Blondie's Comments You Will Not Hear at the 12-22-13 WT Study (Well-Prepared Prayers)

Life gets busy and things have changed since the first time I posted my comments and typed the magazine articles free hand from the paper copies I received through the congregation and later through jw friends. Then when that dried up, posters on JWN sent me copies they had scanned.

Now with the advent of the www.jw.org website, anyone with access to a computer or other device that allowed access could download it. It takes some time for me to edit it and insert my comments. I propose to change that by giving access to the magazines here for downloading and to put my comments here by paragraph.

So in your years of attending public talks, WT studies, book (now bible) studies, meetings for “field service,” circuit assemblies, district/international conventions, did you ever hear a “well-prepared” prayer? Scripted ones, yes; reviews of the conventions/assemblies, yes (as God needed a reminder); meetings, no, most were selected to pray about a few minutes before (explains the template prayer); did you ever hear a woman give a prayer or in the bible…not if you were a baptized man, only other women, children, non-jws. So we know that prayers by men are going to most important.

Do you anticipate that prayers by Israelites (or pre-Israelites) or Christians will take precedence in this article? Should prayers be spontaneous with feeling to God or scripted? Does the WTS teach that the Lord’s prayer is meant to be recited word for word? What does it say about religions who have pre-written prayers? Should personal prayers be “well-prepared”? Prayer = incense = well-prepared, there we are it’s scriptural! Incense required a formula, but do prayers? What happened to Jews who made and used the incense used in the temple?

*** it-1 p. 1195 Incense ***

The sacred incenseprescribed for use in the wilderness tabernaclewas made of costly materials that the congregation contributed. (Ex 25:1, 2, 6; 35:4, 5, 8, 27-29) In giving the divine formula for this fourfold mixture, Jehovah said to Moses: “Take to yourself perfumes: stacte drops and onycha and perfumed galbanum and pure frankincense. There should be the same portion of each. And you must make it into an incense, a spice mixture, the work of an ointment maker, salted, pure, something holy. And you must pound some of it into fine powder and put some of it before the Testimony in the tent of meeting, where I shall present myself to you. It should be most holy to you people.” Then, to impress upon them the exclusiveness and holiness of the incense, Jehovah added: “Whoever makes any like it to enjoy its smell must be cut off from his people.”—Ex 30:34-38; 37:29.

*** w12 1/15 p. 24 par. 12 Making Whole-Souled Sacrifices for Jehovah ***

King David sang to Jehovah: “May my prayer be prepared as incense before you.” (Ps. 141:2) Think for a moment about your prayers—about their regularity and their quality. The book of Revelation likens “the prayers of the holy ones” to incense in that acceptable prayers rise to Jehovah like a sweet-smelling and pleasant odor. (Rev. 5:8) In ancient Israel, the incense that was regularly offered on Jehovah’s altar had to be carefully and precisely prepared. It was acceptable to Jehovah only if offered according to the guidelines that he had established. (Ex. 30:34-37; Lev. 10:1, 2) If our heartfelt prayers are similarly formulated, then we can be sure that they are acceptable to Jehovah.

What is the best prayer for a Christian to use as an example.

*** g92 6/8 pp. 20-21 Prayers—Repetitious or Spontaneous? ***What Did Christ Jesus Say?

“When praying, do not say the same things over and over again, just as the people of the nations do, for they imagine they will get a hearing for their use of many words.” (Matthew 6:7) Other versions express it this way: “In your prayers, do not go babbling on like the heathen.” (The New English Bible) “In praying do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do.”—Revised Standard Version.

Some people confuse verbosity with piety, fluency with devotion, repetition and length with a guaranteed response. However, God does not measure the value of a prayer by the yard or meter. Obviously, Jesus did not want his followers to use rigid formulas or to recite prayers. Hence, of what lasting value are rosaries, prayer books, or prayer wheels?

After saying the above, Jesus went on to give his disciples a model prayer—the well-known Lord’s Prayer. (Matthew 6:9-13) But did he intend for them to keep parroting those very words? No. In fact, when restating it more than a year later, not even Jesus used the exact words. (Luke 11:2-4) Is there any record of early Christians’ doing so or of their repeating other formal prayers? Again, no.

