Time for another Catholic-bashing post, I see. Nothing the Evil One likes better than Protestant Christians and Catholic Christians beating up on each other, except maybe Protestants beating up on other Protestants.
~Fairview, a Protestant who loves and respects her Catholic brothers and sisters in Christ
Be still and know that I am God.
Be still and know that I am
Be still and know
Be still
Be
I particularly like the sixth line. It seems we are all too busy jibber jabbering in prayer that we never stop to listen in silence. I disagree with everything that was written above!!!!!!!!
NOt so sure about CHuck Swindoll being into contemplative prayer so much. I really enjoy him and think he is a great Christian man and respect him. The rest I don’t care too much about.
A C T S
Adoration
Confession
Thanksgiving
Supplication
While you can have a talk with the Father in many different ways the Bible does give us a template for "prayer".
This is more appropriate on the Religion Forum.
You have entirely too much time on your hands.
Wow not only are some experts on other folk’s salvation but PRAYER TOO!!! Thank goodness we have them to tell us what to do with our lives.
1. Choose a sacred word as the symbol of your intention to consent to God’s presence and action within.
2. Sitting comfortably and with eyes closed, settle briefly and silently introduce the sacred word as the symbol of your consent to God’s presence and action within.
3. When engaged with your thoughts*, return ever-so gently to the sacred word.
4. At the end of the prayer period, remain in silence with eyes closed for a couple of minutes."
This is the same as those who repeat the sound "ohm" over and over again. This is about as far from Biblical prayer as you can get. You just can't pray any more New Age than that.
Mat 6:7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
Mat 6:8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.
Mat 6:9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
There is so much spiritual gobbledygook going around these days in the church, that one can very likely have their earnest excitement in Christ snuffed out by the resulting confusion. (I did not say “lose their faith”.)
The New Testament letters reveal the apostles’ battles against many different false teachings, most of which claimed to be “more spiritual” than the foundational teachings handed down to them. We are in the same situation today.
I was recently talking to a friend about the issue of “falling out”—where you more or less faint or go into a spiritual trance. I’ve seen this in many Charismatic settings. It has little to no Scriptural support (unless you wrangle it out somehow!) My friend said that she prayed “if this is not from you, Lord, I don’t want it!” She fell out.
I don’t doubt my friend’s faith in Christ, but in deducing error we don’t start with her prayer as bedrock, but the Scripture. She can be sincere and still be misled because she is out of order Biblically in not testing the experience against God’s revealed truth. In fact, appealing to Scripture often seems like a less “spiritual” form of truth to those caught up in fads and experiences.
Look at Islam which loftily claims “God is so high as to not have a Son”, i.e. God is so far above lowering Himself to this. Yet what does the Scripture say? Read it and you’ll discover Muslims are doomed by this very false belief, since they reject “God’s one and only son”. They have imbibed Satan’s false righteousness.
Get thee to the Scripture and test the spirits!
Will have to read later, it’s a long one!
tl:dr
Could you condense that for those of us who don’t have a couple of hours to spare? ^_^
Interesting read - thanks for posting.