Prayer is such an important part of our relationship with God. But is there a right way to pray? Can prayer be misguided? If so, what can we use as a guide? Let’s look at how Jesus taught his disciples to pray to our Father.
The gospel is the good news to the condemned and sinful. Those who believe it are acquitted of their guilt before God and set free! But how can God set free those who are clearly guilty of sin? There must be a fair and just basis for the acquittal. We learn the answer from the gospel story itself—that Jesus Christ was our substitute.
Jesus once told a parable about two men who were at the temple praying. At the end of his story, one man went away justified, while the other did not. What does it mean to be justified by God? Some think it’s a complex theological word that average believers should quickly pass over. Though the meaning is profound, it’s actually quite understandable.
Many people wonder: Is God kind and compassionate, or angry and accusing? We all would like to think he is loving because we hear that he is. But does he really love us, or is this just an advertisement to get people to join a religion or a church? How do we really know? We know by looking at Jesus Christ, the One who is God in the flesh, and by Christ’s compassion for all he met.
Some people claim that since we can’t see God, finding him is impossible, so we shouldn’t waste our time seeking him. For them, God is just an interesting discussion topic. But many throughout history have claimed to have sought God and found him. All throughout Scripture God tells us to seek him. Why would God invite us to seek him if it’s impossible to find him?
“What is truth?” Pontius Pilate’s infamous question to Jesus during his trial seems sarcastic, maybe even cynical. Was he asking to find ultimate truth? No, probably not. But it’s a legitimate question—what is truth? Is it real, or just an illusory concept? Are there really absolutes as opposed to just ideas? And what is Christ’s kingdom of truth?