FEARLESS FRIDAY~ OUR PRAYERS~

Today we set aside to pray with eachother over at "FreeSpiritHaven Your prayer request can be posted overhere in the comments or over at our host Angela...We feel so honoured to pray for and with you. Was thinking what to blog about on this day and stumble on an blog "PRAYERGUIDE" about praying so love to post parts of it here and pray today those prayers with you "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us, we are sinners".   The Jesus Prayer The Jesus prayer is a very short, very simple prayer. Yet it can be a key to unlocking a spiritual doorway that leads us to pray from the heart, rather than from the mind.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

The words of the Jesus prayer fall into two halves. The first half expresses the core truth of our faith in Jesus Christ, that he is the incarnate Son of the Creator God, and that we ascribe to Him Lordship of ourselves.   The second half sums up the wonder of God's love, that though we are sinners, yet He has mercy upon us and forgives us. The twelve words the prayer leads us into a balanced expression of both praise and thanksgiving to our Lord, yet also into penitence and confession, seeking his forgiveness and mercy.

Pointers for Prayer : As you pray the prayer, simply recite it over and over again, and you will discover three levels of prayer, first described by the 19th C. Russian spiritual teacher, Theophan. The prayer begins as words, then as we recite it further, we move onto pray the prayer as our own, owning the thoughts and expression of the prayer. Finally, our hearts take over the prayer, where the prayer is no longer a series of words and concepts, but gives way to a touching of our Spirit with God's Spirit.

The Lord's Prayer The Lord's Prayer is the model of prayer that Jesus taught us, as recorded in the gospels of Matthew and Luke   It is presented here in traditional and modern language:
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory. for ever and ever. Amen	Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours. Now and for ever. Amen

Sometimes it can be difficult to know how to pray about our concerns. But our Father God wants to hear about them - Paul writes to the Ephesians "And 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." In this section, we offer some thoughts on how to pray for various different topics :

• Praying for healing
• Praying for national and international concerns
• Praying for the church
• Praying for others known to us
• Praying for ourselves
• Praying for leaders
• Praying for mission

Pointers for Prayer : If you have particular needs for prayer, you might like to ask others to pray for you in these concerns. Whilst it's good to be able to ask God for these needs, it's also good to be able to share them with other Christians who can pray for you.  There are several good online opportunities to put forward such needs, and we have links to four of them.