What about praying NOW??? (page 2)

Gig

By Him we cry Abba, Father...and the Spirit intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. All in Christ's name.

Forgiven One

JNS2,

I left the jw's 13 years ago, and did'nt pray for about well 13 years.

See my wife had died, and then my son died also 18 months later. I was 22 and a very angry and bitter person. I began to believe that jw's were right " If you not in jw's you dont have a right to pray. " Especially if you were once a "believer" and strayed. So as a result I drifted, in every aspect of life.

A few months ago I decided I could no longer live this way. After much mental debate, I simply began praying the Lords Prayer. Mathew 6:9-15

See by doing this I was able to open the line of communication to God, using the prayer from this scripture as a guideline. As time went on I began to feel more free to express myself in prayer.

I admit there are still times when it is difficult to aproach prayer without thinking of all the jw rhetoric. That's when I pray for them, I pray that I'm able to forgive them just as I am forgiven. Why some may ask, the answer is simple. No matter how mislead they are, they are still Gods children also. No matter what the GB or org. has done they are entitled to the same hope as the rest of us. Granted they must first repent, and accept responsibility for their actions. But this will never happen without Devine intervention. So when I feel my anger creeping in, I pray. Don't get me wrong I detest what they have done to so many people and families in the name of their religion. But I refuse to let it consume me. If I allow it to consume me, then they are still a force in my life. A negative one, but still a force. I only want one force in my life and that is Gods.

But in order to feel that force you have to ask for it in prayer. Even though God can read our hearts motivation, we still need to afirm it before him to ourselves. So don't your temperary confusion cause you to lose your relationship with our Heaveny Father. He will help all those who seek refuge in him, key words SEEK HIM.

Hopefully this will help you through the trying times ahead.

starfish422

Don't pray. ;)

Sara Annie

I'd try not to be so hard on yourself about the particulars.

I once read that "...the desire to pray is itself a prayer". Made sense to me, I think God is well aware of your intentions. As for what to call him or how to address and conclude, try what you like and remember that this is GOD we're talking about, not AT&T or the Post Office. You can't misdial the numbers, you can't write the address wrong, & the message gets through to the source even if the postage isn't correct. You're doing just fine.

God Bless,

-Sara

ChrisVance

Use your mind and you will find that nothing fails like prayer.

JNS2

Wow, there are some diverse thoughts posted! I'm thinking about all of them. I guess in reality a dilemna like this is something that someone only freshly extricated from the "truth" would even worry about. I really like some of the thoughts expressed! (even some of the funny ones that hint.....lighten up) Old habits are hard to break & I suppose that if the creator of the universe is actually a communicating entity that knows hearts & thoughts, then any form of prayer would do. Maybe living day to day, moment to moment is a good plan?

abbagail

This was excellent, thanks to everyone. I, too, still struggle with how to address God. Like others, I didn't/couldn't pray for over a decade, thinking Jehovah "would not listen" since I was DF'd. Only recently understood this is NOT the case! (duh!) So I'm still in the "how to begin/what to call Him" stage, and in my mind's eye, I see it/say it something like this:

Heavenly Father/Jehovah/God/Creator/Jesus...

Just like that is how I see it in my mind, even with the slashes / between the words, lol. And recently I was wondering if I should start adding Holy Spirit on the end, lol. I feel so silly trying to begin prayers this way, but hadn't yet figured out what felt comfortable or "right."

Therefore, seeing the "Abba, Father" comment above brought tears up thru my heart and throat. Of course!! Abba/Father, so simple. JamesT's advice was touching, as was Forgiven One. All of your replies were great.

There was a thread similar to this maybe two+ months ago (sorry, can't remember who started the thread). Thanks for bringing this up again.

starfish422

JNS2 said: "Old habits are hard to break "

I never was in that habit, even when I was in the Borg. Somehow when I tried to pray at night, it put me right to sleep......LOL. Maybe I should try that now!! LMAO

Blueblades

Isn't it all about Belief and not Relief? Two Thousand years of praying by untold,countless billions from Jesus days to ours.Thousands of years before Christ,Prayers have been the CRY to God.Oh! We might think in terms of our own personal experience,yet the human condition is very visible to the God that every believer cries out to.What about them!

What about all the innocent souls that have been forsaken to the horrors of humanity!

How long would it take for your Mother and Father to respond to your plight when you cried out to them for relief?

Did not God affirm that the inclination of the heart of man is bad from his youth up.Did he not say that the heart is treacherous and desperate.

Tears! Have been our lot.The PIERCING CRY "ELI, ELI, LAMA SABACHTHANI " of Jesus,"MY GOD,MY GOD,WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?" is the lot of humanity.

Yes ,what about praying now ?Is it any different than all the praying we have ever done? I think not.

O.K. So God have a time table all worked out,meanwhile, keep praying for RELIEF,not BELIEF, for all those who came behind us and those now with us and those yet to experience this horror called life.

I know that there are those who are in their comfort zone,life is just fine and dandy.But, come out of your cocoon awhile and take a good look around then run back quick to your comfort zone and forget what you saw.

Sorry folks,I don't know what came over me. Blueblades,oh one more thing,I'm not praying now,,just observing.

rem

No kidding, starfish! I fell asleep in the middle of my prayer almost every night. Sometimes I would feel guilty and start praying again - only to fall asleep once more. I don't feel guilty anymore!

rem

What about praying NOW???

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