LESSONS FROM A WELL-PREPARED PRAYER

“Let them bless your

glorious name.”—NEH. 9:5.

CAN YOU ANSWER?

What good things did the

Israelites do when the Levites

gathered them together?

What historic example shows

that God lives up to the meaning

of his name?

What lessons do we learn from

the prayer of the Levites?

START OF ARTICLE

1. What assembly of God’s people will we consider, raising

what questions?

“RISE, bless Jehovah your God from time indefinite

to time indefinite.”With these stirring words, God’s

ancient people were assembled to unite in a prayer

that is one of the longest in the Bible record.

(LONGER THAN PRAYERS AT ASSEMBLIES/CONVENTIONS?)

(Neh. 9:4, 5) The gathering took place in Jerusalem on

the 24th day of the seventh Jewish month, Tishri,

455 B.C.E. As we consider events that led up to

that special day, ask yourself: ‘What good habit contributed

to the success of the occasion? What other

lessons can I learn from this well-prepared prayer?’

—Ps. 141:2.

Long = better prayer?

A SPECIAL MONTH

2. What fine example did the Israelites set for us at their

gathering after the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s walls?

2 A month prior to the above assembly, the Jews

had completed the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s walls.

(Neh. 6:15) God’s people accomplished the work in

just 52 days, and they then proceeded to give particular

attention to their spiritual needs. So on the

first day of the new month, Tishri, they gathered together

at the public square to hear Ezra, along with

other Levites, read aloud and explain God’s Law. (Illustration

1) Whole families, including “all intelligent

enough to listen,” stood and listened “from daybreak

till midday.” (CAN YOU IMAGINE A CONGREGATION OF JWS,

ELDERS, MS, OLDER PEOPLE, BESIDES CHILDREN/BABIES

STANDING FROM DAYBREAK TO MIDDAY?) What a fine example for those of

us who today attend meetings in comfortable Kingdom Halls!

Yet, on such occasions do you sometimes

find that your mind wanders and you start thinking

about less important matters? If so, consider again

the example of those ancient Israelites who not only

listened but took to heart what they heard to the

extent that they began weeping over their failure

as a nation to obey God’s Law. (SO IS THE WTS/GB SAYING

THAT THE SPIRITUAL NATION OF ISRAELITES/ANOINTED JWS

HAVE FAILED IN THE SAME WAY?)—Neh. 8:1-9.

3. The Israelites obediently followed what direction?

3 However, this was not the time for

public confession of sins. (IS CONFESSING YOUR SINS

PRIVATELY TO 3 ELDERS….WHEN JWS REPENT IS

THERE A PARTY?) Being a festival

day, it was meant to be a joyous time

in the worship of Jehovah. (Illustration 2)

(Num. 29:1) So Nehemiah told the people:

“Go, eat the fatty things and drink

the sweet things, and send portions to

the one for whom nothing has been prepared;

for this day is holy to our Lord, and

do not feel hurt, for the joy of Jehovah is

your stronghold.” Commendably, the

people obeyed, and the day turned into

one of “great rejoicing.”—Neh. 8:10-12.

4. What did the Israelite family heads do, and

what did they discover was a noteworthy feature

of this Festival of Booths?

4 On the very next day, the family

heads gathered together (in the jw congregation

women can be family heads, but this is not

true here) to see how the

nation could conform more closely to

God’s Law. (Illustration 3) In their study

of the Scriptures, they found that the

seventh month was to include the Festival

of Booths with its concluding solemn

assembly from the 15th through

the 22nd day of Tishri, so they began

to make preparations. (Illustration 4) It

turned out to be the most successful

Festival of Booths since the days of Joshua

and resulted in “very great rejoicing.”

An important feature of this festival was

the public reading of God’s Law (COMPARED TO MEN’S WORDS

AND GOD’S WORD, WHAT IS READ PUBLICLY MORE AT

JW CONVENTIONS?), “day by day, from the first day until the last day.”

—Neh. 8:13-18.

A DAY OF CONFESSION

5. What did God’s people do just before the

Levites represented them in prayer to Jehovah?

5 Two days later, the time was right

for a public confession on the part of Israel

for their failure to keep God’s Law.

