Dr Paul Allen

May the Lord direct your hearts into the  love of God and into the steadfastness of Christ. 2 T HESSALONIANS 3:5 Adoration Holy God, You always provide a light to direct me and guide me on the path You know is the best one for me to take. I lift Your name in praise, knowing I can depend on You to show the way. I honour You, for Your wisdom stretches into the future to guide and direct according to the best possible outcome for all. I love You, God, and I want to know how to follow You better. Let the glory due You overshadow the doubts that plague humanity's heart. Break through to show us the way toward life, peace, and love. May You receive the praise You deserve and bask in the love that is Yours as You guide us in the ways we should go. Confession Father, You know the way I am to go, which will lead me to fulfill the purpose You have established for me on earth. You know the path I should take and the decisions I should make that will enable me to live out my destiny. And yet,...

The Lord's Prayer (1886-1896) from the series The Life of Christ, Brooklyn Museum (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) " Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints." ( Ephesians 6:18 ) It is obvious that Paul's command to "pray without ceasing" ( 1 Thessalonians 5:17 ) is to be understood metaphorically (after all, we do have to sleep and work, as well as pray), but it is also to be taken seriously. Even during waking hours, of course, the attitude of unceasing general prayer is not meant to supersede special periods of concentrated prayer. Jesus spoke thus of the importance of intense private prayer: "When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret" ( Matthew 6:6 ). Christ Himself has set an example: "In the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into...

Image via Wikipedia Biblical prayer is one-way communication made available to man by the grace of God in order that man may communicate with God. While today God primarily speaks to man through His written Word (the Bible ), He encourages man to speak to Him through prayer. Prayer is not complicated or difficult.  In a nutshell, it is simply talking to God . Prayer is a grace-gift from God to man, that is, man does not deserve such a privilege and can never, by his own works, merit it.  The Bible’s first clear reference to prayer, i.e., talking with God, is found in  Genesis 3:10 , when Adam replies to God in the Garden of Eden ; although it is assumed that Adam had many conversations with God prior to this time.  From that point (fall of man) on God and man continued to talk, even outside the Garden of Eden ( Genesis 4 ), but it was not until  Genesis 4:26  that … men began to call on the name of the LORD .  The word “call” in this contex...