Premonitions and Prayer - Explained! (page 3)

BurnTheShips

Angels sure have worked for me! Your mileage may vary.

BurnTheShips

alt

lonelysheep

Snowbird--this is one by Langston that let me see him on another level.

"Salvation"
By Langston Huges

I was saved from sin when I was going on thirteen. But not really saved. It happened like this. There was a big revival at my Auntie Reed's church. Every night for weeks there had been much preaching, singing, praying, and shouting, and some very hardened sinners had been brought to Christ, and the membership of the church had grown by leaps and bounds. Then just before the revival ended, they held a special meeting for children, "to bring the young lambs to the fold." My aunt spoke of it for days ahead. That night I was escorted to the front row and placed on the mourners' bench with all the other young sinners, who had not yet been brought to Jesus.

My aunt told me that when you were saved you saw a light, and something happened to you inside! And Jesus came into your life! And God was with you from then on! She said you could see and hear and feel Jesus in your soul. I believed her. I had heard a great many old people say the same thing and it seemed to me they ought to know. So I sat there calmly in the hot, crowded church, waiting for Jesus to come to me.

The preacher preached a wonderful rhythmical sermon, all moans and shouts and lonely cries and dire pictures of hell, and then he sang a song about the ninety and nine safe in the fold, but one little lamb was left out in the cold. Then he said: "Won't you come? Won't you come to Jesus? Young lambs, won't you come?" And he held out his arms to all us young sinners there on the mourners' bench. And the little girls cried. And some of them jumped up and went to Jesus right away. But most of us just sat there.

A great many old people came and knelt around us and prayed, old women with jet-black faces and braided hair, old men with work-gnarled hands. And the church sang a song about the lower lights are burning, some poor sinners to be saved. And the whole building rocked with prayer and song.

Still I kept waiting to see Jesus.

Finally all the young people had gone to the altar and were saved, but one boy and me. He was a rounder's son named Westley. Westley and I were surrounded by sisters and deacons praying. It was very hot in the church, and getting late now. Finally Westley said to me in a whisper: "God damn! I'm tired o' sitting here. Let's get up and be saved." So he got up and was saved.

Then I was left all alone on the mourners' bench. My aunt came and knelt at my knees and cried, while prayers and song swirled all around me in the little church. The whole congregation prayed for me alone, in a mighty wail of moans and voices. And I kept waiting serenely for Jesus, waiting, waiting - but he didn't come. I wanted to see him, but nothing happened to me. Nothing! I wanted something to happen to me, but nothing happened.

I heard the songs and the minister saying: "Why don't you come? My dear child, why don't you come to Jesus? Jesus is waiting for you. He wants you. Why don't you come? Sister Reed, what is this child's name?"

"Langston," my aunt sobbed.

"Langston, why don't you come? Why don't you come and be saved? Oh, Lamb of God! Why don't you come?"

Now it was really getting late. I began to be ashamed of myself, holding everything up so long. I began to wonder what God thought about Westley, who certainly hadn't seen Jesus either, but who was now sitting proudly on the platform, swinging his knickerbockered legs and grinning down at me, surrounded by deacons and old women on their knees praying. God had not struck Westley dead for taking his name in vain or for lying in the temple. So I decided that maybe to save further trouble, I'd better lie, too, and say that Jesus had come, and get up and be saved.

So I got up.

Suddenly the whole room broke into a sea of shouting, as they saw me rise. Waves of rejoicing swept the place. Women leaped in the air. My aunt threw her arms around me. The minister took me by the hand and led me to the platform.

When things quieted down, in a hushed silence, punctuated by a few ecstatic "Amens," all the new young lambs were blessed in the name of God. Then joyous singing filled the room.

That night, for the first time in my life but one for I was a big boy twelve years old - I cried. I cried, in bed alone, and couldn't stop. I buried my head under the quilts, but my aunt heard me. She woke up and told my uncle I was crying because the Holy Ghost had come into my life, and because I had seen Jesus. But I was really crying because I couldn't bear to tell her that I had lied, that I had deceived everybody in the church, that I hadn't seen Jesus, and that now I didn't believe there was a Jesus anymore, since he didn't come to help me.

snowbird

I remember reading that as a child, LonelySheep. Also James Baldwin's The Fire Next Time.

