Purpose of worship

The purpose of worship is to glorify, honor, praise and exalt God.  Our worship must show our adoration and loyalty to God for His grace in enabling us escape the bondage of sin, so we can have the salvation He so much wants to give us.  The nature of the worship God demands is the prostration of our souls before Him in humble and contrite submission.  James 4:6, 10 , "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.  Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up".  Our worship to God is a very humble and reverent action.
     
In John 4:23-24, "But the hour is coming, and now is, when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.  God is Spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth."  It doesn’t say we can worship God anyway we want, but we "must worship Him in spirit and in truth".  The word "must" makes it absolute.  The word "must", expresses "an obligation,  that must be done".  

God seeks true worshippers, and He identifies them as those who "worship Him in spirit and in truth".  Worshipping God in spirit means that it must be done from the heart.  Worshipping God in truth means that it must be done according as God has specified in the Bible.  Worshipping God in spirit and in truth is a serious matter which must not be taken lightly.  If we have any regard for our own souls, we will want to make sure we are worshipping God in spirit and in truth.
     
Since God is the object of our worship, He and He alone has the right to determine how we are to worship Him.  In Jeremiah 10:23, "O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself, it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps."  We are not granted the option of directing our own ways in religion.  God is the One who we look to for guidance and direction in our lives.
     
Our very best in worship is due God and is prescribed by Him in the Bible.  The worship God has prescribed is the only way we can be pleasing to Him in this life and finally attain everlasting life with Him in eternity.  The Christian’s worship is of the greatest importance.

Things we should pray

God's help through the power of prayer is available for all kinds of requests and issues. Philippians 4:6-7 says, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." read Matthew 6:9-13. These verses are known as the Lord's prayer. The Lord's prayer is not a prayer we are supposed to memorize and simply recite to God. It is only an example of how to pray and the things that should go into a prayer - worship, trust in God, requests, confession, protection, etc. Pray for these kinds of things, but speak to God using your own words.

 
The Word of God is full of accounts describing the power of prayer in various situations. The power of prayer has overcome enemies (Psalm 6:9-10), conquered death (2 Kings 4:3-36), brought healing (James 5:14-15), and defeated demons (Mark 9:29). God, through prayer, opens eyes, changes hearts, heals wounds, and grants wisdom (James 1:5). The power of prayer should never be doubted because it draws on the glory and might of the infinitely powerful God of the universe! Daniel 4:35 says, "All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: 'What have you done?'"

BY; EK BIWOTT

Dwelling into prayer

The power of prayer is not the result of the person praying. Rather, the power resides in the God who is being prayed to. 1^st John 5:14-15 says, "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us - whatever we ask we know that we have what we asked of him." No matter the person praying, the passion behind the prayer, or the purpose of the prayer - God answers prayers that are in accordance to His will. When our desires are lined up with His will, we will come to understand that in time. When we pray passionately and purposefully, according to God's will, God responds powerfully!

Our prayers being answered is not based on the eloquence of our prayers. We don't have to use certain words or phrases for God to answer our prayers. Jesus rebukes those who pray by repetitions, (Matthew 6:7-8) "And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him" Prayer is communicating with God. All you have to do is ask God for His help. Psalm 107:28-30 says, "Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress. He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed. They were glad when it grew calm, and he guided them to their desired haven." There is power in prayer! 

BY; EK BIWOTT

Power of Prayer

  The power of prayer should not be underestimated. James 5:16-18 declares that, "The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. Elijah was a man just like you and me. He prayed with total earnest that it would not rain, and it did not rain for three and a half years. He also prayed, and the heavens rained, the earth produced its crops." God definitely listens to prayers, answers, and moves in response to the prayers.

Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you" (Matthew 17:20). 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 says, "The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretense that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." The Bible encourages us that we  pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints (Ephesians 6:18).

More coming your way on How to dwell in prayer. 

EK BIWOTT

God's Nature & Prayer

There are many questions that we normally ask ourselves about the nature of God in relation to prayer, they can atimes be hard to answer but by reading and understanding the bible is when all these can come to light. Below are some attributes of our God and some direct relations to prayer.

In order to develop a clear idea of prayer, we must have a clear idea of God. In the bible, we are taught to understand that God had a human character here on earth as well as him being God. This is very critical to prayer as it means that God is a person we can interact with, that He has a will and that we are able to relate to Him on a meaningful level. If He was impersonal, then prayer would not be meaningful.

God is also loving (1 John 4:8, 16; John 3:16). This is important in relation to prayer. If God were personal, but uncaring or unkind, then prayer might do us more harm than good! But God does not only love, He is all loving (omnibenevolent). In relation to prayer, this means that God always desires the best for us because He loves us.

God is also all powerful (omnipotent), this means that no prayer is beyond His ability to answer, "For nothing is impossible with God" (Luke 1:37). If God were less than all powerful, then we would have no assurance that He could answer or even hear our prayers.

The fact that God is all-knowing (omniscient) is also significant to the concept of prayer. If God were limited, then He would not know all that is happening in His creation. If this were the case, He might overlook our prayers because they might be beyond His knowledge. Fortunately, the Bible is clear that God knows everything (Psalm 139:2-4; 147: 4-5; Isaiah 46:10). In relation to God's omniscience, Jesus said, "Your Father knows what you need before you ask him" (Matthew 6:8).

God is also wise and holy. He knows what is best for us, as well as what will lead us to holiness rather than sin. He is also immanent, meaning that God is active in His creation in a personal way, not only directing greater matters of history, but also involved in the life of everyone. This means that no prayer is too great for Him, neither too small for Him.

Another attribute to prayer is God's sovereignty. God is supremely in charge of everything that happens in His universe. Nothing takes Him by surprise and nothing happens in our lives without the knowledge of God, even though we may not always understand His actions: 'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,' declares the LORD. 'As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts'
 (Isaiah 55:8-9).

In hearing and responding to our prayers, it is an assurance that God will do so on the basis of His attributes. His personal nature, love, power, knowledge, wisdom, holiness, immanence and sovereignty all play a role in how we relate to God in prayer and how He relates to us.

Ek Biwott

Prayer

When you are in those desperate moments that you have hit a dead end and you want God to intervene, just worship him and he will come to your rescue. just like Paul and Silas while in prison, they were surrounded by guards day and night and all they could do is to worship God while in those hard times. God did come through and the prison doors were opened in the middle of the night. Trust in the Lord in every situation. Acts 16:16-40


Gods time is the best and that he does things at his own time the only thing we can and are to do is to pray without ceasing. He is listening and watching us in every step that we take, lets involve him in our plans and our day to day endeavors. Lets us not be those types of persons that only pray when there is a crisis or when food is on the table but rather lets cultivate the practice of praying in each and every time.

1 Thessalonians5:17-20
Pray without ceasing. 18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. 19 Quench not the Spirit. 20 Despise not prophesyings.

Ek Biwott