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Prayer and Worship

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Submitted By michaelbroyles
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Introduction Many thoughts come to mind as I ponder the question of what it means to be a Christian. Sinfulness, forgiveness, faith, grace are just a few topics involved in being a Christian. Specific things must happen for one to become a Christian. Scripture is clear about how to become a Christian, (“If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9 NIV) “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9 NIV)). After doing so, however, what does a Christian look like in their day to day living? What things does a follower of Christ actively do and participate in that reflects who they are and who’s they are? Two things that are important for me to engage in and display as a Christian are prayer and worship.
Part One (Prayer) The Bible does not specifically give a definition of prayer. We can only look at what it says about prayer and the references it makes to prayer in order to understand what it is. By doing so, we can conclude that prayer is simply talking to God, either audibly or inaudibly, and expressing our feelings and thoughts to Him. It is how we communicate with God. Philippians 4:6 says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” We can pray on behalf of ourselves or for someone else. “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” (James 5:16 NIV) Through prayer we either tell God things or we ask Him questions. There are numerous examples in the Bible of individuals asking God questions through prayer. For example, David asks God on several different occasions what kind of military

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