Essay Sample on Prayer: An Act of Worship for Glorifying God

Introduction

Prayer refers to a way of talking to God. However, from a religious perspective, it is something more than that. It is an act of worship that is meant to glorify the creator and reinforce the human needs to Him. In respect to the Christian perspective, there is the power of prayer should not be at any time underestimated by an individual or a group of people. The above is because by living a life that is full of worship, there is no underestimation of prayers to respond to the Christian works of salvation through communicating with the source of and purpose for human existence. Prayer goes hand in hand with fasting and has been there since time immemorial, not really to manipulate a situation to create a circumstance but rather to increase loyalty to God in the process of Him answering our prayers.

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Prayers can change the way Christians think about justice and authority, together with to whom they grant the two. It is because the two are branded to be ordained by God, who gives them to the relevant people through ordinary people. Secondly, justice and authority are to be solely practiced by God according to the Christian perspective, who is the controller of everything, including the people (Luhrmann et al., 2013). He is also the only one that is supposed to advance just judgment to the wrongdoers.

Therefore, instead of doing it directly by Himself, the responsibility is transferred to human beings to carry out the practices which are only confirmed through genuine prayers as a way of communication to Him. Various forms of authority are bestowed to people in society. The positions also come with different ways of executing justice to the people concerning the kind of wrongs they have done in the community.

Due to different beliefs that people exhibit accompanied by their faith in God, prayers have worked differently for them. Some of them witness their lives to be complicated and fractured, even though they make a lot of prayer to God. Some have gone ahead to show perpetual struggle through their days while answering some prayers takes a short period. For those that struggle for an extended period do not give up in prayers because of a strong belief in their God. They believe that holiness is not the same as wholeness. Because prayers have placed people in significant positions of authority to exercise justice to the other people, they then it is the same prayers that can save them too to similar situations.

Prayers have been acknowledged to be very powerful, as those who have been placed in authority positions claim. They exercise many commands, particularly those possessing religious authority. They have a lot of power as compared to those in other ordinary forms of leadership in society. The different authorities respect them because they are assumed to communicate with God through prayers. As much as the majority of them might be experiencing lifestyles of the lowest standards in the society, the respect they command comes directly from God to whom they pray to (Coakley, 2011).

Through prayers, Christians can enhance their respect for those in authority positions, especially the church leaders. For instance, prayers in the Catholic church have influenced the Catholic believers to have a different thought of those they have put in authority. The believers exercise several prayers both for the church and towards God regarding those they have placed in positions of power like the Pope. Because of prayer and belief that they have in their God, they have had a different perspective of their leaders in the church, where they have even allowed some of them to practice justice.

It is achieved when some of them that regard themselves to have been sinful have a confession session with their church leaders so that they are relieved at heart. Some of the leaders can thus, execute some form of punishment in the name of the authority that is vested in them. It is through prayers that the believers develop respect for those in authority at the same time allow them to exercise justice and the same power over them. On the other hand, those in authority are aware that it is through the prayer that people make for them to God that they have been enabled to carry out the practices and justice to them.

Conclusion

In society, and even at the church level, we have different types of authority vested in people of different ages. Some are young and the old but performing different functions to suit the demands of the society as advocated by God. People might possess different opinions regarding their leadership and exercise of their power since they exhibit varied characteristics when it comes to praying.

Still, through praying, the Christians can change their understanding and perspectives that might make the old or the young inferior towards performing their functions (Hatch et al., 2016). For example, in church, we have people of different ages ranging from altar boys to the preacher. Still, it is through prayers among the believers that they can give authority to these people at the same time, allow them to exercise it on them to administer justice just like God would do.

References

Coakley, Sarah. "How My Mind Has Changed: Prayer as Crucible." Christian Century 128, no. 6 (2011): 32-40.

Hatch, T. G., Loren Dean Marks, E. A. Bitah, M. Lawrence, N. M. Lambert, David C. Dollahite, and B. P. Hardy. "The power of prayer in transforming individuals and marital relationships: A qualitative examination of Christian, Jewish, and Muslim families." Review of Religious Research 58, no. 1 (2016): 27-46.

Luhrmann, Tanya M., Howard Nusbaum, and Ronald Thisted. ""Lord, teach us to pray": Prayer practice affects cognitive processing." Journal of Cognition and Culture 13, no. 1-2 (2013): 159-177.