Prayer
Prayer is made solely out of a desire to do the will of God. Prayers of hope, are prayers in hope to do His will. Prayers of faithfulness are made serving His will. And of Love, are prayers of about what His will is. Prayer, is a spiritual way of acknowledging the unseen quality of God. That is why prayer is to be done in secret, and even without voice. Because these prayers are from the soul and mediated by the Holy Spirit, so they are heard by God.
Prayer for one another, is a loving prayer. It is a way for us to spiritually acknowledge another soul who carries the Spirit that cries 'Abba', in petition for them:
Father
'Grant them your peace'.
'Supply them with self control'.
'Let them know your goodness'.
'Have them understand your gentleness'. 'Open their heart with you faithfulness'.
'Let them experience your joy'.
'Show them your love for them'.
'Grant them your patience'.
Prayer for one another, is not for them to experience physical change, no. Prayer for one another, is the Holy Spirit petitioning for another soul - through you. For that other soul to receive holiness from the eternal conscience. (This can't happen, if you do not first deny yourself. You must deny your reactions in order to have a clear conscience so that the Holy Spirit can petition for you.)
Mountains move with prayer. This is a metaphor for overcoming doubt with faith. We do not carry expectations or physical results from prayer. The Holy Spirit supplies the spiritual. When we pray for changes in our lives, the only changes that come to us, or for others, is our understanding of God. It is desperation, false ministry, and of error; that say to pray for God's power to manifest in the physical. Physical mountains remain, but by prayer, faith can supply what is needed, to fearlessly overcome them.
Acts
Acts are different then prayer. Acts are what the soul does because it's hope is in God. Acts are done because the soul has learned to trust God alone. Acts are what the soul does because it's faith is holy. Acts are what the soul does because a love of God is the foundation of all it's relationships. Acts that are based off hope, faith, and love, either come from a desire to do the will of God, or, from a desire to do react to what is in front of us. Acts happen in the physical, but if holy, are founded in the spiritual completeness of the will of God. Otherwise acts are reaction based, and deny God. Anything, everything, that is an act not based on faith, is sin.
Holy acts are done with faith. In a confident and fearless manor. We are serving the will of God, and through us, comes His power. The holy authority is our strength, as we are seeking for what is beyond us, to come through us. We do not tire physically from doing the will of God. Holy acts occur more often than you may know, because the prayers of others may have petitioned on your behalf. Holy acts glorify God, through His authority.
The disciples of Jesus served the Father's will by having people witness holy acts that glorified God. But these acts have not been seen since. Why? Because it was a fulfillment of prophecy, nothing else. The great commission ended when the good news had been spread throughout the region. Remember it was the Jews who were meant to witness these acts, so that they could, through seeing the truth, reconcile themselves to God, through the new mediation, the ascended Messiah.
Paul was witness to holy things, and in different ways, glorified God by his acts. But the glory he brought the Father was not like the great commission. It was the will of God that Paul's ministry concentrate on what grace was, what the kingdom is, and how faith works. The world outside of the Jews, grow, by relying on the kingdom of God.
Of course, the message of grace has lost the repent and denial of self, so the gospel of the kingdom has become an understanding based on the physical body, and faith has been replaced with religion. Paul's letters are not his ministry. His ministry has been filtered down to a few letters. And the gospel of Timothy is misused, to give authority to men. So what do we believe, the blind or the deaf?
Paul's ministry was faith based. The gentile-based churches he led, were meant to be a gathering of believers that shared everything worldly. They were to treat one another, as they would have themselves be treated. And by no longer focussing on their worldliness, they could focus on understanding God through the kingdom, by the guidance of the Holy Spirit, under the authority that supplied grace.
In the moment
So what can be done with prayer now. We do not have such churches, and we have broken instructions. We can deny ourselves our reactions, and pray and act in faith. We can do this under grace, in the present moment we are given as an opportunity to do so.
Prayer glorifies God. He wants us to put hope in Him. He wants us to place faith in Him. He wants us to acknowledge we understand love is a part of Him as are its fruit. This is why we pray. Not with requests for food or for clothes or for money. But seeking to have what the kingdom supplies come through us, seeking to have the Holy Spirit place upon us what we seek in faith or what we need to complete the Father's will. And all that comes from prayer in of an unseen quality.
So how do holy acts come through us? Holy acts are based on two things: Love of the Father, and love for one another. As love is the basis for all the fruits, our acts by those fruit, glorify the Father. These are physical acts based on faithfulness. Yes, they are wondrous. When you are charitable, you deny yourself to do so. This is a holy act not of you, but God through you. When you refrain from doing evil and instead do good, you deny yourself to do so. This is a holy act not of you, but God through you. Holy.
To serve the will of God is to selflessly love. To sincerely desire to have His authority work through you. Our belief in Christ should become a reliance. This is God's purpose, that we believe in His son. We carry that truth in us, and we can be recognized as a part of him too. We will constantly suffer in denial of ourselves. But this is what all who desires to know God suffer together. Prayer and acts, both glorify God, and serve His will.
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Final note:
Everyone has brought shame to Christ by asking in prayer for things they desire for themselves. This is fruitless, and is something all of us should try to no longer do. God knows our thoughts. He knows our needs. Is it not better to show Him that His will comes first? What then will He deny you!
We no longer set the world aside, we are serving two masters. So we currently fail both. One is forgiving, and that same master supplied us with grace.
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Matthew 6:24
24
"No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money."
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The best we can expect to do is, moment to moment, give ourselves over to faith. Believe; that those who seek him will not be turned away. That the repentant thief on the cross was our example for faith and service. In the present moment, we can deny ourselves, and in faith seek to have love work through us.
Fear God. Repent. Pray. Act.
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