{"id":31820,"date":"2025-09-08T17:37:22","date_gmt":"2025-09-08T17:37:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/?p=31820"},"modified":"2025-09-09T06:07:59","modified_gmt":"2025-09-09T06:07:59","slug":"prayer-more-than-words-by-sola-adeyegbe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/?p=31820","title":{"rendered":"Prayer: More Than Words by Sola Adeyegbe"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"xdj266r x14z9mp xat24cr x1lziwak x1vvkbs x126k92a\">\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"x14z9mp xat24cr x1lziwak x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a\">\n<div dir=\"auto\">Prayer is not meant to be a routine of repeated phrases or a long recital of requests. True prayer springs from the depths of the soul and carries with it reverence, simplicity, and sincerity. Christ Himself taught: \u201cLet your speech be yea or nay!\u201d and this commandment about our speech extends to our prayers as well, reminding us that they should be just as direct and truthful.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"x14z9mp xat24cr x1lziwak x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a\">\n<div dir=\"auto\">He also warned us not to pray out of habit or for show, but only when our souls are stirred. Every careless or routine use of God\u2019s name, He said, is sacrilege. Prayer is not performance, it is communion with the Living God.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"x14z9mp xat24cr x1lziwak x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a\">\n<div dir=\"auto\">One of Christ\u2019s greatest gifts is The Lord\u2019s Prayer. It is not just a set of words to repeat; it is the very essence of His teaching. Each line carries power and responsibility. When we say \u201cHallowed be Thy Name, Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done,\u201d we are making promises, not casual remarks. Only afterwards do we ask, \u201cGive us this day our daily bread\u201d, and even then, it is really a plea for strength to live according to God\u2019s Will.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"x14z9mp xat24cr x1lziwak x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a\">\n<div dir=\"auto\">This prayer also reflects God\u2019s Law of sowing and reaping: \u201cForgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.\u201d We are forgiven only as we forgive.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"x14z9mp xat24cr x1lziwak x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a\">\n<div dir=\"auto\">Christ made it clear: \u201cSeek first the Kingdom of Heaven, and all the rest shall be added unto you.\u201d The thief who asked only to be remembered in Christ\u2019s Kingdom received the greatest gift of all- Paradise.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"x14z9mp xat24cr x1lziwak x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a\">\n<div dir=\"auto\">Jesus also emphasised private prayer, away from display. This principle was mirrored in other servants of God. Mohammed, in preparation for his mission, withdrew into solitude for prayer and fasting. Under his leadership, five daily prayers were instituted, not as empty ritual but as reminders to live constantly in God\u2019s Presence. Facing East symbolised opening to the Light, while ablutions served as signs of the inner purity required to serve God.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"x14z9mp xat24cr x1lziwak x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a\">\n<div dir=\"auto\">Lao-Tse, God\u2019s messenger to China, left us a prayer of moving simplicity: \u201cSublime, Almighty God, I no longer wish to be anything myself. Make me into an ever better instrument of Thine, into Thy servant!\u201d<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"x14z9mp xat24cr x1lziwak x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a\">\n<div dir=\"auto\">True prayer is not for begging earthly favours but for drawing closer to God, aligning with His Will, and becoming His instrument. Let us therefore pray with reverence, sincerity, and truth seeking first the Kingdom.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"x14z9mp xat24cr x1lziwak x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a\">\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Prayer is not meant to be a routine of repeated phrases or a long recital of requests. True prayer springs from the depths of the soul and carries with it reverence, simplicity, and sincerity. Christ Himself taught: \u201cLet your speech be yea or nay!\u201d and this commandment about our speech extends to our prayers as [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":31821,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[6009],"tags":[4710],"class_list":["post-31820","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-paradise","tag-sola-adeyegbe"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/prayers-e1757352851855.jpg","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4oswh-8he","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31820","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=31820"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31820\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31822,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31820\/revisions\/31822"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/31821"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=31820"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=31820"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=31820"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}