| |
| |
|
Spirituality Information |
|
|
|
Livin On A Prayer
When I was a child, I thought as a child, and I prayed as a child. Every night I closed my eyes tightly and said the words my mother taught me: "Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take." I didn't have the faintest idea what it meant, or why I was supposed to say it every night before I went to sleep, but I did it religiously, because that's what my mother taught me to do. It never occurred to me to ask her about it; it was just an accepted part of my life. When I was a little older, I learned a more mature prayer. I said it religiously every single Sunday in church: "Our Father, who art in Heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done On earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread And forgive us our debts As we forgive our debtors, And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil For thine is the power, and the glory, And the kingdom, forever. Amen." I didn't really understand what that meant, either, but I said it religiously. I've learned a lot of prayers on my life's journey. My interest in spirituality and personal truth exposed to me prayers of all kinds, written and recited by all kinds of people. Each was sincere in it's efforts to honor God, and I've respected every prayer I've ever heard. There was a period in my life when I stopped praying religious prayers. I was of the opinion, then, that religious prayer (defined as prayers that everybody says by rote all of the time) were meaningless. It took me a while to understand that religious prayer is a sincere expression of religious belief. When we pray in church, we are using prayer as part of the confirmation that we are part of the given group of believers we're attending church with, and that's a good thing. Being in spirit with other thinking, feeling human beings who think and feel the same way we do is one of the best parts of being alive. As I came to appreciate the difference between religion (which is how we choose to express our spiritual truth) and spirituality (which is our spiritual truth in action) I came to appreciate the difference between religious prayer and personal communication with God. I also came to appreciate that prayer means different things to different people, and fills a different role in everyone's spiritual journey. It was when I discovered that my world was not the whole world that I truly began to understand what prayer is and why people do it, and began doing it again myself. As I explored other religions and other cultures, I was amazed at the myriads of ways in which Man communicates with the higher power in his life. There's not a religion in the world that doesn't teach us that connecting to God - sometimes through prayer - is what God asks of us. I've never believed that God is a stickler for doctrine. I don't think He cares how we pray, as long as we pray. I don't think that the way we say things is important to God at all. He is a part of us; He knows what we think and what we feel. Our prayers are just us choosing to share our thoughts and feelings with Him by expressing them in words. Neither our thoughts nor our feelings become real until we express them; it is in talking to God, verbally, that we create our own reality about who He is and the role He plays in our lives. If we choose 'rote' - if the only prayers we ever pray are religious prayers in someone else's words - then we're not really sharing with God, although we are showing respect through the very act of praying. It's when we feel we know God well enough to start up a conversation that we're on the way to having the spiritual relationship with Him that He intended us to have when He gave us separate life. The more I talked to God, the better I got to know Him, and the better I got to know Him, the more I wanted to talk to Him. I'm pleased to say that, over the years, we've gotten to know each other really well, and talk to each other all the time. The more I pray, the more confident I am that God is with me, always. Maybe that's why they call it "livin' on a prayer." Lois Grant-Holland is a Life Path Focus Counselor offering Life Path Focus Sessions, Karmic Astrology Charts, Channeled Guidance, Intuitive Readings and Classes and Workshops to spiritual seekers on all positive paths, and is the site facilitator at The A.N.S.W.E.R. - (The Seeker's Resource Guide to Alternative, New Thought, Spiritual Growth, Wellness and Enlightenment Resources.) You can visit her website at http://www.loisgrantholland.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Spirituality - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
