Wednesday, November 9th
Edition 5 of the NO ANSWER Study
“If you have faith as small as a mustard seed,… nothing will be impossible for you.”
Questions that come to my mind are this (answers I have found below them):
Edition 5 of the NO ANSWER Study
“If you have faith as small as a mustard seed,… nothing will be impossible for you.”
Questions that come to my mind are this (answers I have found below them):
- How long should I pray?
1) Continually.
- How should I pray?
1) Examples in the bible show that they prayed out loud. No examples of a silent or quiet prayer.
2) I should pray with action.
3) As many times as it takes to be content in MY heart.
2) I should pray with action.
3) As many times as it takes to be content in MY heart.
- How long should I fast?
- What accounts for a “mustard seed” of faith?
1) We have seen that a mustard seed is a very small thing. It takes very little faith to do the impossible.
2) The mustard seed would need to grow, so this is a growing faith. This faith is, in a sense, to be harvested, or as I see it, to become useful.
3) I should test my faith.
In Regards to Silent Prayer:
1 Samuel 1:12-17
12 As she kept on praying to the LORD, Eli observed her mouth. 13 Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk 14 and said to her, "How long will you keep on getting drunk? Get rid of your wine."
15 "Not so, my lord," Hannah replied, "I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the LORD. 16 Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief."
17 Eli answered, "Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him."
Romans 15:4
4 For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
Psalm 4:4
4 In your anger do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent.
Psalm 63:6
6 On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night.
Note: (Scriptures recommended from a Yahoo Group) The scripture in 1st Samuel shows that she wasn’t talking, but her lips were moving. This still does not show me that God hops in my brain and reads my mind. I know of people who can read lips. Even though there is no volume to her words, God is all around and can see what she is saying. The Romans scripture is something I think was intended to back up the Samuel scripture. But instead, I don’t see how… I do agree that the Old Testament is good and there is much to be learned from it. It is 3 times the size of the New and something should be said about that alone. The Psalm 4 scripture, I am not sure how that applies either. It doesn’t say anything about prayer, but I think it is more about forgiveness. The mention of anger is talked about earlier in the verse. Psalm 63 looks to be a verse about reflection and not prayer. Surrounding verses speak of singing and so I don’t see the connection of silent prayer, praying within the confines of your mind and God hearing that prayer. I still think that some action is required.
2 Kings 4:32-35
32 When Elisha reached the house, there was the boy lying dead on his couch. 33 He went in, shut the door on the two of them and prayed to the LORD. 34 Then he got on the bed and lay upon the boy, mouth to mouth, eyes to eyes, hands to hands. As he stretched himself out upon him, the boy's body grew warm. 35 Elisha turned away and walked back and forth in the room and then got on the bed and stretched out upon him once more. The boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes.
John 11:32
32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died."
33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34 "Where have you laid him?" he asked. "Come and see, Lord," they replied.
35 Jesus wept.
36 Then the Jews said, "See how he loved him!"
37 But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?"
38 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39 "Take away the stone," he said.
"But, Lord," said Martha, the sister of the dead man, "by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days."
40 Then Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?"
41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me."
43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.
Jesus said to them, "Take off the grave clothes and let him go."
45 Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, put their faith in him.
Matthew 26:36-44
36 Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." 37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me."
39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."
40 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?" he asked Peter. 41 "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak."
42 He went away a second time and prayed, "My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done."
43 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. 44 So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.
Note: How big is my faith? Elisha was the first to raise the dead. Jesus raised the dead. So, what happens if I believe and it still doesn’t happen? Did God make his decision as he did with David? The thing I noticed with Elisha is that he didn’t do it just once. He did it twice. Jesus prayed in the garden three times. Elisha’s prayer was answered the second time, Jesus when he raised the dead only took one. But when Jesus was in the garden praying for God’s will to change, God said “no, it needs to happen this way.” Because God doesn’t answer in my way doesn’t mean God doesn’t answer. Still, scripture is good and I will study this out more and more. Any feedback is, of course, more than welcome.
2) The mustard seed would need to grow, so this is a growing faith. This faith is, in a sense, to be harvested, or as I see it, to become useful.
3) I should test my faith.
In Regards to Silent Prayer:
1 Samuel 1:12-17
12 As she kept on praying to the LORD, Eli observed her mouth. 13 Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk 14 and said to her, "How long will you keep on getting drunk? Get rid of your wine."
15 "Not so, my lord," Hannah replied, "I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the LORD. 16 Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief."
17 Eli answered, "Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him."
Romans 15:4
4 For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
Psalm 4:4
4 In your anger do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent.
Psalm 63:6
6 On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night.
Note: (Scriptures recommended from a Yahoo Group) The scripture in 1st Samuel shows that she wasn’t talking, but her lips were moving. This still does not show me that God hops in my brain and reads my mind. I know of people who can read lips. Even though there is no volume to her words, God is all around and can see what she is saying. The Romans scripture is something I think was intended to back up the Samuel scripture. But instead, I don’t see how… I do agree that the Old Testament is good and there is much to be learned from it. It is 3 times the size of the New and something should be said about that alone. The Psalm 4 scripture, I am not sure how that applies either. It doesn’t say anything about prayer, but I think it is more about forgiveness. The mention of anger is talked about earlier in the verse. Psalm 63 looks to be a verse about reflection and not prayer. Surrounding verses speak of singing and so I don’t see the connection of silent prayer, praying within the confines of your mind and God hearing that prayer. I still think that some action is required.
2 Kings 4:32-35
32 When Elisha reached the house, there was the boy lying dead on his couch. 33 He went in, shut the door on the two of them and prayed to the LORD. 34 Then he got on the bed and lay upon the boy, mouth to mouth, eyes to eyes, hands to hands. As he stretched himself out upon him, the boy's body grew warm. 35 Elisha turned away and walked back and forth in the room and then got on the bed and stretched out upon him once more. The boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes.
John 11:32
32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died."
33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34 "Where have you laid him?" he asked. "Come and see, Lord," they replied.
35 Jesus wept.
36 Then the Jews said, "See how he loved him!"
37 But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?"
38 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39 "Take away the stone," he said.
"But, Lord," said Martha, the sister of the dead man, "by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days."
40 Then Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?"
41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me."
43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.
Jesus said to them, "Take off the grave clothes and let him go."
45 Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, put their faith in him.
Matthew 26:36-44
36 Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." 37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me."
39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."
40 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?" he asked Peter. 41 "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak."
42 He went away a second time and prayed, "My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done."
43 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. 44 So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.
Note: How big is my faith? Elisha was the first to raise the dead. Jesus raised the dead. So, what happens if I believe and it still doesn’t happen? Did God make his decision as he did with David? The thing I noticed with Elisha is that he didn’t do it just once. He did it twice. Jesus prayed in the garden three times. Elisha’s prayer was answered the second time, Jesus when he raised the dead only took one. But when Jesus was in the garden praying for God’s will to change, God said “no, it needs to happen this way.” Because God doesn’t answer in my way doesn’t mean God doesn’t answer. Still, scripture is good and I will study this out more and more. Any feedback is, of course, more than welcome.
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