Sweat Like Drops Of Blood
Jesus’ need for strength is underscored by the degree of stress he was under, and as he received strength from the angel, he was enabled to pray even harder.
“And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.”
The word “anguish” translates Greek agnia. Initially, the word was used similarly to agn, “an athletic contest” and then, generally, as a “struggle, fight.” In the New Testament agnia means “agony, anxiety.”17The depth of that stress is matched by Jesus’ earnest prayer, Greek ektenos, “eagerly, fervently, constantly,” from the verb ektein, “stretch out, stretch forth.”18
Luke describes Jesus as sweating profusely in this earnest contest of prayer. While instances have been cited of blood appearing in one’s sweat at times of stress or terror,19I think it is more likely that the analogy is more with the dripping of the sweat than to its color or content. In other words: sweat was falling like drops of blood fall.20
The Prescription For Persistent Praying
Luke 11:9 And I say to you, ask, and it shall be given to you seek, and you shall find knock, and it shall be opened to you.
The Greek text employs the continuous present with each of the commands . But as you can tell by what has already been said, by persistent praying Scripture is not telling us to just keep on asking or repeating the same request. There is a great deal more to it than that.
And I say in verse 9 is kagw and legw which means and I, I say. Or now I, I say. This was used as a kind of special formula to introduce a point of truth or doctrine which needs to be gleaned from the parable. It is like saying, here is the point. This is followed by three commands, which, in the context give us the following principles.
Keep on Asking
This is a command to keep on bringing our request, keep on coming to the Lord with the need and the issue. Dont give up or faint. Dont throw in the towel. We are to persevere before the Lord in our requests. But how?
Keep on Seeking
Keep on Knocking
This is a call for expectant waiting in our prayers. Dont give up and go away. Dont stop. Stay, wait and rest the matter in the Lords hands and timing. We have here the principle of waiting on the Lord, of the faith-rest liferesting patiently by faith in Gods wisdom and love. The answer and revelation of what God is doing will come. Just trust in the goodness and wisdom of God.
Prayer Elsewhere In The Christian Scriptures :
Jesus introduced many new concepts during his ministry to the Jews of Palestine. The author of the Gospel of Matthew quoted Jesus as saying: “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.” Jesus took the Mosaic law and extended it in new directions, to expose a new meaning. In the Gospel of Matthew alone he said “Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time…But I say unto you…“
Some examples of his radical innovation include:
| He freely talked and associated with women — a forbidden practice for Jewish men of the day. |
| He associated with a Samaritan and a Pagan Gentile — again forbidden behavior for Jews at the time. |
| Whereas the Hebrew Scriptures stressed the importance of animal sacrifices in the Temple, he recommended connecting directly with God through solitary prayer. |
Other references to prayer in the Christian Scriptures might appear to conflict with Matthew 6:6 because they describe prayer in public, not in private:
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Does The Bible Tell Us To Pray In Jesus Name
Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. John 14:13
I met the Lord when I was thirteen years old, and since that time, I have always ended my prayers with in Jesus name. It is what I was taught, even if I didnt fully understand it. A recent article challenged my practice of using this phrase, and it got me thinking.
Is this something were supposed to do? Is it necessary? Or is saying in Jesus name just religious speak? Does it affect how God regards our prayers?
Lets go straight to the source and explore what the Bible has to say about it.
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Putting Prayer In Perspective
Jesus instruction on prayer in Matthew continued with this admonition:
When you pray, do not babble repetitiously like the Gentiles, because they think that by their many words they will be heard. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him .
Jesus contrasts prayer to the Father with the prayers of the Gentiles. He describes Gentile prayer as the repetitious babbling of many words. What might this mean, and how do we relate this to our prayers?
- Like the Gentiles. The Gentiles did not worship the true God.
- Repetitious babble connotes a lack of real content.
- Many words to be heard suggests rituals, incantations, and technique.
Gentile prayer is about the manipulation of spiritual forces and entities that do not generally care about you as an individual.
We can, of course, now give Jesus words a Christian spin:
- Like the GentilesPraying to God in Name, but not in knowledge. This is similar to what Paul wrote to the Romans about the Jews who did not accept Jesus as their Messiah, For I can testify that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not in line with the truth .
- Repetitious babblingPraying without real content. Perhaps this would be like reciting liturgical prayers without connecting to their content.
- Many words to be heardPraying with an attitude that God is not listening and must be manipulated to answer.
Sanctify Them By The Truth
“17 Sanctify them by the truth your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. 19 For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.”
“To sanctify” is an Old Testament concept from the Hebrew verb qdash, “be hallowed, holy, sanctified.” The root idea seems to be “set apart, separated” from a common use to a sacred use, to become the exclusive property of the King, the Holy God.
How are people sanctified or made holy? Several times in the New Testament we see the power of God’s Word to cleanse and empower Christ’s disciples:
“If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
“You are already clean because of the wordI have spoken to you.”
“Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word….”
“Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth….”
Jesus, the Word, the Logos, the Message of God has come and Jesus’ disciples have received him and his message as from God. This in itself has set them apart from the world, sanctified, set apart, with the mission of taking Jesus’ message to the world. In the same way Jesus is set apart to complete his own mission, to redeem mankind for God.
