Straight Answers to 21 Honest Questions about Prayer , livre ebook

Baker Publishing Group - Charles Simpson

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86 pages

English

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Answers to Your Most Puzzling Questions about PrayerIn a world where problems grow more and more complex and desperate, the need for prayer is rising. Yet critical needs will go unmet until we have a proper understanding of effective prayer and how it works. Here, in this easy-to-understand guidebook, veteran prayer warrior Charles Simpson answers 21 of your most-asked questions about prayer, including:· Who am I actually talking to?· Do some prayers always "work"?· How important is faith when I pray?· What if my prayers aren't answered?· How does God want me to pray?· How can I pray more effectively?Written in an accessible question-and-answer format, these pages are filled with warmth, candor and personal illustrations that will boost you out of frustration and into times of effective prayer. Here is the hope and help you need to see the results and answers you long for.

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Philosophie et théologie

Prayer in Christianity

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Publié par	Baker Publishing Group
Date de parution	01 septembre 2013
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781441263223
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0403€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

© 2013 by Charles V. Simpson
Published by Chosen Books
11400 Hampshire Avenue South
Bloomington, Minnesota 55438
www.chosenbooks.com
Chosen Books is a division of
Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan
www.bakerpublishinggroup.com
Ebook edition created 2013
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means for example, electronic, photocopy, recording without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
ISBN 978-1-4412-6322-3
Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Cover design by Gearbox
“If you’ve ever had the privilege of praying with Charles Simpson as I have, you’ll find he is a man who knows how to pray. In his new book, Charles teaches us practical ways to deepen our prayer life, giving us a closer relationship with the Lord Jesus.”
Ricky Skaggs, country/bluegrass artist
“This is some of the finest teaching on prayer I have ever read. What makes it doubly good is having Charles share from his personal story along the way scriptural insights, experiencing God’s presence, lessons from everyday life in which the ways of prayer become a way of life.”
Larry Christenson, former director, International Lutheran Renewal Center; author, The Christian Family , The Mantle of Esther
“This book takes a unique approach to prayer. Through practical Biblical teaching and candid personal stories, Charles takes you on a journey into knowing God through prayer. His honest approach to prayer will refresh and renew you. If you are thirsty for God’s presence, this is a must-read.”
Michael Coleman, co-founder and former president, Integrity Media
“I have known Charles Simpson for over forty years. His godly leadership in the Kingdom of God is without question. He skillfully weaves personal and practical experience with biblical truth that sets this book apart from others on the great subject of prayer and will challenge the reader.”
Dick Iverson, founder, Ministers Fellowship International
“What an excellent and godly book! Some writers have produced a volume of books on prayer. I believe this outstanding book by Charles Simpson will be the defining single book on the subject for the 21st century.”
Charles Green, president, Harvest Ministries to the World
“After fifteen-plus years in Christian music ministry, prayer for me is indispensable. Brother Charles’ book on prayer has taken me to the next level in live connection with God. I highly recommend that any who are serious about their relationship with God avail themselves to the wisdom in this book.”
Joseph Rojas, founder, Seventh Day Slumber
This book is dedicated to John and Wendy Beckett. John is chairman of the Beckett Corporation and serves on the boards of a number of Christian ministries, such as Cru (Campus Crusade for Christ) and The King’s College in New York City. He and Wendy are both authors.
John helped establish Intercessors for America in 1973, which has encouraged hundreds of thousands of people in their prayer lives. John also established an evangelistic website (lifesgreatestquestion.com), through which over two million have indicated decisions for Christ.
I have known John and Wendy since 1969. They have inspired me in my prayer life and walk with the Lord, as they have literally millions of others.
The world is in its condition not so much for a lack of prayer, but for a lack of effective prayer. It is not enough for us to say, “Pray more,” without teaching how to pray as Jesus taught His disciples. But He did much more than teach them the words to pray: He taught them how to pray effectively and that will be our quest.
Contents
Cover 1
Title Page 3
Copyright Page 4
Endorsements 5
Dedication 7
Epigraph 8
Acknowledgments 11
1. What Is Prayer? 13
2. Who Am I Talking to Here? 22
3. Why Pray? 30
4. What Can I Learn from Jesus’ Prayers? 40
5. Why Is Forgiveness So Important? 51
6. How Does God Want Me to Pray? 60
7. How Important Is Faith When I Pray? 68
8. What Does It Mean to Pray in the Holy Spirit? 77
9. What Does It Mean to Pray Fervently? 88
10. Is Prayer Worth the Labor? 99
