Having a Kingdom Attitude 16

There is plenty of statistics found from secular university research that proves that prayers, chatting, yoga, and various forms of meditation can lower one's blood pressure and provide a person a less stressful life. While having a prayer life is note-worthy, I believe that for most who participate in religious activities, their prayer life has become a very stressful activity. If prayer is not properly understood and practiced, then the outcome can be more harmful to the body than good. In Matthew 6:9-15 & Luke 11:2-4, Jesus gives His disciples a glimpse of what a healthy prayer looks like. God has made prayer to be the "spiritual DNA" for the life of a Christian. Just as the composition of DNA consist of two long polymers called nucleotides, jointed together by smaller strains called ester bonds; so too prayer is main up of two main strains held together by six components. If these strains are missing, compromised, or not complete, then our prayer life will have major problems. In these verses we see that the two main strains of a healthy prayer are: Seeking only to Honor God (6:9-10) and Seeking only to Depend on God (6:11-15).

In the first strain we have three components: We pray in order to honor God's name, His kingdom, and His will. If your prayer request is missing one or all three, then you are praying a prayer that is not pleasing to God; simply put, it is a sick prayer. Every time we get on our face before God, our desire should be that every petition and request bring only honor to God's name, His kingdom, and be in line with His will for our lives. In the second strain, we too have three more components: We depend on God for our physical needs, for His forgiveness of personal sin, and His protection from prevailing evil. A healthy prayer is one that focuses on our dependence on God, not on what I can get out of God. My desire as a Christians should be to rely completely on God to take care of my personal needs. Humble myself to always seek God's forgiveness for my sin. Recognize my frailty and God's sovereignty over all, and call God's attention to keep my heart always focus on His way for my life. As a Christian, if my prayer life is healthy, then I will live a less stressed life in this world. Until next time, keep walking close to Christ.

Having a Kingdom Attitude 15

As we journey with Jesus through the sermon on the Mt., we are reminded that walking in God's Word is a sure way of having a less-stressed life. I am not saying that our obedience to God's Word eliminates all our problems in this world, but rather it provides peace of mind. When your relationship with the Father, Son, and Spirit is right, then your life is in the best possible position. In Matthew 5:5-8;16-18, Jesus will teach his children how they are to pray and fast. Again, we are reminded that if these actions are done with the right motives, then the blessings received will be great. Jesus teaches us that we must pray and fast, but only if our motives and attitudes promote God's glory and not our own flesh. The example used by Jesus is the religious crowd themselves who did all these "spiritual acts" only to be seen and heard by men. We ought to learn that when we pray, it is not about "repetition" but rather about the condition of our hearts that matter to God. Christians are expected to give, pray, and fast; but the question we ought to ask ourselves is "Why are we doing what we are doing?"

Jesus goes on to instruct us that the proper way of praying and fasting is to first, do it in secret before praying in public. This means we have no right to pray out loud in public if we do not have a private, prayer-closet life. Second, we should pray with sincerity. It is not about the quantity of words we use, like the hypocrites, but rather the quality of those words. Third, when we fast, act normal. The religious crowd wanted the lights, camera, and news media nearby to watch their religious acts. Christ teaches us to fast for God's eyes only. It is His opinion of us that matters most. With these three fundamental acts of worship, we will be tempted to promote self over glorifying Christ. Let us all be on guard that the things we do to worship Christ are done in a matter that bring glory to Him alone. And if this is our motivation, then our life will be less stressful. Until next time, keep walking close with Christ.