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Praying The Scriptures Over Your Children
You will discover how using the Bible to shape your desires and requests opens the door to Gods provisionand frees us from things like worry and fear in our parenting! This expanded edition of the bestseller features updated content on issues like technology and identity, and comes with new material designed to invite children into the family prayer circle. Purchase now and receive 10% off your product.
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Praying Twice Daily: Night And Day
The Old Testament and the New Testament both contain evidence for nighttime prayer.Joshua confirms the importance of meditating twice a day on the Scriptures in Deuteronomy 6: 4-9. Devout Jews understood this to mean meditating on the Bible at least once a day. The pattern continues into the New Testament with the Gospels. Anna, the prophetess, made it a regular practice to pray, worship, and fast night and day.In 1 Timothy 5:5-6, Paul lays out the expectations of how a godly person should live: Those who do not pray night and day are lovers of pleasure and are dead even while alive.
Dr Tim And Mrs Noreen Muehlhoff
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The Best Times To Pray
Scripture does not definitively state what the best times to pray are or how much we should do it. The Bible, however, does record the habits of many righteous people.
For example, the prophet Daniel made it a habit to pray thrice daily . King David also did this and did so in the morning, noon and in the evening . Sometimes he would awake and talk to God several hours before sunrise , a practice that was duplicated by the Lord .
David, at times, especially when he felt the trials and troubles of life were pressing hard against him, cried out to the Lord both during the day and night . Jesus took time to commune with God all night before he selected twelve men to follow him and offered supplications to the Father in the night he was arrested .
The early church was devoted to pray on a regular basis . The apostle Paul and Silas did so at midnight while they were together in a Philippian jail cell . Paul stated he never failed, whether during the night or day, to remember his faithful friend Timothy in all his prayers .
Paul regularly encouraged others to talk, as much as they could, with the Eternal . In fact, Paul goes so far as to call upon believers to “pray unceasingly” . Clearly, we ought to communicate with our Maker as many times as we can.
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Giving Up Sugar Tasting God’s Goodness
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Bible Verses About Jesus Praying
Ordering the people to sit down on the grass, He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He blessed the food, and breaking the loaves He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds,
Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great,And He will divide the booty with the strong Because He poured out Himself to death,And was numbered with the transgressors Yet He Himself bore the sin of many,And interceded for the transgressors.
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What Was Jesus First Prayer
Bible Gateway is a website that provides access to the Bible. NIV translation of Luke 11: In response, he instructed them to pray as follows: Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Provide us with our daily bread on a daily basis. Please forgive us for our transgressions, as we likewise forgive everyone who has committed a sin against us.
The Famous Prayer The Lords Prayer
Jesus warns us against meaningless and hypocritical prayers. But what should you say? Do you find it difficult to come up with the right words? Then right after this part of the Bible Jesus comes with a beautiful prayer that you can always pray. The Lords Prayer is the most famous prayer in the Bible. So if you cant find the words to pray, read this prayer and think about what you can learn from Jesus about prayer.
1. Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
on earth as in heaven.
2. Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
3. Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and for ever.
This prayer is masterly. It shows exactly what Jesus thinks is important in prayer:
Whether you pray an existing prayer or whether you choose your own words try to incorporate these elements.
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Use Of The Lord’s Prayer In Church Services:
The early Christian movement appears to have not used the Lord’s Prayer during religious services.
| A letter to a Roman official in the second or third century CE gave an outline of a Christian service it did not include prayers of any type. |
| The Didache,subtitled “The teaching of the Lord by the Twelve Apostles to the Gentiles,” was written for the guidance of Christians circa 60 to 100 CE. It recommended that the Lord’s Prayer be recited by each Christian three times a day as a personal act of prayer. 5 |
| The Lord’s Prayer seems to have not been used during the Eucharist until the middle of the 4th century CE. |
At the present time, the Lord’s Prayer is used almost universally in church services.
St Century Catholic Apologetics For Mary’s Spiritual Warriors
Prayer. That one word that everyone knows so much about, but yet know so little about. The word pray simply means to ask. Old English used to use the phrase Pray tell me when a question was asked. To pray does not imply that we can only ask God for favors. We can ask anyone for favors, especially the saints in heaven, who, contrary to protestant popular opinion, are very much alive and well, not to mention holy. Jesus himself said that God is not the God of the dead, but OF THE LIVING . Paul says that the saints in heaven are our witnesses . Presumably one has to be alive to witness to a judge on behalf of somebody.
And prayer should never be like making a long distance telephone call to a stranger when we are in trouble. How would you feel if someone you loved only called you up and asked for favors when they got themselves into trouble? You wouldnt like it, and God doesnt much care for it either. Prayer should be like we are talking to our loving Father/our best friend, who really is right next to us all day every day.
There are 4 different basic types of vocal or mental prayer, abbreviated ACTS:
- Supplication
Some great bible verses on prayer are as follows:
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What Does Jesus Say About Prayer
I dont want to be afraid anymore.
Life will bring you down, but you can choose to rise again.
Have you heard this quote before? No, this is not a statement from the Bible. It is from the blockbuster Karate Kid. A young guy moves to China and is bullied there. When he meets an old kung fu master, this man teaches him all the tricks of the martial art. He gives him confidence. By watching the master, by practicing a lot himself, he gets better and better. The most important lesson he learns: focus & always keep going!
And strangely enough, that is exactly what we hear from Jesus about prayer. Lets look at the master of prayer and find out how you can learn to pray.