Share your concerns for them because He cares. One of the most practical ways you can help anyone is to invite God into their present situation. Father God, I know You care deeply about the people in my life. I want them to know You love them and are ready to help them through this time. With God, one day is as good as a thousand years, a thousand years as a day. The author of the passage above, Peter, was warning the people he was writing to that human history as they knew it would come to an end when Jesus returns.
But at the same time, God works on a very different timeline than you do. All of this is vital when it comes to having the right attitude as you pray for people who do not yet know Jesus. God may not always answer you with the speed you would like, but that is because He knows everything that will happen over the course of your life and the lives of the people you care about. Otherwise, you are likely to become frustrated and even bitter about what you wrongly see as unanswered prayers.
Keep praying. God loves and cares about the person you are praying for more than you could even hope or imagine. Thank You, God, for pursuing me before I took You seriously. Show me how to care for them and show them Your love. Help me to trust in Your perfect timing, God, and not give up. Enemies come in various forms, some seemingly greater than others.
Now here comes Jesus, telling them that loving God and loving others requires them to do the opposite of what comes naturally: to love those enemies. His teaching is completely consistent with what God was demonstrating through the life of Jesus Himself. You may have a very clear picture of who has been an enemy in your life, or you may not. Ask Him to show you how you can love them in tangible ways. Give me the humility I need to forgive them, love them and pray for them without expecting or needing anything in return.
Both are acts of devotion and worship to God. So you are encouraged to have the right mindset whenever you think of giving something that is precious to you back to God. Your thoughts of what you are choosing to go without need to be replaced by a consciousness of whom you are giving to, what He has done for you and how much He deserves in return.
But really, God invites you to be conscious of whatever is most valuable to you, and that might be time, money, energy or even your reputation. He waits patiently for you to recognize anything you might value more than Him, even subconsciously. Father, I want to offer You everything I have, but I find it hard sometimes. Show me clearly if I am holding something back or if there is a specific need You want me to meet.
Learn more about the topic of giving with this simple self-study guide. In any Christian community, some members will have more visible responsibilities while others tend to go unnoticed. This chapter in the Book of Romans encourages everyone to be aware of the truth that all believers are precious members of the body of Christ and no one has a higher status in the eyes of God than anyone else.
As you pray, ask God whether you need Him to grant you more humility because of the perceived status you hold in your community or whether, in fact, you need to recognize your own contribution and value to others more clearly. God, I know that I cannot grow in my faith without the support of other believers. Please strengthen my church and our leaders so we can make a difference where you have placed us.
Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. These verses can serve as a prompt to think about the broader communities you are a part of, such as your city and your nation. Are the words of your prayers an honest expression of your heart before God, or are you feeling tempted to craft your words for other people to hear? Draw people in our community closer to You, and use me to change the community I am part of. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.
Pray especially for rulers and their governments to rule well so we can be quietly about our business of living simply, in humble contemplation.
This is the way our Savior God wants us to live. Many Jews eagerly awaited the arrival of the Messiah, a leader they thought would deliver the Jewish nation from Roman rule.
This was controversial, to say the least. But Paul explains that because God wants everyone to hear the invitation to become part of His family, the early church needed to pray for the salvation and well-being even of their perceived enemies. In our time, this command is as relevant as ever. But are you willing to bridge the divides in our culture by praying for those you disagree with?
Jesus, I pray for the leaders in my city and my nation, that You would give them wisdom and Godly character as they make decisions each day. I also ask that you help me to become more conscious of the needs of Your people in other countries and to think beyond my own immediate community. In Colossians 3, there is a description of what it means to clothe yourself with Christ. In practical terms, it means choosing to adopt His qualities as your own in a permanent way that demonstrates you have been changed forever by knowing Him and giving the Holy Spirit control of your life.
Kindness is one of the qualities of Christ listed in this verse. Why is this so important? Perhaps because God knows it is contrary to your human nature, which inclines you to put yourself first. Kindness to the degree demonstrated by Jesus as He lived among people who would ultimately betray Him is counter-cultural in any culture. This radical kindness, including loving enemies, stands out to people and provokes them to ask why you would choose to live this way.
As you pray, invite God to show you opportunities to demonstrate Christlike kindness to the people in your life — and to complete strangers.
Lord, create in me a heart brimming over with compassion and kindness. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves.
In Philippians 1, Paul implores the members of the church in Philippi to live lives worthy of the gospel of Christ. This involves both believing in Him and willingly enduring suffering for the sake of the gospel. Paul knew that for a community to live this way, it would need a level of unity that does not come naturally.
He knew the people he was writing to well enough to know the internal disputes and rivalries that could easily undermine their witness for Jesus. So he calls them to live lives characterized by humility, and he does so by describing the humility of Jesus, the man who deserved honor above all others. When you pray for humility, be prepared for God to reveal prideful behavior in your life and for Him to ask you to humble yourself in very practical ways. He may, for example, prompt you to apologize to someone you feel you deserve an apology from yourself.
Some humans have reported that spiritual beings talk to them. For example, Moses reported God spoke to him from a burning bush. Socrates reported in "The Apology" that throughout his life he heard a spiritual voice, which would warn him not to do various things that were wrong or dangerous. It is of course possible spirits do exist but that none of them qualify as being God. Most psychics I have read about claim to be theists.
Indeed, He is Most High and Wise. However, the most common method Allah SWT used to communicate to His prophets is through angels sent as messengers. God has a long history of speaking directly to humans.
