Study From The Watchtower, Week of July 10 to 16, 2023, Let's improve our prayers, Underlined Answers.

Study From The Watchtower, 10-16-July-2023, Let's improve our prayers, Underlined Answers.

Yellow: Direct Answer.

Dark Yellow: Additional Answer.

Light Blue: Additional Points.

"Pour out your heart before him" (Ps. 62:8).

1. What does Jehovah invite us to do? (See also pictures).

TO WHOM can we turn when we need comfort and guidance? For us, the answer is clear: we can pray to Jehovah. In fact, he invites us to do so. And we know that he wants us to talk to him often because he tells us to “pray constantly” (1 Thess. 5:17). We can pray to him with confidence and ask him to guide us in all aspects of life (Prov. 3:5, 6). And, since Jehovah is very generous, he allows us to pray to him as many times as we want; there is no limit.

ILLUSTRATION

Images of a brother who prays in different places and times of the day: 1. Before getting up. 2. Before eating with the family. 3. Before preaching by video call. 4. In a quiet place outdoors. 5. Before going to sleep. We can often pray to Jehovah and ask him to guide us in all aspects of life. (See paragraph 1).

2. What will we see in this article?

2 Prayer is a gift that we value very much. Even so, because we are so busy, sometimes it is not easy to find time to talk with Jehovah. On the other hand, perhaps we think that we need to improve our prayers. But we have the practical help that the Bible gives us. In this article we will see the example of Jesus and we will learn to take time to pray. We will also see that we can improve our prayers if we include five important things in them.

JESUS ​​MADE TIME TO PRAY

3. What did Jesus know?

3 Jesus knew that prayers are very important to Jehovah. Long before he came to Earth, he saw his Father answer the prayers of his servants. For example, Jesus stood by him when he answered the heartfelt prayers of Hannah, David, Elijah, and many others (1 Sam. 1:10, 11, 20; 1 Kings 19:4-6; Ps. 32 : 5). No wonder Jesus told his disciples to pray often and with complete confidence (Matt. 7:7-11).

4. What good example did Jesus set for us?

4 Jesus set a good example for his disciples. During his ministry he prayed frequently. He had to take time to pray because he was usually very busy and surrounded by people (Mark 6:31, 45, 46). He used to get up early to be alone and talk to his Father (Mark 1:35). On at least one occasion he prayed all night before making an important decision (Luke 6:12, 13). And, the night before he died, Jesus prayed to Jehovah over and over again, for he knew that the most difficult part of his ministry on earth lay ahead of him (Matt. 26:39, 42, 44).

5. How can we imitate Jesus?

5 Jesus' example teaches us that no matter how busy we are, we should make time to pray to Jehovah. Like Jesus, we may need to schedule times to pray: perhaps we could get up a little earlier in the morning or stay later at night. This is how we show Jehovah how much we value this very special gift. A sister named Lynne remembers how grateful she felt when she learned that she could talk to Jehovah through prayer. She recounts: “When I learned that Jehovah is there to listen to me at any time, I began to see him as a great friend and I set the goal of improving my prayers.” Surely many of us feel like her. Now let's look at five important things that we can include in our prayers.

FIVE IMPORTANT THINGS TO INCLUDE IN OUR PRAYERS

6. According to Revelation 4:10, 11, what does Jehovah deserve to receive?

6 Let us praise Jehovah. In an impressive vision, the apostle John saw 24 elders worshiping Jehovah in heaven. They were praising God and acknowledging that he deserves to “receive glory, honor, and power” (read Revelation 4:10, 11). Angels also have many reasons to praise and honor Jehovah. They are with him in heaven and know him very well. They perceive his qualities by the things he does, and they are born to praise him when they see him in action (Job 38: 4-7).

