The Power of Prayer and Meditation

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The Power of Prayer and Meditation
05 May 2014

• LO To consider the importance of prayer for
  Christians and how it can affect their daily
  lives.

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Why do people pray?
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What do Christians pray to God about?Reminder
from Worship Lesson

• Adoration to show love, praise and respect.
• Confession - To ask for Gods forgiveness.
• Thanksgiving - To thank God for all that they
  have.

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• Supplication - To ask God for help.
• Praise To tell God how wonderful He is.
• Intercession - To ask God to help others who are
  suffering.

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• Prayer is another way in which Christians believe
  they can communicate with God.
• Just as people need to talk with each other to
  build relationships, Christians believe that
  prayer helps them to develop their relationship
  with God.

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• Christians pray in church congregations and will
  say set responses such as Lord hear our prayer.
• Other times, they may simply listen to prayers
  and say amen at the end.
• Christians will also have the opportunity for
  silent prayer

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• Jesus taught his followers to pray by giving them
  The Lords Prayer which includes adoration,
  thanksgiving, intercession (others) and
  supplication.

S T O P

• ORRY (forgiveness)
• HANKS (and adoration)
• THERS (intercession)
• LEASE (supplication)

Copy out the acrostic above
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Task 1

• Using your STOP acrostic as headings, write out
  the parts of the Lords Prayer that fit that
  heading.
• In pairs, come up with a list of benefits and
  problems with set prayer in two columns.
• On your own, explain why it might be helpful for
  a Christian to have set prayers.

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Prayer and Meditation

• When Christians pray alone they usually use the
  main four areas of prayer (STOP).
• Christians might be aware of how God is working
  in their own lives and offer praise.
• They may need guidance to make the right
  decision, ex. a career change. As Christians
  regularly pray and meditate on Gods word, their
  faith is deepened and helps to develop a personal
  relationship with God.

• Think of a time when you needed help.
• Who helped you and how did they help?
• Was it the type of help you needed?
• How did it make you feel to be helped in this way?

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• When Christians pray to God, they believe that he
  hears and responds to their prayers.
• They look to the Bible for powerful examples such
  as the raising of Lazarus from the dead.
• The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and
  his ears are attentive to their prayers. (1
  Peter 312)
• What does this quote mean for Christians?

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Strength of Prayer Today???

• Many Christians today can give examples of how
  prayer has powerfully affected situations or
  people they have prayed for.
• 24-7 Prayer is a movement that started in
  September 1999 when a group of young people
  decided to pray non-stop for a month. They didnt
  stop until Christmas!
• This got others interested from different
  countries, denominations and age groups.

http//24-7prayer.com/
http//www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/the-multis
torey-miracle/2878.html
Why do you think someone might want to start a
non-stop prayer session?
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Exam Focus

• Part D Question (6marks)
• Explain how praying every day might help a
  Christian in their daily lives.
• Reasons Christians pray
• Relate those reasons to how they could help in
  daily life ex. Forgiveness parable of prodigal
  son (Luke1511-32)

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Unanswered Prayers

• Many people feel that God is present when they
  pray.
• Some people are not sure and question whether God
  is there.
• People may reject God if their prayers are
  continually not answered.