| [ Christian ] in KIDS 글 쓴 이(By): Hannie (하야니) 날 짜 (Date): 1995년07월10일(월) 16시42분07초 KDT 제 목(Title): Guidepost to PRAYER * What is PRAYER? Prayer is like having a conversation with God. No one can fully understand what God is like but we know that Jesus, His son was born into a carpenter's family in Bethlehem. When He grew up, He explained God's love to the people He met and told His friends how to pray by addressing God as 'Our Father...' So when we want to talk to God, we can picture Jesus in our minds as He showed His care and love for all kinds of people and remember that He wants us to think of God as our kind and loving father. * Why bother to Pray? If you're feeling lost and haven't prayed before, or for a long time, You may wonder if it's worth bothering, but there are many people who have found it worthwhile to keep up the habit of prayer. They claim that it keeps them aware of the preence of God and gives a wonderful sense of purpose and worth to their lives. Why not try? * Where and When to Pray Anywhere and anytime will do but it is good to make a special time and place for praying each day. It is easier to concentrate on what you are doing if you can be alone and quiet somewhere. Many Churches set aside a place for private prayer which may help you to focus on God. Your own prayers are special between you and God and there is no substitute for them. They need not take long, but they are important for spiritual growth and development. Some people like to pray at the end of their day; some prefer to start their day with prayer; some do both and pray before meals and in between times as well. In fact having God as your friend means you need never be alone in any situation and you can talk to him any time about anything -- the sad and the glad things, the big and the small things in your life. * How to Pray - Some people find they can pray best by kneeling (in recognition of the greatness of God) and closing their eyes, so that they are not distracted by what they see. - Some imagine Jesus sitting beside them having a conversation. - Some pray after they have gone to bed and fall asleep in prayer. - Just talk in your mind as you would to a very dear friend, a friend who will never give your secrets away and loves you with all your strengths and weaknesses; your successes and failures; with all your joys and worries. * How do I start? If you have a lot on your mind it may help to wirte a list so that you can think about things clearly, then begin your prayer by saying "Dear God I bring these things to you, help me." before going through each of the itmes on your list. Spend some time in quiet after you have done this and then you might end the prayer like this: "Thank you God for listening to me. Take these things I leave them in your care. Show me how to deal with them. Praying in Jesus... Amen." If you don't want to make a list, just thing through your thoughts in God's presence, and speak directly to God in your mind. Don't forget to leavet time for God to put other, new thoughts into your mind. A conversation is a two way process and God may well have things for you to consider, or a new way of looking at your life. * What should I Pray about? -- Choices: When you are in doubt about making important choices in your life bring the options to God, tell Him about them and ask to be shown the best way forward. -- Frightened, Anxious? If you are frightened, very worried or feel full of tensions bring your anxieties and pour them out to God. Have a good cry: there's no need to hide tears from God in the privacy of your prayers. It might help to imagine your tensions in your hand, clench your hand tightly and then as you ask God to help you, open your hand you will feel the tensions easing at the same time. -- Happy events? Happy events should also be shared with God in prayer. Joy and fulfilment are even greater when we say thank you to our dearest Friend for the wonderful events which happen in our lives. -- Sadness & Anger When you feel great sadness, God will share that with you. Jesus wept when a friend of His died. If you feel anger, that too is allowed. Bottling up all these feelings can create new problems and prayer is a way of beginning the healing process which, if a loss is very deep, may take a long time to come to terms with it. -- Wrong Answers? When we make requests to God, we may not always receive the answer we want or expect. God's view of our lives is different from our own and sometiems we have to learn to accept the situation and pray for understanding and strength instead. Learning to accept can be very difficult. -- Heaven on Earth We all need to practidse our awareness of the presence of God. Beautiful music, favourite places, people or things, all these can help to turn our minds towards God in prayer. Sometimes we can feel our hearts brimming with peace and love and then no words aree needed at all -- we are beginning to experience heaven on earth. by R.J. Nicholls (Wesley Methodist Church, Cambridge, UK) --------------------------------------------------하야니에여. 너희는 기도할 때에 너의 골방에 들어가 방문을 닫고 은밀한 곳에 계신 네 아버지께 기도하라. 그러면 은밀한 가운데서 보시는 네 아버지께서 너에게 드러나게 갚아 주시리라. (마태복음 6:6) |