Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. ( Psalm 100:4).
Surely we can't forget to give God the honor and praise worthy to His Name. The fact is though; that it can't simply be conjured up with music or emotion and have power to make a change that lasts in people's hearts. The Spirit doesn't magnify His name through some formula. This by no means indicates that we should take verses like the one above lightly or not be prepared to worship Him.
The same; perhaps could be said in regard to praying in our closets and corporate prayer. There is a time and a place for either event. This seems to cause some confusion when people have to obsess with hypnotic music in order to pray on their own.
It is clear that family time with prayers involving our own kids or spouse may involve things either not needed to be shared or inappropriate. At the same time we want to extend our prayers beyond our own comfort zone to edify the church and even others who may seek the Lord. I don't see anything wrong praying for those on the street; but if they are deliberately mocking God then it is counterproductive. More sobering is the case when a brother or sister is clearly in rebellion and living a lifestyle of sin when we need to separate and continue to pray on our own until the Lord breaks them. The concept of "guarding our hearts" ( Proverbs 4:23) should keep us from being around those who may tempt us to sin.
Our church should be a bastion of strength where as a family we can look out for each other and trust can be something through the Spirit that we sense over time. This is why it is so important not to let the world in and the enemy take us down. To be in the world and not of it is easier for some perhaps than others; but doing life together whether discipling or evangelism should build us up as a church family. Again as I often say it seems we don't see much of that today.
Surely we can't forget to give God the honor and praise worthy to His Name. The fact is though; that it can't simply be conjured up with music or emotion and have power to make a change that lasts in people's hearts. The Spirit doesn't magnify His name through some formula. This by no means indicates that we should take verses like the one above lightly or not be prepared to worship Him.
The same; perhaps could be said in regard to praying in our closets and corporate prayer. There is a time and a place for either event. This seems to cause some confusion when people have to obsess with hypnotic music in order to pray on their own.
It is clear that family time with prayers involving our own kids or spouse may involve things either not needed to be shared or inappropriate. At the same time we want to extend our prayers beyond our own comfort zone to edify the church and even others who may seek the Lord. I don't see anything wrong praying for those on the street; but if they are deliberately mocking God then it is counterproductive. More sobering is the case when a brother or sister is clearly in rebellion and living a lifestyle of sin when we need to separate and continue to pray on our own until the Lord breaks them. The concept of "guarding our hearts" ( Proverbs 4:23) should keep us from being around those who may tempt us to sin.
Our church should be a bastion of strength where as a family we can look out for each other and trust can be something through the Spirit that we sense over time. This is why it is so important not to let the world in and the enemy take us down. To be in the world and not of it is easier for some perhaps than others; but doing life together whether discipling or evangelism should build us up as a church family. Again as I often say it seems we don't see much of that today.
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