11. How Does Righteousness Affect Our Prayers? 108
12. Should I Quote Scripture When I Pray? 114
13. Should I Expect to Hear from God? 121
14. Do I Have to Wait? 132
15. Is He Always on My Mind? 141
16. Do I Give Him a Blank Check? 147
17. What Do I Do When It Does Not Seem to Be Working? 153
18. I Believe I Have Heard the Lord—What Should I Do Now? 163
19. Should I Fast? 169
20. What Do You Mean by “the Manifest Presence of God”? 174
21. How Can We Release Life to the Lord? 178
Bibliography 185
About the Author 187
Notes 188
Back Cover 189
Acknowledgments
I am writing this book in collaboration with my friend Gregory Mira. Like I did, Gregory grew up in an atmosphere of serious prayer. He and his wife, Denise, have five sons, each of whom serve the Lord. Denise speaks at large conferences on raising children, and Gregory has ministered in many nations and also spoken at large conferences. He is no novice, and his thoughts are included in this effort.
Special thanks go to Mr. and Mrs. Michael Coleman, Dr. and Mrs. Ray Hester, Mr. and Mrs. Erik Krueger, Mr. and Mrs. Gene Hargis, Mr. and Mrs. Herman Kanis and all who have supported our publishing efforts through CSM Publishing.
I also am deeply grateful to the staff of Charles Simpson Ministries, who helped make this book a reality: Stephen Simpson, Susanne Simpson, Victoria Grace Simpson and Christina Villalobos.
Thank you to those at Chosen Books for the privilege of publishing with them. I am grateful to editorial director Jane Campbell and copy editor Catherine Cooker, who have made this a better book and have hopefully helped me become a better author.
1 What Is Prayer?
Honesty is the best policy that is especially true of prayer, given that God knows us better than we know ourselves. Therefore, I will make every effort to be honest, for I am, like you, simply seeking to pray more effectively.
You are reading this because you believe, as I do, that prayer is a vital part of life; therefore, the questions and answers in this book are vital as well. If what we pray about is important, then how and why we pray will also be important.
A Foundation in Prayer
To introduce myself and my beliefs, I will share some of my story. Hopefully this will help you understand the answers that I offer to these questions about prayer.
My parents were “faith missionaries” in south Louisiana bayou country, ministering among French-speaking Catholics during the Great Depression. “Faith missionaries” meant we had no visible means of support no salary. What support we had came from a small number of friends who, in that era, also had few resources. Fishing, hunting and gardening were not hobbies for us; they were survival skills.
Mother came from one of these French-speaking Catholic families. She met my father while he was ministering to people living along the bayous and swamps. He baptized most of her family in a cold, muddy canal one December, and then he began to minister in their home and to nearby relatives. In that era evangelicals found the going tough there support was meager and opposition was plentiful.
Dad was from a small town in Alabama. When the Great Depression hit, my grandfather lost everything, and Dad had to drop out of college. He moved to New Orleans to get a job, and there he attended seminary. It was through a local Baptist church in New Orleans that Dad became interested in the bayous and doing mission work there.
I was born in 1937, during the heart of the Great Depression, in the south Louisiana bayous. My earliest memories took place in a homemade house trailer without indoor plumbing, running water or electricity. Looking back I see we were poor in money, yet we were rich in faith, courage and family. And we did have support from an occasional letter or a kind Catholic friend.
That was the context that imprinted my young consciousness; it is also how I learned about prayer. I heard my parents pray not only for food on the table but for friends and relatives to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
Sometimes we journeyed up the gravel road toward Kraemer, a small village along Bayou Boeuf, to Uncle Nory’s house, where Dad held house meetings. The kids sat or lay on pallets while the singing, praying and teaching went on into the night. There was much to pray about. I was usually asleep by the time the meeting ended.
My parents often wept when they prayed because the subjects of their prayers were serious. Yet their prayers were effective: Churches were founded and people met the Lord, often in remote places like Grand Bayou, near the Mississippi River, where an entire village came to Christ.
Some time later my parents moved to south Alabama, where Dad pastored a Southern Baptist church, and their prayer life went with them. Upon retiring 35 years later, they came to work with me in the church that I pastored. Mom went home to be with the Lord in 1991, Dad in 1997. To their children and grandchildren they left a legacy of faith, prayer and the knowledge that God rewards those who diligently seek Him (see Hebrews 11:6). That is one legacy I aspire to leave as well.
The needs of our society are different now than they were for my parents in the bayous of the 1930s. We may have plumbing, electricity and numerous other conveniences, but the problems we face are sometimes more concerning: fractured families, moral confusion, a secular culture growing in hostility toward biblical values, intense polarization and other factors that strain our lives. We have not only an urgency to pray but an urgency