Tuesday Morning Class May 24th Prayer-First cut-More may come up later, but here's a start for class

 

Patrick Miller has a compendium on biblical prayer in They Cried to the Lord.

OK our writer first has us  considering  praise (toward God's self and attributes)  and thanksgiving (directed at acts of God). Following from last week how would different personality types, intelligences, and sense orientation approach these two types of prayer?

the usual word for thanksgiving is todah, but our writer is correct that it is related to  the word yadah. That word comes from yad for hand. it is connected to prayer in both casting something with the hand but also the position of our hands. It then is a base for any prayer posture praise, thanks, confession, intercession. halal=praise as in hallejuah comes from  a word meaning to be clear (of sound0 but also with sight to shine, like a star and developed a sense of celebrating

1) One writer, Rolf Jacobson, in Theology Today, spoke of the "costly loss of praise" in prayer. what do you think the writer would mean by that?

2) What thoughts and feelings are to be evoked by praise/adoration?  How about thanksgiving?

3) Is it easy/natural for you to praise God and to thank God?

4) I am interested in the addition of music and motion into the prayer list.

5) Please, please do not let me forget to have us discuss some prayer sections form the beloved Presbyterian Book of Order.

6) Did you teach children to pray with praise and thanksgiving?

7) We will use psalms as giving structure to these forms of prayer.

8) Do you ever write your prayers out? do you ever record them?

9) In what areas does creation elicit prayers of praise and thanksgiving from you?