This was not a festival day of feasting.

Instead, God’s people fasted and were

dressed in sackcloth as a sign of mourning.

Again, God’s Law was read to the

people for about three hours in the

morning. In the afternoon, “they were

making confession and bowing down

to Jehovah their God.” (Illustration 5)

Then the Levites (ONLY ANOINTED MEN IN

THE JW CONGREGATION?) represented the people

with their well-prepared prayer. (Illustration

6)—Neh. 9:1-4.

6. What contributed to the Levites’ offering a

meaningful prayer, and what lesson does this

teach us?

6 No doubt, their frequent reading of

God’s Law helped the Levites to prepare

This meaningful prayer. (SO WAY IS THE EXCUSE

OF THE MEN AT THE KH, MUST NOT BE READING

THE BIBLE FREQUENTLY) The first ten verses

focus exclusively on Jehovah’s works

and qualities. In the remaining part of

the prayer, God’s “abundant mercy” is

repeatedly highlighted along with a clear

admission that the Israelites were not

worthy of such kind treatment. (Neh. 9:

19, 27, 28, 31) Our prayers to Jehovah1 2 3

will also be fresh and meaningful if, like

those Levites, we daily meditate on

God’s Word, allowing Jehovah to speak

to us before we pray at length to him.

—Ps. 1:1, 2.

7. What did the Levites ask of God, and what

do we learn from this?

7 The prayer contains only one modest

request. It is found in the latter part

of verse 32, which reads: “Now, O our

God, the God great, mighty and fear-inspiring,

keeping the covenant and

loving-kindness, do not let all the hardship

that has found us, our kings, our

princes and our priests and our prophets

and our forefathers and all your people

from the days of the kings of Assyria

down to this day, seem little before

you.” Thus, the Levites set a good example

for us to praise and thank Jehovah

first before making personal requests in

our prayers.

PRAISING GOD’S GLORIOUS NAME

8, 9. (a) In what humble way did the Levites

begin their prayer? (b) To what two heavenly armies

do the Levites evidently refer?

8 Even though their prayer was well-prepared,

those Levites were humble

and felt that the quality of their words

could not fully express the praise Jehovah

really deserves. Thus, the prayer

starts with this modest appeal respecting

God’s people: “Let them bless your

glorious name, which is exalted above all

blessing and praise.”—Neh. 9:5.

9 “You are Jehovah alone,” the prayer

continues, “you yourself have made the

heavens, even the heaven of the heavens,

and all their army, the earth and all

that is upon it, the seas and all that is in

them; and you are preserving all of them

alive; and the army of the heavens are

bowing down to you.” (Neh. 9:6) Yes, Jehovah

God created the entire universe,

made up of countless galaxies of stars.

Equally marvelous, he created everything

on our beautiful planet with its

amazing ability to sustain an astonishing

variety of life—life that keeps reproducing

according to its kind. Witnessing all

of this were the holy angels of God, who

can also be described as “the army of the

heavens.” (1 Ki. 22:19; Job 38:4, 7) Moreover,

the angels humbly do God’s will by

ministering to sinful humans “who are

going to inherit salvation.” (Heb. 1:14)

What a splendid example the angels set

for us as we serve Jehovah unitedly like a

well-trained army!—1 Cor. 14:33, 40.

WHERE IS JESUS IN THESE PRAYERS; OH,

THAT’S RIGHT THE WTS/GB IS USING JEWS

AS EXAMPLES FOR CHRISTIANS NOT OTHER

CHRISTIANS.

10. What do we learn from God’s dealings

with Abraham?

10 Next, the Levites focused on God’s

dealings with Abram, who by his 99th

year had not fathered a single child

from his barren wife, Sarai. It was then

that Jehovah changed his name to Abraham,

meaning “father of a crowd.”

(Gen. 17:1-6, 15, 16) God also promised

Abraham that his seed would inherit the

land of Canaan. Humans often forget

what they promise; not so Jehovah. As

the Levites’ prayer recounts: “You are Jehovah

the true God, who chose Abram

and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans

and constituted his name Abraham.

