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From: homeier@aero.ARPA (Peter Homeier)
Newsgroups: net.religion.christian
Subject: Re: how should I pray?
Message-ID: <527@aero.ARPA>
Date: Mon, 4-Nov-85 19:45:51 EST
Article-I.D.: aero.527
Posted: Mon Nov  4 19:45:51 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 8-Nov-85 04:46:59 EST
References: <1229@sphinx.UChicago.UUCP>
Reply-To: homeier@aero.UUCP (Peter Homeier)
Organization: The Aerospace Corp., El Segundo, CA
Lines: 45

[... munch, munch, munch ...]

In article <1229@sphinx.UChicago.UUCP> k111@sphinx.UChicago.UUCP
                                       (Peter Kim) writes:
>How should I pray?  If there is something I
>really want, should I pray that God grants me
>what I want or should I pray that God grants me
>what I want if it is His will or should I not
>ask God for what I want or ....
>
>     Peter Kim   ihnp4!gargoyle!sphinx!k111

Dear Peter,

     By all means, if you want something, you can just pray for that.
However, you are wise to think about checking with God about that prayer,
since when you pray for things, you will generally get them.  If you are
not sure that something is really the best thing (i.e., God's perfect,
loving will for you) then do ask Him.  The best place to find out His
will is in the Bible.  If you ask God if you can do something that is
shown in the Bible to be wrong, and you know it but are just asking Him
because you hope He might let you anyway, sorry.  God does not go against
His word.  But in many questions of life there is no clear-cut, always
sure answer.  See Ecclesiasted chapter 3 for some.  In these cases, you
can ask Him and He will answer you.  "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask
of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given
to him.  But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like
a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.  For let not that man suppose
that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man,
unstable in all his ways."  (James 1:5-8)

     However, this searching of God can take time, and there is another way
to pray according to the perfect will of God which bypassed the intellect.
This is praying in the Spirit, with a spiritual language given supernaturally
by the endowment of the Holy Spirit.  If you have had this infilling, then
this is one of the things it is used for.  If not, write me and I'll explain
it.

-- 

Peter Homeier                                  ______
Arpanet:    homeier@aerospace                 / o    \_/
UUCP:       ..!ihnp4!trwrb!aero!homeier       \___)__/ \
The Aerospace Corporation, M1-108
El Segundo, CA 90245