7. In what ways do we praise Jehovah in our prayers?

7 We too should praise Jehovah when we talk to him. We do this by telling him what we like about him and why we admire him. As we read and study the Bible, let us strive to identify qualities of Jehovah that have caught our attention (Job 37:23; Rom. 11:33). Then let's tell him what we feel when meditating on those qualities. We can also praise Jehovah when he helps us personally or all our brothers. He is always very aware of us and protects us (1 Sam. 1:27; 2:1, 2).

8. What are some things we can thank Jehovah for? (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

8 Let us thank Jehovah. In our prayers we can thank him for many things (read 1 Thessalonians 5:18). Let us thank him for all the good we have. After all, all good gifts come from him (James 1:17). For example, we could tell you how grateful we are for our beautiful planet, the wonders of creation, our life, our family, our friends, and our hope. And we also want to thank him for giving us his valuable friendship.

9. Why is it not easy to be grateful?

9 What reasons do each of us have to be thankful to Jehovah? Maybe it's hard for us to see them because we live in an ungrateful world. People tend to focus on what they want and not on being thankful for what they have. If that attitude rubs off on us, our prayers could become like a long wish list. To prevent that from happening to us, we have to continue to cultivate gratitude and strive to thank Jehovah for everything he gives us (Luke 6:45).

10. How did being grateful help a sister? (See also image).

10 Being grateful helps us endure difficulties. Consider the example of a sister named Kyung-sook, found in The Watchtower for January 15, 2015. She was diagnosed with advanced lung cancer. She said: "Knowing that she was sick was a huge blow to me. I felt that she had lost everything and I was very afraid ”. What helped you keep going? She recounted that every night, before going to bed, she would go up to the roof to talk with Jehovah and thank him out loud for five good things that had happened to her during the day.This reassured her and motivated her to tell Jehovah how much she loved him. She experienced firsthand how Jehovah supports his servants when they go through difficult times and she realized that there are many more blessings in life than problems. Like Kyung-sook, we have every reason to be thankful to Jehovah, even if we are undergoing a trial. Thanking Jehovah helps us endure and gives us emotional stability.

ILLUSTRATION

A sister is praying on the roof of her house. It is night and, next to her on a table, she has a Bible and a notebook. Thanking Jehovah helps us endure. (See paragraph 10).

11. Why did Jesus' disciples need courage?

11 Let us ask Jehovah for courage to preach. Just before returning to heaven, Jesus reminded his disciples that they were to bear witness to him “in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8; Luke 24 :46-48). A short time later, the Jewish leaders arrested Peter and John and brought them before the Sanhedrin. There they ordered them to stop preaching and threatened them (Acts 4:18, 21). How did these two apostles react?

12. According to Acts 4:29, 31, what did the disciples do?

12 In response to the threats, Peter and John said: “Whether it is right in God's eyes to obey you instead of God, judge for yourself. But we cannot stop talking about the things we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:19, 20). When the Jewish religious leaders released them, the two apostles met with other disciples. Together they prayed to Jehovah to help them continue to do his will. They said, "Make your slaves keep speaking your word with great courage." And Jehovah answered this heartfelt prayer (read Acts 4:29, 31).

13. What do we learn from Jin-hyuk's example?

13 We can follow the example of those disciples and continue to preach even when the authorities forbid us. That was what Jin-hyuk, a brother who was in jail for being neutral, did. There he was commissioned to care for some prisoners who were in isolation cells. He could only address them to find out what things they needed. And he was forbidden to tell them about the Bible. But he asked Jehovah for courage and tact so that he could take advantage of any opportunity that presented itself (Acts 5:29). He recounts: “Jehovah answered my prayers, and he gave me the courage and wisdom he needed. I was able to start many five-minute Bible studies on the cell doors. And at night he wrote letters to the prisoners to deliver them the next day ”.Like Jin-hyuk, we have complete confidence that Jehovah will help us carry out our ministry, and we can ask him for courage and wisdom.

14. What will help you deal with problems? (Psalm 37:3, 5).

14 Let us ask Jehovah for help in dealing with problems. Many of us are suffering from the loss of a loved one, persecution, or physical, emotional, or family problems. And pandemics and wars have made many of those situations worse. Therefore, open your heart wide to Jehovah. Take it out on him like you would on a good friend. He can be sure that Jehovah will act in his behalf. —Read Psalm 37:3, 5.