And you found his heart faithful

before you; so there was a contracting of

the covenant with him to give him the

land of the Canaanites, . . . to give it to

his seed; and you proceeded to carry out

your words, because you are righteous.”

(Neh. 9:7, 8)May we too imitate our righteous

God by always striving to be true

to our word.—Matt. 5:37.

--------SO WHERE IS ANY INDIRECT MENTION OF THE SEED…JESUS

RECOUNTING JEHOVAH’S

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

11, 12. Explain the meaning of Jehovah’s

name and how this was demonstrated in his

dealings with Abraham’s descendants.

11 The name Jehovah means “He

Causes to Become,” signifying that God,

through progressive action, causes his

promises to come true. This is beautifully

demonstrated in God’s dealings with

the descendants of Abraham when they

were slaves to the Egyptians. At that

time, it seemed impossible that the entire

nation could be set free and settled

in the Promised Land. However, by a series

of progressive actions, God caused

his promise to come true, thereby proving

himself worthy of the unique and illustrious

name Jehovah.

12 The prayer recorded by Nehemiah

says of Jehovah: “You saw the affliction

of our forefathers in Egypt, and their

outcry at the Red Sea you heard. Then

you gave signs and miracles against Pharaoh

and all his servants and all the people

of his land, for you knew that they

acted presumptuously against them; and

you proceeded to make a name for yourself

as at this day. And the sea you split

before them, so that they crossed over

through the midst of the sea on the dry

land; and their pursuers you hurled into

the depths like a stone in the strong waters.”

Then, the prayer continues about

what else Jehovah had done for his people:

“You proceeded to subdue before

them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites

. . . And they went capturing

fortified cities and a fat soil and taking in

possession houses full of all good things,

cisterns hewn out, vineyards and olive

groves and trees for food in abundance,

and they began to eat and to be satisfied

and to grow fat and to luxuriate in your

great goodness.”—Neh. 9:9-11, 24, 25.

13. How did Jehovah provide for Israel’s spiritual

needs, but how did the people respond?

13 There were many other progressive

actions that God took to accomplish his

purpose. For example, soon after Israel

left Egypt, Jehovah provided for their

spiritual needs. “Upon Mount Sinai,” recall

the Levites in their prayer to God, he

“came down and spoke with them out of

heaven and went on to give them upright

judicial decisions and laws of truth, good

regulations and commandments.” (Neh.

9:13) Jehovah tried to teach his people so

that they could be fit bearers of his holy

name as the inheritors of the Promised

Land, but they forsook the good things

they learned.—Read Nehemiah 9:16-18.

THE NEED FOR DISCIPLINE

14, 15. (a) How did Jehovah mercifully care

for his sinful people? (b) What do we learn

from God’s dealings with his chosen nation?

14 The Levites’ prayer refers to two

specific sins committed by Israel soon

after they had promised to keep God’s

Law at Mount Sinai. For these, they

rightly deserved to be left alone to die.

But the prayer praises Jehovah: “In your

abundant mercy [you] did not leave

them in the wilderness. . . . For forty

years you provided them with food

. . . They lacked nothing. Their very

garments did not wear out, and their

feet themselves did not become swollen.”

(Neh. 9:19, 21) Today, Jehovah also

provides us with everything we need

to serve him faithfully. May we never

be like the thousands of Israelites who

died in the wilderness because of their

disobedience and lack of faith. In fact,

those things “were written for a warning

to us upon whom the ends of the systems

of things have arrived.”—1 Cor. 10:

1-11.

15 Sadly, after inheriting the Promised

Land, the Israelites adopted the sensuous,

murderous worship of Canaanite

gods. So Jehovah allowed neighboring

nations to oppress his chosen nation.

When they repented, Jehovah mercifully

forgave them and saved them from

their enemies. “Time and again” this

happened. (Read Nehemiah 9:26-28, 31.)

“You,” confessed the Levites, “were indulgent

with them for many years and

kept bearing witness against them by

your spirit by means of your prophets,

and they did not give ear. Finally you

gave them into the hand of the peoples

of the lands.”—Neh. 9:30.

16, 17. (a) After the exile, how did the situation

of the Israelites differ from when their

forefathers first inherited the Promised Land?

