How should we pray?

The only Biblical requirements for our prayers to be answered by God are compliance with His commands and faith that He hears us ( Proverbs 15:8 &28:9 ; James 1:5-8).

Consider the following Biblical examples. Jesus prayed alone on a mountain at Matthew 14:23 and in public during Lazarus' resurrection at John 11:41,42.

Do you always have to pray out loud? No. Hannah prayed silently to God. "Her lips were moving but her voice was not heard". Yet, God heard and answered her.(1 Samuel 1:12-2o) . As a matter of fact,silent prayers allow you to communicate freely with God without hurting others. You can thank God for giving you an A in that course without offending the person standing next to you who failed. You can ask God to punish your enemies without putting those you quarrelled with recently on the defensive. If you pray silently to God to give you a sign,as Gideon did(Judges 6:36-4o),no human can overhear you and manipulate events.

What is the best praying posture? Do you always have to kneel down when praying? Jesus knelt at Luke 22:41,42 but stood up facing heaven at John 11:41.

What should we pray about? At Matthew 6:9-13, Jesus listed some prayer points. However,we do not have to repeat the Model prayer(or any other prayer) by rote. (Matthew 6:7). The Model prayer was never repeated outside the Sermon on the Mount, either by Jesus himself or by any of his disciples. "No matter what we ask according to his will,he hears us "(1 John 5:14; Matthew 26:39).


You can use any language to pray, since God accepts people from all nations,tribes and languages(Acts 1o:34,35 ;Revelation 7:9,1o). Pray in the language you understand best, to avoid making blunders and probably cursing yourself.

Words of wisdom(in pix)

Lessons from 1 Samuel 13

1. Avoid bad friends and relatives like Jonadab,who may corrupt you.(vs 3-6). See also 1 Corinthians 15:33;Proverbs 13:2o.

2. Parents should monitor their children well. David shouldn't have sent Tamar to  Amnon(vs 7). After all , he had servants (and even his mother) to cook for him.

3. Don't enter a man's room or be alone with  him unless you are his wife (vs 9,1o).

4. If a situation becomes charged, flee. Tamar was overpowered while preaching to Amnon (vs 12-14). In contrast, Joseph escaped Mrs Potiphar's seduction by fleeing(Genesis 39:11-12). See also 1 Corinthians 6:18 and 2  Timothy 2:22.

5. Keep yourself pure. Like Amnon, many men later reject girls they had used (vs 15-19).

God's view of homosexuality

Many people become confused on this issue  when self-confessed homosexuals are appointed as religious leaders and some Christian countries legalise same-sex marriages. What is the Bible's viewpoint?

Remember that God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah for homosexuality(Gen 19:4,5,13). The Mosaic Law also condemns it , as well as cross-gender dressing which usually leads to it (Lev. 18:22 &2o:13 ;Deut. 22:5) . The New Testament supports this viewpoint at 1 Cor. 6:9,1o ; Rom. 1:26,27, etc. Homosexuals can change , as some of the  Corinthians did.(1 Cor. 6 : 11).

Secondly, homosexuality comes with a lot of health problems such as HIV/AIDS and leaking anuses. The anus is not as large and pliable as a woman's vagina. God has his reasons for creating us "male and female"(Matthew 19:4-6).

Thirdly, homosexual unions cannot produce children. This is why many gay couples adopt other people's children, have children outside the relationship,etc. Imagine what will happen if everybody becomes a homosexual.

God's laws are for our own good (Isaiah 48:17). Like the Corinthian Christian, you can change. Pray to God for help, be determined to change, and leave bad associations for wholesome ones. (PROVERBS 13:2O;HEBREWS 1O:24,25). God bless you as you do so.

LINKS: http://www.ncfamily.org/FNC/0707S3.html ; http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=Is01B1 ; http://www.dakotavoice.com/2009/05/homosexual-group-admits-health-risks-of-homosexual-behavior/ ; http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Same-sex_marriage ; http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gay_bishops.

Is God a Trinity?

    Many people believe that the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are equal in status, with each being God and yet together being but one God. What is the Bible's viewpoint?

    1. The Father and the Son are separate individuals. (see Matthew 2o:23 &26:39; Mark 13:32;John 8:17,18 &14:28 ;Luke 3:21,22). Did Jesus resurrect himself?

    2. The Father is greater than the Son before,during and even after the latter's ministry on earth( John 14:28 &2o:17;1 Corinthians 11:3 & 15:27,28). The Father is "the only true God"(John 17:3;1 Cor. 8:5,6;1 Peter 1:3). His personal name is Jehovah.(Exodus 6:3;Isaiah 12:2 &26:4, King James Version).

    3. The Holy Spirit is God's active force,not a person. The helper promised at John 15:26 came as tongues of fire and "filled" 12o disciples at Pentecost(Acts 2:1-4). There was no record of the holy spirit writing letters to the congregation, performing miracles,etc like Jesus and Paul. See also how Acts 2:17;11:16 &7:55 ; Matthew 3:11;Genesis 1:2 ;Luke 11:13 ;Hebrews 6:4 spoke about the Holy Spirit.

    4. The "oneness" of God,Jesus and the Holy  Spirit referred to at John 1o:3o & 1 John 5:7,8 is like the oneness of husband and wife (Genesis 2:24). Just as the husband is distinct from his wife and is her head, God is distinct from Jesus and is his head( 1 Corinthians 11:3). The oneness is unity of purpose, not the same identity. See also John 17:21,22. 

Beware of false preachers

  Just because someone is a well-respected preacher, performs miracles, etc does not mean you should copy his behaviours and follow  his advice without thinking. Visions and dreams, angelic advice, etc must be treated with caution. Always compare and contrast the advice with the Bible before making a decision. Consider the following Biblical examples.

1. Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden after listening to the Devil (Gen. 3:1 -24; Rev. 12:9). Satan was an angel who later turned against God (Job 1:6). God didn't excuse them for believing an angel; he punished them for disobeying his clear orders.

2. A prophet was sent to King Jeroboam of Israel from Judah. God told him not to eat or drink there and not to return by the way he had come. He rejected the king's food offer but fell prey to the deception of an older prophet who claimed that an angel told him to bring the younger prophet back to his house for dinner. The gullible prophet was killed by a lion. ( 1 Kings 13:8-29).

3. In contrast, the Jews in Beroa "searched the Scriptures daily, to see whether those things were so "(Acts 17:1o, 11).

Just because a prophet's prophecies come true does not make him/her a true prophet (Deut. 13: 1-4).

Therefore, "believe not every inspired expression, but test whether they are of God, because many false prophets are gone out into the world" ( 1 John 4:1).