Sunday, May 6, 2018

SILENT PRAYERS - Can God read our minds, thereby knowing our thoughts? Can He know what we’re praying for when we do not use words?


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Silent Prayers

Does God Know Our Thoughts and Silent Prayers?
Jack Wellman
Does God always know what we are thinking?
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The Word of God
Can God read our minds, thereby knowing our thoughts?
Can He know what we are praying for when we do not use words? How can God know what we are thinking?
The truth is Jesus is the Word and Jesus being the Word and every bit God, knows us and knows us well.
 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning 
the thoughts and intentions of the heart (Hebrews  4:12).
This means that no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account (Hebrews 4:13).
There is nothing hidden from God.
We all must give an account to Him on the day of His visitation or after our death (Hebrews 9:27). 
There are no exceptions.
For the believers, their sins have already been judged in Christ on the cross. 
But for those who have never repented, they have nothing but the wrath of God abiding on them (John 3:36b).
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Before you speak It
Does God know what we are going to pray for before we even pray it?
Does He know what we will say before we even say it?
Yes, as the psalmist declares Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether (Psalm 139:4).
God tells Jeremiah “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations (Jeremiah 1:5).
God certainly knows what we’ll say before we even say it and in fact, we are not that much different from Jeremiah, with the exception of being a prophet called to the nations.
God also knew us before we were born (Ephesians 1).
Just as with Paul “. . . when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone (Galatians 1:15-16).
He has called us before the foundation of the world by His grace.
Isaiah also writes Before I was born the LORD called me; from my mother’s womb he has spoken my name” (Isaiah 49:1).
As with the Gentiles God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us (Acts 15:8).
So clearly, God knows our heart and declares I the LORD search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds (Jeremiah 17:10).
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Thoughts, Intents, Feelings
When Hannah was barren and she prayed to the Lord for a child, Hannah continued praying before the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. Hannah was speaking in her heart; only her lips moved, and her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli took her to be a drunken woman” (1Samuel 1:12-13).
Hannah’s lips were moving but she was praying silently and as it says, Hannah was speaking in her heart but only her lips moved and her voice was not heard.”
Eli thought she was drunk but nothing could be further from the truth.
Sometimes, early in the morning, before anyone’s awake, I pray silently in bed.
It doesn’t matter if my words are audible or not; God hears what I am praying for in my heart for He knows everything that is in my heart (Jeremiah 17:10).
Even though my heart is desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9) He still forgives me and I can communicate to Him through the access provide by our High Priest, Jesus Christ.
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The Creator and the Created
Who would know better than God what we are thinking?
Sometimes I can guess what my wife is thinking about and sometimes I can finish her sentences but the LORD—knows the thoughts of man, that they are but a breath (Psalm 94:11).
And He “knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile” (1 Corinthians 3:20).
The psalmist wrote You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar (Psalm 139:2). 
So there truly is not anything hidden from God.
Our hearts, minds, and souls are all like an open book to God. He knows us full well in every way.
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Conclusion
God knows what you and I are thinking right now so it does not matter if you pray out loud or silently.
God will hear and answer the prayers of His own children but He always answers in ways that are superior to what we think we need or want.
God can see our motives, thoughts, and intents so we must strive to pray with sincere, genuine intentions to God. He already knows them anyway.
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Would you want to have a deeper relationship with God?
God has made it possible for you to know Him and experience an amazing change in your own life by receiving His Son, Jesus Christ, and have eternal life.
Say the following prayer:

“Father God, I confess I am a sinner and my sins have separated me from You.

I am truly sorry. I now want to turn away from my past sinful life and live a new life pleasing to You. I receive Your free gift of salvation.

Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again.

I believe that Your Son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer.

I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Thank You that according to your Word, I am now born again, has eternal life, and I am now Your child.

Please send Your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. I promise to study Your Word – the Bible.

Please use me for Your glory.

In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen.”

If you have just put your trust in Jesus Christ, you have been born into God’s family.
As a spiritual baby, you need to grow by feeding on God’s Word – the Bible (1 Peter 2:2).
You must have a good modern translation Bible and begin prayerfully reading it. Start in the New Testament, such as the Gospel of John or Paul’s letters to the Ephesians.
Also, you need to join a Christian fellowship where the Bible is taught and where God is truly worshiped.
God bless you as you begin your new life with Him!
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