A scientist investigates God, The Bible, Jesus and the spirit

Prayer

Prayer is a conversation with God. It is not reciting a prayer. If I am reading a prayer in Church, I am not praying. I have recited The Lord's Prayer many times. There is deep meaning in every word of the Lord's Prayer; at the rate it is recited, it is impossible to process any meaning. To keep up, I must completely ignore the meaning of what I am saying. It is possible to think about what is for lunch simultaneously. Jesus gave us this instruction manual, and rather than doing what the manual says, we recite the manual.

We are not to repeat without meaning. In Matthew 6, Jesus said: "And praying, do not use vain repetitions like the pagans, for they think they will be heard in their many words." We should not pray in the open like hypocrites to be heard by others. We are to go to our room and pray in private.

The first instruction is to address God with reverence. As a junior officer, I would start a conversation with a senior officer with the word sir. As a student, I would begin to converse with the teacher by saying Professor Jones. We are to start a conversation with God by acknowledging his power and magnificence.  

Then we ask God's will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven. This request is asking God to make things right on Earth. We can ask God to fix a specific mess, but we can't know God's plan.

Because of our abundance, we can't ask for our daily bread. Recognizing our abundance and thanking God is appropriate.

Asking for forgiveness as we forgive others puts us in a hard place. This request is only asking God to be as forgiving as we are. We must forgive as Christ to want this standard. Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?" Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy times seven." - Matthew 18:21-22. At this point, we must get on with the business of forgiving.

 God does not lead anyone into temptation. We are to ask to end temptation. We need to be specific. Please, God, help me become free from addiction to drugs, alcohol, tobacco, the internet, pornography, computer games, gambling... We can't ask for God's help unless we are willing to accept the help and truly end the behavior. Mark Twain had one of his characters say: "You can't pray a lie."