Eng-�@–A – 006 – 1/2    A Group　Relationship with God  (6) Prayer

prayer is the communication and relationship. Most of the prayers done at the Shinto shrine are prayers to  your own needs. But the prayer according to the Bible is for establishing the personal relationship with our God.
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That does not mean that the prayer of petition is bad. for example when a baby is born he just ask for milk, or he want to be in his mother’s arms, etc.  That helps to establish communication with the parents and the confidence in the parents starts to grow that way.                                                                                                                                                    
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A) The prayer as a good habit:
If prayer is communication with God, then we should do it daily as a good habit.
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for example Christians pray with thanks to God before meals as habit. What important is a grateful heart to God, so it does not mean that we must absolutely pray before each meal. But it is good to pray as a good habit. Also we can remember giving thanks to God in our every day life that way.
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Also, praying as a family before going to bed or leaving home is effective in that we give thanks to God and teach the children or others to form good habits of prayer. Also God actuaoully gives protection and blessings through such prayers.
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There is a story about a man who traveled constantly through the desert, this man used to pray every night before he went to sleep.  But one day he went to sleep and he forgot to pray, that night an evil man came and stole his things,  he was thinking about what happened and he realized that he was stolen the day he forgot to pray for protection.
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  This example may sound radical but might God allow it happened to we know about importance of prayer and how God responds that prayer, helping us to wake up with peace. Is not about a religious action, is about a dynamic and constant action where we establish with God.  
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The Lord’s prayer
（Matthew 6:9~) Jesus taught the disciples how to pray. In the Lord’s prayer, the attitude to rely on God is shown.                                                                                        
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Matthew 6:11Give us this day our daily bread.,
It does not mean just asking for blessings, but also confirming that we need the help of the Lord every day.
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Matthew 6:12 And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors..
this verse  says  that we need to be free in order for our prayers to be answered. As in the story of a man whose debt was forgiven in Matthew 18:35, we need to forgive others to be forgiven.
This kind of practical action is the key to answered prayers.
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Matthew 6:13 And do not lead us into temptation,But deliver us from the evil one.
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Praise and thanksgiving to God
Matthew6:9 In this manner, therefore pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
’Hallowed’ means worship, praise, and thank God. If we have a heart to do these, we are protected.
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B) Prayer with a group                                                                         �M
Prayer brings the plans of God to the earth.
Prayer includes asking God for something, but it is not just asking for our personal realization.
Mathew 6:10 The Lord’s Prayer “Your kingdom come.Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.” 
The essence of prayer is to bring the power, glory and blessings which fill the heaven to the earth, that is, to have God’s will be fulfilled on the earth. .
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Prayer also brings the power of God to the earth.
The Bible says that when we lay hands on the sick they get healed. That means then that someone may not get healed sometimes until we lay hands on them even if God wants to heal them.
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It is more effective to pray with another person or in group when  we pray for the release of God’s power on the earth, as the Lord promises as follows:
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Matthew 18:19-20 “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.  For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”
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There is a recommendation for married couples. Please have time of prayer as a couple. Even if you may have enough personal prayer time, it is not enough just to pray by yourself. There is a recommendation for singles. Please have time to pray  with your prayer partners. There is power in praying in unity.
In our church, we have Wednesday prayer meetings. We recommend that you join it.
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C) Personal prayer with God.
The prayer written in Matthew 6:6 as a prayer in the secret place talks about the prayer of personal fellowship with God. This prayer is very important in our lives of faith.
As it says in Isaiah 43:4 ‘Since you were precious in my sight,’ we should not only receive as a knowledge in mind but we should hear that directly from God.
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Of course no one can receive well from God from the beginning, but when we read the Bible, we can receive th.e words of God. It is effective to read the Bible aloud.
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Also, it is effective to remove any hindrances such as unforgiveness, covenants with evinl spirits, wounds thatwere not healed etc. to be able to receive from God.
No need to be wordy in prayer
You need not be wordy in personal fellowship prayer with God. It is time to seek God Himself, and to 
Listen to His voice.
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Prayer in tongue
Prayer in tongue is a very importaont tool in order to build up personal relationship with God.
You can continue this prayer wih your decisions and it may be a door for many people to buid up the relationship with God. We will see this on another occasion in more depth.
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Prayer of fellowship with God gives us encouragement and energy. It is just like getting your car filled with gasoline. We receive spiritual energy from God. If we don’t have this type of prayer, we may get dry.
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How prayer reaches God
God is one as Father, Son-Christ, and the Holy Spirit. But the way to pray effectively is summerized in the following words. We pray to God theFather in the name of Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit.

(John14:16)  He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever”
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Because Jesus died for us in our places, we can go to God the Father. That is why Christians say in the name of Jesus at the end of prayer.