I did not mean to be harsh or judgemental myself -- sorry it may have come across that way.
re:
>>mostly I think about my personal behavior when it comes to life....and how I earn my way through.
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and
>>in the end.....it is always ones personal behavior that directs thier actions....
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Something I have been thinking about a lot since I have been studying Eccl. A book for our time -- focused on what can be seen here -- in this life -- "Under the Sun" -- that which many in the post-modern age focus on ...
Solomon, in his prayer of dedication for the Temple said this:
1 Kings 8:27 (New American Standard Bible)
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
27"But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You, how much less this house which I have built!
Solomon, praying in the Spirit, foreshadowed what Christ brought (certainly includes grace, forgiveness, redemption), the time in which we would become the Temples of God -- dwelling places of His Holy Spirit -- "worship centers."
This reality -- is in many ways opposite of a focus on my personal behavior, but rather on God and who He is, His leading, etc. Don't get me wrong -- I am not playing down personal responsibility, but Christ is the one who "cleanes" His temples and makes them meet for the Spirit to dwell in. And the Spirit leads (by the Word and conviction in us) -- so prayer is about 2-way communication.
Listening, especially when beset by things like care, or anger or other weakness -- is sometimes the hardest part, no??
Suggestion: Let your list be your list -- pray what you will for yourself and those closest to you -- but for others who make request for you to pray -- unless it offends your conscience in some way -- why NOT ask God on their behalf?? |