In Scripture — Old and New Testaments — you will see God has made it a priority to communicate directly with us over the centuries.
There is a lot of competition in our lives for the voice of God; the trick is to make time for quiet: intervals of solitude, hiking or running without earphones, sitting beside a candle trusting your presence is enough. God is patient, so must we be. Buddhism is a non-theistic world view, so this is not a central question.
But we can ask if the Light of the universe can be heard? After the Buddha was enlightened he described a vibrant scene — more beautiful than any he had ever seen. All sentient beings can reach this state, but we are limited by biases and narrow habits of thought. This deep hearing of the light is joyous appreciation of the wondrous gifts the universe offers.
Does the universe talk? Only if we listen. Conversations do happen. Just after the Buddha was enlightened, the highest of Hindu gods, Brahma, encouraged Buddha to go forth and teach. Edit this Article. We use cookies to make wikiHow great.
By using our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Cookie Settings. Learn why people trust wikiHow. Download Article Explore this Article methods. Tips and Warnings. Related Articles. Article Summary. Method 1. Determine how you see God. Who is, and how do you define, God? Do you know God as a fatherly or motherly figure, a teacher, a distant -- or a close friend, sticking closer than a sister or brother? Or, is God an abstract spiritual guide? Is your connection to God rooted in a personal, spiritual relationship you have with God?
Or, do you follow the form and order of your religion to understand who God is to you? Whichever is true for you will dictate how you view and talk to God. And, however you see God determines how you will approach God to talk to Him as you see Him. Establish a relationship with a caring God. Figuring out that God wants to hear from you and to share all your joys, pains and thoughts with you is the first step to establishing that relationship.
And you can build on it by reading about how much God cares in spiritual literature or religious texts, such as the Bible, Quran or Torah. Talk to God as you would a close, loving but all-powerful friend. Talking to God as a tremendous friend is different from just praying to God as a need or duty. As with a friend, you expect back-and-forth communication by noticing how God answers, helps or teaches you. You can talk to God out loud or inside your mind, whichever feels most effective to you.
Have a talk with God. Talk to God similarly as you would, if a physical person were standing in front of you. You can tell God about casual or hard topics just as you would with a concerned friend. Talk to God about His gifts to you. I pray that she would try to see things from my point of view sometimes.
And, help me to be patient, listen and understanding to her. Watch for and pay attention to possible feedback. You may not get an audible response like you would, if a friend were physically standing in front of you.
But you can receive a response from God in the written word of God or from the sermon of a minister. Tell God that you know that He has His own reasons for His seemingly hands-off response and His timeline -- and so trust Him in that.
You may not find what you want when you want it, but He does everything for His reason. Try to keep following God's path in good faith in the loving concepts of God and expressing God's goodwill. God does not necessarily contravene or interfere with the behavior of disagreeable parties -- Why? They, having free will as you do, might not follow love, good morals, the purposes of God, nor stop their misconduct that can involve you. Even in dire events one can talk to God, in the darkest day or when you pass through the valley of death.
You need not fear, but may cry out to Him while trusting God, come what may. Method 2. Write to God as a form of communication. Maybe you feel uncomfortable talking out loud to God, find it difficult to concentrate when talking to God in your mind, or maybe neither of the two work for you at all. This form of communicating will still enable you to express your thoughts for a connection and create your side of a conversation with God.
Purchase or find a blank writing notebook and pen. Choose something that will feel comfortable to write in every day. A spiral notebook or journal would be an ideal choice since it will easily lay flat on a desk. Select your preferred writing tool. Computers have endless distractions, and for some the act of typing requires more conscious effort than scribbling in a notebook. Find a quiet and private space to write. Write for a specific amount of time. Before you get started set a timer for a length of time that feels comfortable to write for.
You may set it for five, ten or twenty minutes. Keep your pen or pencil moving until the timer goes off. I might ask Him to heal my spiritual, physical issues or someone else's. I can ask for Him to forgive my sins if I truly repent and do my best in turning from them.
I can ask Him to open doors for me that I might have opportunities to share His word with others or even a specific individual. I can pray for patience and a love for my fellowman. I don't think I should pray for a more beautiful house or a big bank account or a yacht but humility is good as is being slow to anger or asking for wisdom. I have seen miraculous outcomes through my prayers to God. I would say that they are misguided and have an improper understanding of God's word on Him speaking directly to us.
I just think it a very dangerous place for one to be. Dale Miller Just the opposite, in a sense I think that people who don't talk to God are missing out what God is offering them. I have had God speak to me in an audible voice before and I'm sure I'm not the only one that this has happened to. In one instance God spoke to me quite clearly and said go pray and as soon as I hit my knees I begin to pray in tongues. There is no one that can convince me that was not God speaking to me.
I believe that if anyone is open-minded to the things of God and has truly had a born-again experience they will hear God speaking to them in one way or another. God created us because he loves us and wants us to fellowship with him so why would we not? We are in the last days and needs to develop a relationship with God so that we will be prepared for his return.
In the Old Testament God spoke you to man in audible voices and through his mighty miracles. In the New Testament, we have been given a better Covenant because it is based upon the blood of Jesus and His righteousness and nothing that we have done.
God gave us the perfect sacrifice once and for all. That does not mean that God cannot speak to us today in whatever way he chooses because you cannot put a limit on God. We have just been given a better Covenant, the sacrificial blood of Jesus, a one-time sacrifice for all who would receive Him-Jn
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