15. How does prayer help us endure when we have difficulties? Give an example.

15 Persevering in prayer helps us endure when we have difficulties (Rom. 12:12). Jehovah knows everything his servants go through and “hears his cries for help” (Ps. 145: 18, 19). A 29-year-old pioneer named Kristie was able to prove it. From one moment to the next she began to have serious health problems. As a result, she fell into a deep depression. Some time later, her mother was diagnosed with a terminal illness. Kristie recounts: “I was praying hard for Jehovah to give me the strength to keep going day after day. I tried to keep a good spiritual routine: I didn't miss meetings and I did my personal study.” She adds: “Prayer sustained me in the darkest moments. Knowing that Jehovah was always by my side comforted me greatly.Although I did not get better right away, Jehovah answered my prayers, giving me a lot of inner peace.” Let us never forget that "Jehovah knows how to rescue people who have devotion to him from trials" (2 Pet. 2:9).

16. Why do we need Jehovah's help to resist temptation?

16 Let us ask Jehovah to help us resist temptations. Because we are imperfect, we have to constantly fight the temptation to do what is wrong. And Satan does everything in his power to make that fight as tough as possible. For example, he tries to corrupt our way of thinking through harmful entertainment . With that kind of entertainment, our minds are filled with dirty thoughts, which make us unclean in the eyes of Jehovah and can lead us to commit serious sin (Mark 7:21-23; James 1:14, 15).

17. Besides praying, what should we do to resist temptations? (See also pictures).

17 We cannot fight temptations alone; we need Jehovah to help us. Jesus included the following request in the model prayer: “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the Evil One” (Matt. 6:13). Jehovah wants to give us his help, but we have to ask for it. Now, it is not enough to pray. We must do our part and expose ourselves as little as possible to the ideas that hurt us and that are so popular in Satan's world (Ps. 97:10). To protect our mind and fill it with healthy thoughts, we have to read and study the Bible, go to meetings, and participate in the preaching work. Jehovah promises that he will not let us be tempted beyond what we can bear (1 Cor. 10:12, 13).

ILLUSTRATION

Images of a brother who puts his hands to work to resist a temptation. 1. He prays to Jehovah insistently. 2. Delete a tablet app from it. 3. Read the Bible. To resist temptation, 1) ask Jehovah for help, 2) do our part, and 3) strengthen our friendship with Jehovah. (See paragraphs 16 and 17).

18. What do we all have to do?

18 To remain faithful in these last difficult days, we have to pray more than ever. Jehovah wants us to pour out our “hearts before him” (Ps. 62:8). Therefore, take time to pray from the heart every day. Praise him and thank him for everything he does. Ask him to give you courage to preach and to help you face problems and resist any temptation that comes your way. Do not let anything or anyone prevent you from continuing to pray to Jehovah. But how does he answer our prayers? The following article will talk about this very important point.

WHAT WOULD YOU ANSWER?

How do we know that Jesus was a man of prayer?

Because that is how the Bible describes it to us, He was a man of habits, customs and prayer was an inherent and constant part of him in his day to day, we even saw that he got up early to pray and to perform miracles he prayed many times during the day.

What things can we include in our prayers?

Anything that is disturbing us on a personal level, since Philippians 4:6,7 encourages us not to worry, but to pray to God expressing our problems and difficulties in any situation.

We saw five specific things to keep in mind when praying. We must praise God, thank him, ask him for courage to preach, ask him for help and strength to continue and endure problems, and to help us resist temptations.

What do you intend to do with your prayers?

We should not let anything or anyone prevent us from praying to Jehovah, since perhaps at some point we have felt that this is part of our daily life, and in reality this is so and we say this because, not doing it is as if we would have stopped doing something very important, which would make us very attentive or with the need to pray to Jehovah and not fail him in our prayers.