So as not to hijack S4's thread, I'll not say anymore.

Sylvia

Awakened07

Angels sure have worked for me! Your mileage may vary.

- All men are created equal, but some are more equal than others?

BurnTheShips

I'm daddy's favorite.

Seeker4

Exactly, Awakened. Jesus' angels seem to help only the people that believe in Jesus, Mohammed's angels only seem to help the people that believe in Mohammed, etc etc., and NO angels seem to want to give us non-believers a glimpse of their wonders! How easy it would be for any of these gods or angels to convince me that they exist, the slackers!!

Awful narrow minded and limited lot, these gods and angels.

My universe is wonderful enough without all the mythology - even more wonderful than when I was a believer, actually.

Don't mean to insult you, Journey on. I understand the concept of intelligent universal consciousness - it just still sounds like another word for god to me, with about as much evidence for its existence. But you're right, we've still a lot to learn. Wondrous, ain't it?!

S4

lonelysheep

Sorry for the hijack, Seeker.

Caljuher

Do you know what all this sounds like to me? Not like elevated speech, but argumentiveness for the sake of being arugmentive.

I have only been on this board for a short time, and I feel like I am back among the JWs and their judgmental attitudes again.

Seeker, you words are very cruel and hurtful to people who have faith. If believing like you do will make me act like you, I'd rather stick to believing in God and prayer.

This is not a place to send exJWs to. I will not be visiting here anymore...I am sure you people are so happy to hear that. Thank you for the hate.

Robert7

I love these prayer discussions... Even as an active Witness when I believed in prayer, I felt that many people would give more credit to prayer/god than deserved.

The good things that happen, it's selective memory, attributing random luck to god. Really impossible things that have no other explanation is a 'real proof' that it was god/angels, and couldn't have been just a great coincidence. People can survive miracuously from extreme near-death experiences simply out of chance. If 99% of people die from some extreme condition (falling from a great height, getting shot, etc) the 1% of surviviors may feel like god saved them, and not realize they were just lucky bastards. Really, if God saved you, why did he let the other 99% die?

I think you that anyone who has seen personal proof/experience of god/angels answering prayers were just very very lucky, but feel like they need some supernatural explanation for being lucky.

When bad things happen, it's god's will. He chooses to not answer a prayer. Or 'time and unforseen occurance' or some other explanation.

When you want to believe, you can make yourself believe anything.

Seeker4

Caljuher: Sorry you were upset, and I didn't mean to be cruel or hurtful. I'm a writer, and one of my favorite fellow writers is Ed Abbey, and like Abbey I at times can't resist giving fuzzy thinkers a verbal smack up the side of the head. It can get me into trouble at times - but at least you know clearly what I think! I can come across as an arrogant SOB at times, but that's only because I actually am an arrogant SOB at times.

Be careful not to take things too personally, or to be too thinned skinned. If you want to participate in debate here, you're going to have to take some shots. It's part of the game. Just because I may write that I think someone's ideas are a bunch of hot air, that doesn't mean I hate the person. It means I think their ideas lack substance, and I'll tell them why. Vigorously at times, with strong words - but I'm willing to take what I dish out. Defend your ideas vigorously! If there is evidence or logic for what you say, let's hear it!! If not, maybe it's time to reconsider them.

I saw in another thread that your feelings are hurt and you want to leave the forum. I'm sorry to hear that. I totally disagree with your comment above that JWD "is not a place to send exJWs to." This site has helped tens of thousands to leave the JWs. Your comments were immediately followed by those of Robert7, another newbie, who wrote: "I love these prayer discussions."

Think about things and please reconsider staying here. You've been a good addition to the JWD mix - and remember, it is a big, vigorous mix of a lot of varying people and ideas. Lots of smart people come here, and it's a good place to see how ideas stand up in the arena of open debate.

S4

Premonitions and Prayer - Explained!

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