Fred, Jesus was the person who told his disciples how to pray when they asked - Jesus is the one who said the Lord's Prayer; how can this prayer, a model or general pattern for prayer, not be a very important Jesus theological teaching about faith?Fred wrote:Don't see how you square your thinking about prayer with Jesus teaching on the subject. I'm thinking of the Canaanite lady who kept pestering Him to heal her daughter, I think it was, and he said he wasn't sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel so don't basically don't bother me lady. She kept pestering until he granted her request and then he said he hadn't found such faith in Israel (I could be confusing several Bible stories). There were several stories in the Gospels like that. The impression I got from those stories was that if God says no, keep trying, because you can change his mind and if you do he'll even commend you for it. Doesn't make a whole lot of sense but that's the way it seemed to me. If you keep saying, "If it be thy will" my impression was that he'd think you were a faithless wimp for quitting so easily.Mountaineer wrote: Some thoughts on prayer, to go along with the Lord's Prayer - note the emphasis on "thy will be done" (not my will) in the Lord's Prayer - i.e. God is in charge, not me (ref: Mt 6:5-13):
That's just my impression and as I've said before I mostly just read the Bible when I was a Christian and didn't pay a lot of attention to what others had to say about it. So I'm probably wrong about a lot of the impressions I got. (Some sarcasm intended).
Re. the Canaanite woman, my perception is the account is more about faith and believing that Jesus would grant her request (Gospel) than an emphasis on doing (Law). It is in contrast to the accounts of Jesus repeatedly chiding His disciples for their lack of faith (Mt 8:26; 14:31; 17:20), another very important Jesus teaching.
Note from my study Bible: MATTHEW—NOTE ON 15:21–28 This persistent Canaanite woman gains Jesus’ praise for believing that He will help her sick daughter. In time of need, we often either fail to pray with such determination or only ask hesitantly. Instead, we ought to “pray without ceasing” (1Th 5:17). Jesus hears all prayers offered in His name, and He will answer in His own time and way as is best for us. Therefore, we can pray with confidence.
Concordia Publishing House (2009-10-31). The Lutheran Study Bible (Kindle Locations 112206-112209). Concordia Publishing House. Kindle Edition.
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