Fair enough, you know your family best. What I'm trying to say is that most witnesses are blind to the real truth, and I feel they are truly doing what is in their heart, and to rip on their prayers isn't fair. Maybe you're only referring to your family.......
Do JW meal-time prayers make you squirm???
by kid-A 19 Replies latest jw friends
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Mysterious
The key is to make sure there is no faithful man there to pray :) Then the womenfolk all have to say their own prayers and you are free to sit there arms crossed without having to deal with it too much. Of course there is also the mini piety competition for who prays the longest..
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TheListener
'Tis the price I pay for the fade.
But, in all seriousness, no, I don't feel I'm compromising my principles. I don't add things to my prayers that I don't believe in, I just make sure I include dub terminology. In my case this means making sure my prayers sound very much like they always have (sans mentioning the WTS). I'm sure my spouse notes subtle changes but she seems ok with them so far. At least she says amen.
I think that most dubs worship the WTS completely unknowingly, but I don't think they do so with their prayers. They worship the WTS by putting its words on par with God's. In their prayers they ask God to help them live up to the WTS words, which in their mind means they are pleasing God. They ask God to help them with meeting attendance, service time or preparation, personal study, meeting preparation, etc etc.
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whatistruth
Talk about saying the same things over and over again. Did anyone ever really listen to any jw prayer on a regular basis. I would find this to be impossible. So dull and boring
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kid-A
Talk about saying the same things over and over again
LOL.....my Dad has been saying the same prayer for 25 years !!!
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TD
Yes, I find myself squirming fairly regularly.
It's not because I don't have respect for them.
JW's don't just thank God for the food, ask for His blessing on the family and those less fortunate, beg forgiveness of sins, etc. etc. etc.
The JW's I know invariably launch into an esoteric laundry list of things that have nothing whatsoever to do with a family meal.
"We pray Jehovah for the day when your name will be fully vindicated and your will fully accomplished on the earth. We look forward to the time when the wicked will be no more and the earth will be filled with those who love you."
Translation:
"We pray for the day Armageddon comes and WE are vindicated. We look forward to the time when all those who disagreed with our message (Like Tom here) are slaughtered and the earth is filled with only JW's"
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kid-A
ask for His blessing on the family and those less fortunate
Excellent point, I dont recall EVER hearing a JW give a prayer that asked god to bless "those less fortunate", it was only "bless our brothers who may be experiencing hardship in other lands" or "we pray for brother so-and-so".......Never a mention of any fellow human that was not a JW.....why bother, non-JWs are just "pests" on the earth! LOL
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M.J.
Yeah, its uncomfortable being the non-dub saying the prayers...
Is there a rule against saying a prayer out loud in a restaurant? My wife seems to be against that, saying that its like when Jesus talked about those guys that said prayers for everyone to hear.
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in a new york bethel minute
depends what they say in the prayers... i wont just say "amen" to anything...
bethel
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Lilycurly
Darn! Those pre-eating prayers are really embarassing when you're a kid in a restaurant, even then, people might take it for a normal prayer, but when they catch the words, they pretty much know we're wackos!lol
My dad too, has always done the exact same prayer for almost 25 years. And it sometimes even seem like he says it extra fast when he's really hungry. We all knew it by heart.lol And they are so proud to say they don't say re-hashed ones like the catholics do!