I am seeking your advice concerning prayer. Our Pastor is leaving and we are having a farewell banquet for him and his family. There will be many in attendance including pastors from other churches and I have been asked to offer the opening prayer.

The idea of praying aloud in front of so many makes me nervous. I always pray from my heart but in this case would it be okay to write something and memorize it?

Also when I think about what to say in the opening prayer, the book of Psalms comes to mind but I don’t know why. Is there something there I should know concerning this? Perhaps a word from Psalms that I should use in the prayer?

Re: Matthew 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you. When we decide to serve Him first, this decision must be followed by action or it will be as useless as if we did not decide to do so in the first place. To honor God with your lips and not your heart is not acceptable. This worries me. If I am doing anything like what I should be doing it will be a big surprise to me. And I suspect I am not alone. I just read that most of us are in the same boat. What do you think? Your opinion will be greatly appreciated. And anxiously awaited.

I believe that, surely, it must be God’s will that I love Him more than I do, and that my faith be greater than it is.

I am taught, however, that I must have faith for my prayers to be answered. If my faith is weak; if my belief is not strong; it seems that God will not answer my prayers for greater faith or stronger belief and love of Him.

So, what can I do with my need for God-given faith if the little faith I have is not great enough for Him to grant what I ask Him for? How can I avoid the Catch 22 of having too little faith for my prayer for more faith to be answered?

I ask:

1. to ensure my Salvation and to have the “Blessed Assurance” I see in others ;

2. to know His will for me and to be made strong enough to do it;

3. to serve him (and to be rid of a desire for some form of recognition) .

If it is my motives that are impure in my prayer for increased faith and love of God, where can I get the faith I need for him to answer my prayer to rid me of those impure motives?

There is some confusion among my husband and me and some of our close friends over the meaning of 2 Cor 9:8-9. All of us believe in tithing and practice it, plus we all give above the tithe to other ministries. Some of us believe it says we should give to everyone who ask us for money no matter what. Others say we should try to be discerning in who we give money to. We all want to be generous. If we do not give to everyone who ask us for money or financial support, are we being disobedient to this scripture?

Re: “Cheap Grace” A question arose regarding giving an account for ourselves. It’s mentioned more than once in Scripture (Jesus and Paul making such statements – sorry don’t have the verses to back them up this time), and has caused a few discussions I’ve had with others. Will you please help us on this issue, as we know our sins were paid for by Jesus’ sacrifice for us on Calvary?

Would you please give us your thoughts on the concept of a believer cheapening the grace of God?

I always thought that God knows from beginning to end and knows all the choices we would make for our lives so how does prayer change things? Are there scriptures that support this idea? I want to pray effectively for my family and friends in need.

Would you please address the proper order of prayer? I realize that there was a proper order (or to use the secular term “protocol”) that was observed in the Temple worship. Does a proper order also apply to our prayers? All during the day, I find myself just talking with either God or Jesus without much formality, very much like I talk with my best friends here on earth. Is this being disrespectful to who God and Jesus are? They are too important to me to ever be disrespectful to who they are and what they have done for me.

I read something today that upset me and I would like your opinion on it. I know that you have mentioned that we will all stand before the Bema Seat of Christ for rewards but this is what I read…

Everything I ever did will be analyzed and scrutinized openly by the Lord Jesus Christ. Every good thing. . . and every bad thing. I’ll be called on to give account of every word, every deed, every thought.

Now even as a Christian I ‘try’ to live as good as I can because I love the Lord but I have done things that I’m not proud of but I always ask for forgiveness and I asked the Lord to help me with my attitude about people and situations but I fail at times.

Question…Are not all my sins covered by the blood and if not why not? There is a chorus that says…When He (God) looks at me He sees not what I used to be but He sees Jesus.

It sounds like for most believers, the Judgment Seat of Christ will be an excruciating experience.

My sister and I were raised in a pentecostal church, although I am nondenominational at this time in my life. She is saved but has fallen out of fellowship with God for a while now. I am trying to get her back into fellowship and going to church again. Last Sunday they served communion and she refused to take it. I thought it had to do with her falling away, but she said it was because she was taught that if she wasn’t baptized (water baptism) then she should not take communion. I told her as long as she’s saved baptism isn’t required for communion, but she doesn’t agree. Who’s correct?