God Is Waiting To Bless Me In the year 2000, I went on a mission trip to Guatemala with Wycliffe Bible Translators. It was a weeklong trip where we were able to see the results of the Bible translation work in Guatemala. Being a Christian What is a Christian? According to The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, the general definition of a Christian is "One who professes belief in Jesus as Christ or follows the religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus."There are many Christian denominations, each varying slightly in its interpretation of the Bible teachings. What Is The Spiritual Path? For many years of my life, I thought the spiritual path had something to do with following one of the major world religions or pursuing an Eastern practice. I even thought it had something to do with morality and ethics. The Purpose of Life, Told by an Agnostic Talked to an interesting person today at a coffee shop, after about 10 minutes or so told me he was an atheist. Which is interesting and lends it self as to why we were having this particular conversation about "THE MEANING OF LIFE". You Can Influence Your Fortunes In Life Natural laws exist that serve to maintain order in the universe. These laws are usually manifested as regularity in nature (as in the seasons) or as a relationship between cause and effect. Understanding a Tarot Card Reading Getting the most from a Tarot card reading relies on the reader's ability to perceive not only the symbolic meaning from the spread, but also the mystical significance. Although every card of both the Major and the Minor Arcana possesses its own individual symbolism within the representative images on the cards, it is the deeper, spiritual enlightenment of the cards that leads to a greater understanding. Acknowledging Emotions and Feelings We'll begin with a question:What is a moral?I'd say it's something you have an intense feeling or emotion about, generally so intense you would never cross its boundary.Agree?Have you ever crossed a moral boundary? It doesn't feel good does it. The Cuddlies I finally went to the dentist today. I had been putting it off for a long time. Pebbles of Wisdom Coming face to face with yourself in the space between the beginning and end of the transitions in your life is a scary place to be. Going backward in not an option. Why Isnt God Helping Me? Have you ever felt like throwing up your arms and saying "I quit! I just can't change! I thought when God came into my life things would get better, but they haven't." It doesn't matter if you're a new Christian or have been a Christian for a number of years, these feelings can creep in and set you up for confusion and frustration. KABBALAH OF LOVE: The Secret Power of Ego The Key to True Love.. What Makes You A Saint Don't be confused that a saint is a religious leader sort of person who has a particular way of dressing and a lonely life-style. Instead, a saint is a person who leads a simple disciplined life with a motto of "Service Above Self". Whats Up With the Bad Reading? A lot of times when I am reading people on the site I notice people talking about having a "bad reading." By that they usually mean that the psychic pulled a so-called "bad" cards, such as the Devil, The Tower of the Ten of Swords, in answer to their question. God's Eyes- If These Four Walls Could Talk? Can you imagine being sent out into the wilderness for forty years like Moses? If Moses would have lived his life up until then differently would God have spared him the discomfort? Was God trying to prove some point to Moses by making an example of him? What can we learn about this story?When was the last time you drove down the road with out the radio in your ears? When was the last time you just listen to your kids, your spouse or a friend and not said two words? When was the last time you just stopped and listened to the coffee pot making coffee early in the morning? Whether by design, life or nature most of us during our lives have built up barriers (walls) in our minds and around our hearts. By doing so most will never reach the full potential of what God has for their lives. Here To Stay I am disturbed by the tendency of some people to view Christianity as a trend rather than a way of life. Some take it to the next level and try to make it some sort of a secret club. Dead Man Walking One of my favorite movies is "The Green Mile". A memorable scene was when the presumably guilty murderer was being brought into the jail and they announced his arrival as "the dead man walking. Recognizing Self I come face to face with self whenever you come into my life and I want to thank you.I always maintain that I am writing these articles, my books and creating the website for myself. Controlling What YOU Hear By Watching What YOU Say If you're going to listen to anyone you're going to hear yourself. It does not matter what anyone in the world says about you, it means nothing until you allow it to get into your spirit and you begin to say what is being said to you. Introduction to the Five Powers of Spirit You are a dual being. Part eternal spirit and part temporal body. Creating Our Own Emotional Chaos It's amazing how - even when we're working from a "higher vision" - we still see the people, the events and the circumstances in our lives with the same perspective: our own! It's "only human" to always be able to see how right we are in any given situation, and it's always difficult - and sometimes impossible! - to look at ourselves and our actions through the other person's eyes. But if we really want to grow - if we really want to know who we are - then we have to be willing to look at ourselves a little more objectively - a little more realistically - then we're used to doing, and we have to be willing to accept responsibility - both for the way we express ourselves emotionally, and for the effect we have on other people through that expression.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |