Comments on: Sermon for October 19, 2008: “How Prayer Works” http://www.litchfieldchurch.org/2008/10/13/october-19-2008-%e2%80%9chow-prayer-works%e2%80%9d/ A Community Church Sat, 28 Aug 2010 15:37:54 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: steve http://www.litchfieldchurch.org/2008/10/13/october-19-2008-%e2%80%9chow-prayer-works%e2%80%9d/comment-page-1/#comment-4 steve Wed, 22 Oct 2008 01:35:18 +0000 http://www.litchfieldchurch.org/?p=456#comment-4 Thanks Kristel. Of course you are correct about prayers of thanks being about the past and present. We are thankful for what God has done or is doing right now. I guess I was thinking primarily about prayers of intercession or petition. I should have made that more explicit. As I think about it, I wonder if even our prayers of thanks and praise can make for a better future and give God more to work with since they necessarily make us more aware of our blessedness and give us a more positive, hopeful and trusting orientation, thus changing the world as it is and making a better world possible. I think of Jesus comment on faith in Matthew 25:29, "to the one that has, more will be given." I think gratitude and praise open us to even greater blessing. And then there is this: "Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." (Philippians 4:6) It would seem that in some way it is appropriate to give thanks for blessings that we trust will be bestowed. Your comment opens up several new possibilities in thinking about prayer. Thanks! Thanks Kristel. Of course you are correct about prayers of thanks being about the past and present. We are thankful for what God has done or is doing right now. I guess I was thinking primarily about prayers of intercession or petition. I should have made that more explicit.

As I think about it, I wonder if even our prayers of thanks and praise can make for a better future and give God more to work with since they necessarily make us more aware of our blessedness and give us a more positive, hopeful and trusting orientation, thus changing the world as it is and making a better world possible.

I think of Jesus comment on faith in Matthew 25:29, “to the one that has, more will be given.” I think gratitude and praise open us to even greater blessing.

And then there is this: “Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” (Philippians 4:6) It would seem that in some way it is appropriate to give thanks for blessings that we trust will be bestowed.

Your comment opens up several new possibilities in thinking about prayer. Thanks!

]]> By: kristel http://www.litchfieldchurch.org/2008/10/13/october-19-2008-%e2%80%9chow-prayer-works%e2%80%9d/comment-page-1/#comment-3 kristel Sun, 19 Oct 2008 20:13:40 +0000 http://www.litchfieldchurch.org/?p=456#comment-3 Nice sermon! When you talked about how most prayers are about the future, I was thinking about prayers of thanks and how they would mostly be about the past and present. Nice sermon! When you talked about how most prayers are about the future, I was thinking about prayers of thanks and how they would mostly be about the past and present.

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