do you have a favourite prayer?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by cacian

interesting quote this because to me it should say:
if you trespass then someone will trespass back on you which means no need for forgiveness.

the idea that one can trespass then ask for forgiveness because someone else has trespassed on them is a double edge sword in other word hypocrisy.

in other words:
don't do and I won't be done to you and god is left out of it.

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I don't know if that is what you want it to say, or you're saying that is how you interpret it. Nick Cappozoli was right. In order to ask for mercy from God, we must show mercy to others like Christ did. Christ (according to the story) forgave sins the Jews thought people would be damned for. Because Christians believe that Christ is God, we must follow his example and make an honest effort to be like Him in our daily conduct. Thus, we must forgive, even those who hate and offend us, whether they are sorry or not for what they have done.

It sounds like I am making Christians out to be doormats, but that is not the case. Christians are called to love everyone (not necessarily like them because some people are just not likable). To a Christian, love means "willing the good of another." If we see someone doing something contrary to Christ's teachings, we must admonish them, but do it with great love and patience. If they don't like what we have to say and despise us, we can, by all means--like the apostles--seek out friends who will.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by YesNo

Last week I was reading Pam Grout....People often tell me, "I dont pray. It's a waste of time. It's like believing in Santa Claus or the tooth fairy." My response? It's impossible to stop praying. Can't be done.

I think her point was that our thoughts are prayers, no matter how foolish or profound. So for each of us our favorite prayer would be what we think about the most.

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I agree, YesNo. Where our thoughts are, our heart is. Scripture says, God knows our hearts.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Nick Capozzoli

The Lord's Prayer (Matt 6:13)...."Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us."

We should think about what this sentence means. It seems to mean that God will forgive our sins against Him, but
as a condition requires that we forgive the sins of others against us, or perhaps that He will forgive us only in
proportion to our forgiveness towards others.

Many of us say this prayer without thinking about this as we forgive those who trespass against us qualifier...
I certainly did that for many years.

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The Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13) was for teaching the 12 disciples how to pray before Christ's death/resurrection. After Christ's death/resurrection, everything changed because Christ's sacrifice forgave our sins. So, by grace, we were unconditionally forgiven. That was the purpose of Christ's suffering.

Before Christ's sacrifice for our sins, it was "Forgiveness Under the Law" - a system of command and penalty, conditional blessing and cursing.

After, it was "Forgiveness Under Grace" - a system of unconditional blessing.

Before Christ's sacrifice for our sins, scripture pens it this way: "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespassed against us"(Matthew 6:12)

After, scripture pens it this way: "Forgive others just as God, in Christ, has forgiven you" (Ephesians 4:32).

Be it unto me Lord, according to Thy will