayer that gives J.O.Y:J- 1st, Pray to JESUSO- 2nd, Pray for OTHERSY- 3rd, Pray for YOURSELFMost people distort the formula by praying selfish prayers for their own personal gains. JYO is not the spelling for joy. In JOY, O comes before Y. It means you pray for OTHERS before YOURSELF.

We pray to obey God, not to 'play God'. We pray, not to change God's mind, but to change our own; not to command God, but to let God command us. We pray to 'let God be God'. Prayer is our obedience to God even when it asks God for things, for God has commanded us to ask (Mt. 7:7).

God didn__ design your life so you would constantly fall down, but he does hope that you will be brought to your knees.

In moments of prayer, people tend to pose as a critic and point out perceived flaws in God's art.

When we pray for God to illumine our path, we are saying, __ear God, please show me the way. What thoughts do I need to think, to be able to navigate my life at this point? What perceptions do I need; what insights will guide me? Who do I need to forgive? What parts of my personality do I need to look at; what changes do I need to make? Please come upon me and heal my life. Amen.

You cannot always depend on prayers to be answered the way you want them answered but you can always depend on God. God, the loving Father often denies us those things which in the end would prove harmful to us. Every boy wants a revolver at age four, and no father yet has ever granted that request. Why should we think God is less wise? Someday we will thank God not only for what He gave us, but also for that which He refused.

When we link our eating and our prayer and begin to see food as part of a much bigger picture, rather than the focal point of our entire lives, we reshape the way we think, the way we act, and the way we interact.

from Love Under a Dark Sky: "In the universe vastWe share a simple feastAmong creatures equally earthbound.Let us raise our hearts in gratitude,Our eyes in expectationOf a greater supper yetIn heavenly realms.

Tangaloor, fire-brightFlame-foot, farthest walkerYour hunter speaksIn need he walksIn need, but never in fear.

We do not pray in order to provoke God into action. If this is our view of prayer, then we are no different to the prophets of Baal who felt they had to manipulate their aloof, disinterested and fickle gods. Instead we pray because we have a God who has already shown himself to be always active in this world in the person of His Son Jesus, and because we have a confidence that He will continue to work for our good and His glory.

Taken slowly, or mindfully, even eating an orange or a bowl of soup, or a small piece of dark chocolate for that matter, can take on the flavor or prayer.

You will remember how, as a schoolboy, I had destroyed my religious life by a vicious subjectivism which made 'realizations' the aim of prayer; turning away from God to seek states of mind, and trying to produce those states of mind by 'maistry'.

Even if you can__ be totally mindful at every meal, if you can say a blessing, silently if necessary, or offer up a prayer for someone, something beyond yourself and your food, the prayer helps to transform eating into something that affects not only our hunger at that moment but the greater world.

Prayer is a way, a road we build for love to walk into our lives.

Oh Lord of melons, of mercy, though I am not ready, nor worthy, I am climbing towards you.

My love for you is a prayer, she thought. Love is the only prayer I know.

When you pray, all heaven prays with you. That's a mighty army.

I have now concentrated all my prayers into one, and that one prayer is this, that I may die to self, and live wholly to Him.