The Saga Continues..Let Us Pray!

The Saga Continues...
Let Us Pray!
By Nevin Jefferson

Lord,
Make me instrumental of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is discord, union;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.
Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen

"World Day of Prayer to End Homophobia" is on Sunday, May 29, 2005. Let’s make it a part of our daily prayer with all of our prayers coming together nationwide on this day. Break out the rosaries, light candles, then get down on your knees then pray for our enemies and those who wish us harm; and for all whom we have injured or offended. Join in prayer with Faith groups around the globe who’ll be praying in observation on "World Day of Prayer to End Homophobia." Organized by Metropolitan Community Churches (MCC), the world's largest faith group with a primary, affirming ministry to gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgender (GLBT) persons.

"Too often homophobia has been rooted in religious intolerance. Discrimination against any of God's children is wrong. Homophobia distorts the spiritual message of God's love for all people. Even with all of our progress over the past three decades, the reality is that millions of people around the globe are harmed by this type of discrimination. Homophobia contributes to higher rates of suicide in GLBT teens, higher rates of GLBT homelessness, lower wages for lesbians, and employment and housing difficulties for GLBT people. It still divides families, and results in hate crimes against GLBT people. Whatever one's spiritual views, we can all agree that discrimination is wrong and that all people are deserving of respect and equality," Reverend Dr. Troy D. Perry, Moderator of the MCC denomination. A past delegate to the White House Conferences on Hate Crimes and AIDS. A good example of this is “Ken Hutcherson of the Antioch Satanic gathering where Man’s word is misconstrued as God’s words. Ken Hutcherson is the latest member of the Un-Religious Wrong who judge, oppress, and condemn those who aren‘t like them.

Prayer is powerful and no prayer goes unanswered by God who does indeed answer all prayers.Onward Christian Soldiers! When you armor yourself with prayer, you conquer all of your battles that attack you in your spiritual journey. When you have God for you, nothing and nobody can be against you. There is nothing that man can do to you with God on your side.

Note to the “Doubting Thomas’s” ; There is never a reason to doubt God. God is as instant as you are to trust Him. Our mistrust is based on our belief that we are separate and apart from God. We are one with God regardless of any appearance to the contrary. When we remove doubt we are stable in all our undertakings. We walk by faith and not by sight. We do things in divine order when we follow God’s will for us, which is always good. This allows us to express all of the goodness God created for us and be blessings to others. Faith in God removes all doubt. We train our faith faculty to see only God; it refuses to allow anything into our minds that we do not want to express in our lives. We will discover our mountain-moving power and we can walk into any situation, knowing that God will see us through it because we are more than conquerors, through our faith in the Christ within. No doubt about it we can depend on God! “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting…” James 1:6.

I can personally testify to you that prayer does work and always will just as long as you BELIEVE! You have to believe with all of your heart, mind, and soul that there is a Higher Power in your life and that Higher Power is God. You have to believe in our Lord Jesus Christ who said that you have to believe in him in order to get to the FATHER. You can’t get to the FATHER without the Son! Faith, Hope, and Love are the true principles in being a Christian with your Faith saving your from the life’s perils that assail you.

God is Truth. God doesn’t have Truth, God is Truth. The truth we seek is God. The Truth that sets us free is our awareness of God. Our awareness determines our experiences. Our awareness of Truth liberates us from any seeming challenge. God is Power and Life. God doesn’t have Power. All the power in the universe is God’s power. We express God’s power. God is Life. Any expression of life is God-life. God lives through His creation. We express Life; therefore, we express God. God is Love. God doesn’t send love or give love. When we seek love in any form we are seeking God. Whatever we love is really God loving through us. God is Love, so love is all there is. When we understand that God is Truth, this knowingness transforms our experiences, and we become new creations in Christ Jesus. When we know God is what we seek, we know the truth and we are set free.

“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:32.
It’s all about how you feel about yourself and the attitude that comes with it. Do you feel good about yourself? This is an important question because God can only do for you what you will allow God to do through you. Your feelings about yourself should always be based on the Truth about yourself. You are a spiritual being, the image-likeness of God, spiritual heir to all that God is. Your feeling is your acceptance of your good, your belief in your worthiness of all the good God has prepared for you. Feelings get the blessing because when we pray our feelings empowers the subconscious mind to impress universal Mind to form our desire, out of the Substance of God. Your positive feeling is a magnet that will attract the right people, situations, and places to you at the right time. Your positive feeling is a dominant attitude that you deserve all the good things God has for you. Like the woman with the issue of blood, It is your feeling of acceptance “divine favor” that does the seemingly impossible. Remember, feeling get the blessings.
“For she said within herself, If I may but touch is garment, I shall be free.” Matthew 9:21”

International response has been positive, according to MCC officials, who note that supporters include local Anglican, Episcopal, Unitarian, Methodist, Presbyterian, and United Church of Christ churches that will hold observances on May 29, as well as Jewish temples that will hold observances that same weekend. A free e-mail resource kit, complete with liturgical resources, prayers, litanies, a sample press release and background facts is available from Metropolitan Community Churches by writing to info@MCCchurch.org.

You can pray “The Lord’s Prayer” that Jesus taught his Disciples when they asked him how they should pray. For those of you who like their religion contemporary, have I got a Lord’s Prayer just for you! It’s from the “The Message”, the new Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs in Contemporary Language by Eugene H. Peterson.

‘Our Father in heaven,
Reveal who you are.
Set the world right:
Do what’s best----
As above, so below.
Keep us alive with three square meals.
Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.
Keep us sage from ourselves and the Devil.
You’re in charge!
You can do anything you want!
You’re ablaze in beauty!
Yes. Yes. Yes.’

Or you an pray the 23rd Psalm in the contemporary language also taken from “The Message” by Eugene H. Peterson.
God, my shepherd!
I don’t need a thing.
You have bedded me down in lush meadows,
You find me quiet pools to drink from.
True to your word,
You let me catch my breath
And send me in the right direction.
Even when the way goes through
Death Valley,
I’m not afraid
When you walk at my side.
Your trusty shepherd’s crook
Makes me feel secure.
You serve me a six-course dinner
Right in front of my enemies.
You revive my drooping head;
My cup brims with blessing.
Your beauty and love chase after me
Every day of my life.
I’m back home in the house of God
For the rest of my life.
Amen!

Thanks and Praise to God for Gaylon J. McDowell, Chicago Illinois and Daily Inspiration For Better Living. And to Eugene H. Peterson for “The Message” which can be found in book stores.

 

Prayer works by a mechanism outside of god. If you are interested in the truth, you will attempt to understand this, otherwise, if you are trying to absolve your personal societal problems through GOD and religion, forget it, it wont serve your goals.

Have you ever heard of the Book and movie called "the secret"

Prayer is almost identical to what they talk about to receive things into your life. People in this movie have said that they keep on thinking, believing and feeling they get it. If this is an actual phenomenology, then prayer is just a manifestation of this mechanism of the universe. The reason is that it doesnt matter if you are directing your thoughts to god(praying) or simply direction your thoughts(the secret) because you get the same results. And since you get the same results doing both, then it is obvious that 'the secret' is the real reason why prayer works because you can have the same results without prayer, whereas prayer is not by facto of logic, necessarily necessitated.