[debeguiled]

(10-20-2018 06:19 AM)Mage Wrote:  

So you have no answer and resort to posting pics of cats for some reason that has probably something to do with wrongly attacking me ad hominem.

Very well, you lose.

I am answering your question.

Think outside the litter box.

The answers are there.

[RealityShift]

Disclaimer: I don't pray regularly, am atheist and grew up in an atheist household.

Praying is good for mental health for 2 main reasons:

1. Strengthens belief that God exists where God is a beneficent being that looks out for you and helps you achieve your goals. God is a symbol for the humaneness of the universe. If you believe that a beneficent God exists, then you will think that the universe is a pleasant or at least tolerable place. This has the greatest positive effect on downtrodden people who believe that the world is a cruel place.

2. Praying is visualization of problems being solved and of the attainment of desired outcomes. If you have a problem that upsets you, then praying can alleviate some of the emotional pain of that problem and give you some confidence to handle it in the future.

[Thomas the Rhymer]

(10-21-2018 01:42 PM)debeguiled Wrote:  

(10-20-2018 06:19 AM)Mage Wrote:  

So you have no answer and resort to posting pics of cats for some reason that has probably something to do with wrongly attacking me ad hominem.

Very well, you lose.

I am answering your question.

Think outside the litter box.

The answers are there.

[debeguiled]

Thomas gets it!

See you in Pussy Paradise, brother.

[Built to Fade]

(10-19-2018 11:49 AM)kbell Wrote:  

I asked this question to a member of Hankmoody’s church (the only time I have really been to a church) and he mentioned the concept of rote or freeflow prayer. Judaism seems more rote or fixed formed. I’d love to hear your guys input on that. He also mention gratitude and other things. It doesn’t seem like an easy question to answer and seem to cause very long answers.

Don't fall into the trap of repeating memorised prayers as that is vain repetition. The Gospel of Matthew explicitly mentions this, referencing the Pharisees and other religious organisations in Jesus' time who are blatant hypocrites.

Matthew 6:1-8, 14-15 KJV

Verses 5-8 Wrote:

5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
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.
8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.

John 3:11-12 NASB

Quote:

11 Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you do not accept our testimony.
12 If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?

The interpretation of the "Our Father" I currently hold is that it's merely a general template for all prayers to the Living God. It's similar to having a general template for day/night game if you think about it for a moment. The emphasis is to have a unique and creative prayer that is relevant to the current circumstances in your life.

Our Father "Prayer Template" (Matthew 6:9-13 KJV)

Quote:

9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
[Thanking and revering the Holy Father for everything]

10 Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
[The Kingdom will arrive soon to Earth and the plan that has been fulfilled in Heaven will soon be fulfilled on Earth (Refer to the Book of Revelation)]

11 Give us this day our daily bread.
[Daily Spiritual nourishment]

12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
[Forgiveness of repentable sins through Grace, as well as the repentable sins of others]

13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
[Protection from the multitude of Satan's beguiling ways of evil. | Understanding that the power, glory and Kingdom of the Living Holy Father is eternal, perfect & unchanging.]

Ideally, any personal prayer should include the six aspects of the template, as explained in the green text. If it's done correctly and performed with the right intention, you may find some positive changes in your life.

Don't be too concerned if a sin is "unforgivable" as the mere questioning of one's sins proves that it's a sin caused by a moment of weakness or unfortunate circumstances.

If anyone's wondering who would possibly commit the "unforgivable sin", have a look through the entirety of human history. They usually have similar characteristics, ascension to power, and some kind of disgraceful death, resulting in the celebration of their death by the oppressed citizens. If no one knew the context, they would think some kind of exorcism had just occurred.

_______________________________________________

(10-19-2018 11:49 AM)kbell Wrote:  

@built_to_fade- Wow that’s very well researched. I have trouble understanding King James English. Be thankfull for what I have is something I need to work on. I tend to overfocus on what I don’t have. When you seek guidance to receive it? Or is it your mind clears up and the answer is there?

Matthew 6:25-34 describes man's anxiety towards the things of this world; whether it's for survival or luxury carries the same concern in the carnal mind. The key to clearing up your mind is to let go of the worries from the past, since it felt like an eternity ago. The same applies to letting go of the future since it will feel like an eternity away. Focus on the current moment as that is what is being experienced right now.

Quote:

“So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

The hint I could give towards attaining the right guidance is to seek the "spiritual gift" lying dormant in yourself. As explained in the earlier post, there is an inverse relationship between material wealth and spiritual wealth. The interesting thing is that if you attain spiritual wealth, the material wealth will also be attained. However, attaining just material wealth will not lead to spiritual wealth, as evidenced by the entirety of human history.

These search terms may help find this "dormant spirit":
https://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch...n=KJV;NASB
https://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch...n=KJV;NASB
https://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch...n=KJV;NASB
_______________________________________________

When it comes to the current Christian churches, don't bother looking through any as they either have some erroneous doctrines, refusal to acknowledge the unadulterated truth, or are a corporate/profit based church, meaning that they are likely to preach a false "prosperity gospel". Simply put, if a church has a "dead" atmosphere or feels off putting, it is likely that you've found a fallen church.

In fact, the Greek word translated as "church" is "Ekklesia". The translation of "Ekklesia" into English means "called out assembly or congregation", effectively meaning "the called out ones to the Eternal Living God" using the Christian context. Just like how we're called out of the NPC world by being here, the same applies to spirituality & religion.

There's a lot of NPC styled religious perspectives these days.

Quote:

4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

Revelation 18:4-5 KJV

Quote:

4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
5 For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.

I'll conclude this post with an interesting picture. Note the parallels between each one.

_______________________________________________
"I know that You can do all things, and that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted. Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge? Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. Hear, now, and I will speak; I will ask You, and You instruct me. I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; But now my eye sees You; Therefore I retract, and I repent in dust and ashes." #137

[Repo]

(10-09-2018 11:27 AM)debeguiled Wrote:  

(10-09-2018 08:04 AM)Mage Wrote:  

(10-07-2018 11:48 AM)debeguiled Wrote:  

For someone who believes he exists and believes he is good, prayer is to find out which God to believe in.

So what is your answer for the phenomenon that the supposedly single God seems to answer to different people differently to this question?

My answer is that Paul was given a thorn that God would not take away, and I was given Mage, who I humbly accept with God's sufficient grace.

Or as they say in some parts of the country "Bless your soul"

[dtpilgrim]

Just like any other thing, prayer can be seen as a skill. So you're allowed to practice. And if one way or thing doesn't work for you, it just doesn't work for you. And if you find a way that works for you, congrats, that's half the battle.

There are many ways to practice prayer like:
- You can try formal prayers like the Traditional Catholic rosary or the litany of humility
- You can try a mantra meditation just repeating the same mantra over and over
- You can try a gratefulness meditation focusing on love & kindness & compassion over and over
- You can try having a personal heartfelt dialog with Jesus confessing your deepest worries
- You can try visualizing the future you want and tapping into the law of attraction like The Secret
- You can try praying to God to give love, protection, prosperity and well-wishes to the people you care about
- Or whatever else you can think of and works for you

In my own subjective experience, I have found three things. One, that prayer for others (and/or gratefulness) is very powerful and taps into a different kind of energy than when you pray for your own well-being. Two, that the most important ingredient in prayers for me is to have an intention. That means being an active participant in the prayer activity, and actively going in with a goal or an intent, rather than partaking in a passive prayer. I went to Mass for 1,5 years never actually wanting to get anything out of it, and only when I started asking for something and having an intention did I start getting results. Third, it's all about asking questions and asking the right questions.

An example would be, noticing you are feeling a little out of touch and not knowing what I want to talk to God about. The wrong question for me is "Why don't I know?", the right question for me is "God, what questions should I be asking myself?" or "What's the most important thing for me to talk about with you right now?". When I ask the right questions I get useful answers.

[Geomann180]

(10-07-2018 11:48 AM)debeguiled Wrote:  

For someone who doesn't believe in God, the first prayers are to find out if he exists.

For someone who believes he exists, the next prayers are to find out if he is good.

For someone who believes he exists and believes he is good, prayer is to find out which God to believe in.

For someone who knows which God to believe in, prayer is to find a calling in life.

For someone who hasn't found a calling in life, prayer is to keep asking for one.

For someone who has found a calling in life, prayer is to complain about how hard your calling is.

For someone who has done all this, prayer is to ask for guidance, healing for other people. healing for yourself, understanding, favors, express hopes and dreams, or to just sit quietly and wait to see what God has to say to you.

Sometimes these prayers are answered in ways that could be coincidence, sometimes in ways that cannot, sometimes they are answered merely by letting you pour out the contents of your heart so you can come to a new understanding by yourself.

All of the prayers you make for other people are especially powerful, whether you see results or not, because they keep the troubles and needs of someone other than yourself in your mind throughout the day.

It is obvious as well that all of this, even when it doesn't yield tangible fruit, is in fact the deepest kind of therapy possible, because God isn't like a human therapist in that he knows exactly what you need exactly when you need it. Knowing as you go through your day that you are going to pray at some point keeps your deepest feelings, fears, insecurities, pains, hopes for the future, all in your mind to receive conscious attention, so they don't get swept under the rug and ignored, like the women in your life want them to be.

This increases your spiritual and emotional strength to complement your will and your physical stamina. It can lead to a peace and joy even in the midst of chaos that cannot be attained in any other way.

It isn't an easy path though, because often the things that God knows you need are the exact opposite of what you want, and they make it hard to believe that he is a good God.

That's okay though, because he can handle complaint and even abuse.

Better him than your dog.

This is amazing. May I steal this?

G

[debeguiled]

Absolutely.