I understand the first part of the prayer; “Our father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name” as declaring that we are speaking to our Heavenly Father. Hallowed be thy name is referring to our Heavenly Father being Holy and honored as such.
I understand the first part of the prayer; “Our father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name” as declaring that we are speaking to our Heavenly Father. Hallowed be thy name is referring to our Heavenly Father being Holy and honored as such.
I am not by any means saying that you are wrong or I am right. I just like to see the different perspectives in which we all view things.
Let me be clear, I'm not discouraging discussion, I'm preventing theological debate in this particular thread for two reasons:
I think we will need it.
That's a great point. American Christians aren't too keen on the idea of being persecuted for the faith. There are many who feel persecution is coming to the American church very soon. If that is the case, I fear that the overwhelming majority of people identifying as Christians in America will quickly disavow the faith in order to avoid real persecution. The upside is that the church will be purified.
I know what you meant and I'm right there with you.
I dunno brother. To avoid it becoming a debate, as you requested, lets agree to ask for the true illumination of the Holy Spirit for both of (and all of) us. I only want the unvarnished truth and will adapt my personal view to that once Im convinced.
I had given up on praying for our country. Then I saw the above post and it reminded me of something. Just because God doesn’t answer prayers when you want DOESNT mean he will not answer them. God will provide on his time, not ours. We have to remember that we can not put God in a box. He will come through when the time is right.
It has been my experience that he doesnt always give you what you ask for.I had given up on praying for our country. Then I saw the above post and it reminded me of something. Just because God doesn’t answer prayers when you want DOESNT mean he will not answer them. God will provide on his time, not ours. We have to remember that we can not put God in a box. He will come through when the time is right.
@Odysseus1911 Thanks for reminding me.
The trick is not to ask for an easy path, but the strength to make it through the path he sets you on.
Out of respect for the OP's request to not get into debates, and especially contentious ones, which you are obviously trying to stir up, other than to note Ive seen this post, Ill avoid further comment. I hope you will find some respect for the thread and confine your posts to the subject at hand, prayer for our nation, and mankind in general.
Actually, this experience varies greatly from person to person, but it is true for most Christians. And there's a very good reason for this. Most people who identify as Christian are what Paul implies as "baby Christians" -needing to hear the foundations of the faith over and over and never progressing to an adult understanding of the things of God, and never growing into the selfless, mature God-seekers that we should be.
Agreed. I was pointing in that direction when I spoke of God's 'Perfect' vs 'Permissive' will. Or the Lord's Prayer..."Thy Kingdom come. Thy Will be done."
The key is to include His will in your prayers. God isn't some Santa Claus in the sky. He will grant us our prayers when they align with His will and plan. Sometimes we don't get exactly what we want, sometimes we get better than what we asked for, and sometimes we might not get it at all because it would ultimately not align with God's plan and negatively effect many others. The key is to trust that He has plans for us for good, and not for evil, to give us hope and a future. Prayer should always also include reverence for God and deference to His plan and will as a sign of our faith and trust. Prayer is first and foremost our conversation with our Friend, Creator of the universe, and Father not just a wishing session only to be used when in need.
