Season 3 Podcast 10 A Few Notes on Faith and Prayer

A Few Notes on Faith & Prayer As Christians we know that we are not, as Bertrand Russel said, “an accidental collocation of atoms.” We are not created by accident, chance, coincidence, or serendipity of circumstances. We are children of God, having a divine nature. Before coming to earth we lived with our Father in heaven as his spirit children. He sent us to earth through our mortal parents to gain a physical body in the hopes that we would return to him when our mortal probation is over. That is a good thing to keep at the forefront of our mind.If someone asks, who are you, surprise them and say “I am a child of God, of royal birth, having a divine nature. My spirit is immortal. My body is a temple of God and his Holy Spirit dwells in me.” And then when they close their mouth give them your earthly name because that is probably all they wanted to know anyway.Faith in self is necessary for self-reliance. Faith drives us to action and proves the power for that action. God has given all of us enormous gifts tailored for the challenges of mortal life. As with the Parable of the Talents, those gifts double as we wisely develop them. The more we understand about law, the greater we can develop our own skills and talents. Faith in others is necessary in a world as complex and varied as ours. We cannot possibly be a master of all trades. Faith in God is necessary in a world where things are both temporal and spiritual. We have a spirit body and a temporal body. Let us keep in mind that we are all children of God, of royal birth, and to every child God has given special gifts to bless mankind.  God distributes his gifts throughout the world for the betterment of man.  The reason God generously distributes his gifts is so that we can help not only ourselves but his other children. All good gifts come from God.  How we use them depends on us for God has given us our agency. We may use those gifts for good or evil, to serve others or just to serve ourselves.  In the Sermon on the Mount Christ gave us the golden rule as a guideline: Do unto others as ye would have them do unto you. Faith and prayer go together. Faith strengthens prayer and prayer brings down the powers of heaven. God will not intrude in our lives uninvited because of the law of agency, but he wants to hear our prayers.  He wants us to invite him into our lives.  Faith in God is one of the greatest resources on earth, and prayer give us direct access to the throne of God. What other King gives you unlimited access?  John said, ““8 And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.” (Revelation 5:8)Daily prayers go a long way. It is a lifelong study to learn how God answers prayers. We are his Children. His goal is to bring us back to his presence. To do that he must sanctify us. No prayer goes unheard, but we must allow God to answer in his own way.