(b) What did the Israelites confess, and what

did they promise to do?

16 Even after their return from exile,

the Israelites fell back into a pattern

of disobedience. With what difference?

The Levites continued praying: “Look!

We are today slaves; and as for the land

that you gave to our forefathers to eat

its fruitage and its good things, look!

we are slaves upon it, and its produce is

abounding for the kings that you have

put over us because of our sins, and . . .

we are in great distress.”—Neh. 9:36, 37.

17 Were the Levites suggesting that

God was unjust in allowing this distress?

Certainly not! “You are righteous,” they

confessed, “as regards all that has come

upon us, for faithfully is how you have

acted, but we are the ones that have done

wickedly.” (Neh. 9:33) Then, this unselfish

prayer concludes with a solemn

promise that the nation will henceforth

obey God’s Law. (OBEY GOD’S LAW NOT

PRONOUNCEMENTS OF HUMANS)

(Read Nehemiah 9:38; 10:29) To this end, a

written document is signed with the seals of

84 Jewish leaders.—Neh. 10:1-27.

18, 19. (a) What do we need in order to survive

into God’s new world? (b)What should we

not stop praying for, and why?

18 We need discipline from Jehovah in

order to be fit to survive into his righteous

new world. (DISCIPLINE FROM GOD OR MEN)

“What son is he that

a father does not discipline?” asked the

apostle Paul. (Heb. 12:7) We show that

we accept God’s direction in our lives by

faithfully enduring in his service and allowing

his spirit to refine us. And if we

commit a serious sin, we can be sure that

Jehovah will forgive us if we are truly repentant

and humbly accept discipline. (SINCE ELDERS CANNOT

READ HEARTS AND MINDS HOW CAN THEY TELL

SOMEONE IS TRULY REPENTANT?)

19 Soon, Jehovah will make an even

grander name for himself than he did

when he delivered the Israelites from

Egypt. (Ezek. 38:23) And just as surely

as his ancient people inherited the

Promised Land, so all Christians who endure

as faithful worshippers of Jehovah

will inherit life in God’s righteous new

world. (2 Pet. 3:13)With such wonderful

prospects ahead of us, may we not stop

praying for the sanctification of God’s

glorious name. The next article will discuss

another prayer that we must act in

harmony with to enjoy God’s blessing

now and forever.

CONCLUDING COMMENTS

CHRISTIANS = ONLY FAITHFUL WORSHIPPERS OF JEHOVAH

WHERE’S JESUS OR EVEN THE MESSIAH

ONLY JWS WILL SURVIVE = ALL 7 PLUS BILLION MEN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN WILL DIE FOREVER

WHAT EUPHEMISTIC MEANING DOES “PROGRESSIVE” HAVE?

Blondie

Pistoff

Awesome, blondie, you truly have an iron consitution to deal with the WT week after week.

Just one more in a continuing stream of articles that obsesses with the slave idea that the GB seems to love.

The WT has never really understood the concept of the OT: it is a rewrite, a manipulative document that is designed to empower the priesthood and bestow credibility on the southern kings.

Really? The entire nation stood all day long? How did they get them all together, did they text message them all? Were the borders left defenseless? Were there porta-potties? Concession stands? Was the sound system working?

The Watchtower has a 3rd graders view of things; we are God's people, Hey the Israelites were God's people, therefore all that happened to them is of value to us.

This "is an idea that they love": get them all together, tell them what to do, instill guilt, send them home.

WTWizard

I bet this is another attempt to shame and guilt people into doing more. They "need" to attend all the boasting sessions, even though they had been missing a few. They need to do more field circus, repenting from working to earn enough money to make ends meet. They need to donate their money so "the temple" can be complete--seems it never gets finished, no matter how much money comes in.

Reality is, once one "temple" is paid for, they "need" another one. I noticed that, every time a congregation gets out of debt from one project, they start another. Usually it is something they can milk another 10 years out of. The one I attended built a new building, putting them in debt for 10 years. And precisely when that was paid off, they completed the other building to put themselves in another 10 years' worth of debt. At the end of that term, either they will "need" another major remodel or a whole new venue, again putting them in more debt. For sure, not the temple that was built once, paid for once, and owned free and clear.

Besides, the whole idea is a scam. Put that smut in the LIE-ble, and then use it to guilt people into paying into a scam for generations after. It has worked in building some impressive cat lick churches that suck the wealth out of an area. And it works to build cults that fleece the whole flock for money, to be sent to a central location. Often, in addition to posh lifestyles for the leaders, it is used to spread the disease of Christi-SCAM-ity to Africa and other countries.

Another fault I find with this article is that all the people addressed in the LIE-ble account were Jews. There wasn't even one Gentile to whom the original passage was addressed. Does that mean Gentiles are exempt and should not be paying into any joke-hova projects of any kind? Or, perhaps it means joke-hova wants to deal with Gentiles as slaves? (As I find is the theme of so many stories in the LIE-ble, from Joshua exterminating the Gentile nations to Tyrant David hating Gentiles to even Jesus preferring to work with Jews and, only after they were unfaithful, did that thing resort to recruiting Gentiles). They need to clear that up--if joke-hova really is not the god of Gentiles, then perhaps Gentiles (except Jewish proselytes) should not be paying into these projects. If, however, it is for everyone, they need to make that clear by not relying so heavily on Old Testament passages such as Nehemiah to set the example.

jonahstourguide

Great critical review Blondie,

I did hear a talk at a circuit assly where the speaker stated that

there was nothing wrong with writing out your prayer so you don't wander "off topic".

I got stuck on trying to comprehend the "most successful" description in

paragraph 4. What made it the most successful festival since Joshua? (attendance figure?)

I would have thought the inauguration of temples 1kings 8 and 9 (Solomon)

or the re-building of jerusalem might have been more "successful" than whacking up a wall!

We may not hear the comments but I'm sure they will be on the minds of attendees!

Thanks again jtg

Oubliette

It's very telling how many times various forms of the word "obey" and "loyalty" appear in this article and the one last week.

Listen, Obey and Be Blessed!

JW GoneBad

Thank you Blondie.

On the subject of prayer, Jehovah's Witnesses by far need to learn how to pray to their God.

I can't tell you how many times I hear on a weekly basis, at meetings, brothers who open and close meetings with prayer-time and time again peat-and-repeat the name 'Jehovah' in their prayers. Its' not as though the congregation needs to be reminded who we are praying to!

So, come you COs, Elders and MSs quit with the chant and repetition of 'Jehovah, Jehovah, Jehovah' in your prayers! It is soo infantile and immature!

hamsterbait

Listen, Obey, or DIE

minimus

Blondie, I must confess, I haven't read your reviews in a long time, but you still got it, girl!

Legacy

Hi,

When I started reading the article, I said to myself, now they are trying to dictate how to pray. You can run but you can't hide from BIG BROTHER ORG.They would like to control all aspects of ones life...Amazing. Well prepared prayers...that all sounds good on paper but when you are in the thick of things you just talk to God. A well prepared prayer is asking for something specific, or when realize that lately you have been doing drive-by prayers, then you might think to yourself, hey, I haven't really spent too much time with God. Only you would know that.

When I looked at the 1st illustration, I did say to myself, glad I'm at the KH & sitting. Imagine them reading from AM to midday, then setting up booths & then & then....my my, alot of standing. So I do appreciate the comfy KH's as mentioned in the paragraph.

With the new changes they have to recapture the minds of the flock. They are afraid folks are catching on that the ORG. don't have a clue to what they are talking about, as long as it's the total opposite of all doctrine, faiths & worship, that's all they care about. &&&& Last but not least...THIS IS GOD'S ORGANIZATION.

I tried to comment but we had alot of visitors so, I wasn't called on. Such is life...The paragraph where the Israelites were praising God, they sure where buttering up God, praising him saying he's the greatest....then turn right around & did what they wanted...Fair weather christians..

Thanks Blondie & others....Again, I'm new but I see the light...not the WT light but God's light...He was the one that lead me to TTATT.

Thank you God/Jesus & all the commenters on this site...

Legacy

Ding

Is it just me, or are 95% of WT illustrations taken from the Old Testament?

Blondie's Comments You Will Not Hear at the 12-22-13 WT Study (Well-Prepared Prayers)

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