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Prayer
- Thread starter Penumbra
- Start date
Yes, I read many scriptures.
The Bible, the Koran, Hindu scriptures, and some Buddhist scriptures.
The Bible, the Koran, Hindu scriptures, and some Buddhist scriptures.
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nightfire_blue
Newbie
Okay: stop reading anything except the Bible. It is doubtful that you will hear God when you are listening to so many "voices". I'm not saying it can't happen, but probably not. If you want God it needs to be God alone. Read your Bible often. It strengthens His voice and the feeling of His presence in you. But don't just trust feelings. They can be deceiving. Trust God.
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Well, I don't really want to limit myself to one source unless that source seems to be the correct path. And so far, honestly, it hasn't been working.
How would I go about picking which religion is correct and which path to follow more deeply? Their scriptures all say they are correct, and many of their followers tell me to focus on their scriptures. To try to distinguish which one is correct I've been praying for it but that hasn't lead me in any of the directions.
To be honest, I was more religious before I read the Bible. Reading the Bible really helped to break my faith in religion, so that's why I've been trying to focus on prayer instead of texts written by people. The Bible as well as other religious scriptures say that prayer works, so I'm trying to use it.
How would I go about picking which religion is correct and which path to follow more deeply? Their scriptures all say they are correct, and many of their followers tell me to focus on their scriptures. To try to distinguish which one is correct I've been praying for it but that hasn't lead me in any of the directions.
To be honest, I was more religious before I read the Bible. Reading the Bible really helped to break my faith in religion, so that's why I've been trying to focus on prayer instead of texts written by people. The Bible as well as other religious scriptures say that prayer works, so I'm trying to use it.
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fishin4christ
The Fisherman
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I also suggest getting other people to pray for you. Also, if I may ask, what about the bible caused you to be less religious? It tends to motivate most people more than any other book. Btw, I'm not trying to call you out or anything, I'm just curious.
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That can't hurt! You're all welcome to pray for me, and Marycita has already said that she will.
It's a difficult question to answer because I don't want to offend anyone here who holds that book very dearly.
The Old Testament is full of so much violence and rituals that I don't relate with at all. Even the main heroes like Moses and Elijah killed many people, and so I can't really find any way to relate to them. The same thing goes with the Koran- all sorts of threats are everywhere. I grew up in a household that believed in a vague "God" but I never was raised in any specific religion. All I assumed about God was that he was loving towards all of his children, but reading these original texts from which modern conceptions of God came from really undermined my assumption that God was approachable, loving, or anything I wanted to know. He just seemed to be described like any other ancient God like Baal or someone else. The more I read, the more I got the impression that Yahweh was a made up local God of the Jews just like any of the hundreds of gods that people around the world have believed in.
The New Testament is a bit more readable for me, but I still don't relate with it at all. Jesus said some things I think are good and I like the way he is described, but he also seemed kind of cold and detached from his disciples and followers.
The Buddhist scriptures were intellectually interesting but I really couldn't get into them enough to keep reading. Hindu scriptures were my favorite but I had major issues with them as well.
I also started taking many classes on religion that my school offers, so I learned about the history and beliefs of many different religions including Judaism and Christianity, and the more facts I learned, the less true any of it felt to me.
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StarCannon
Warmaster
Well Penumbra, I could tell you the secret of the universal law of attraction. That'll pretty much attract to you whatever yo--...
Heh. Why not? After all... Brass and Tacks.
Look, Penumbra, sister-in-humanity, praying doesn't seem to work for you, does it? No, it really isn't.
Let me share a little something with you that anyone can benefit from, if they take the time.
The universe is energy. Everything little thing in the universe is energy. Why? Who knows. So if everything is energy, then the things you want are energy. Right? K. Your very being is also energy, and so are the very thoughts that run through your mind. Yes, those are energy too.
Now, here's the juicey part.
Tune your thoughts into attracting what you want. Money? Meditate and visualize yourself with lots of free and easy and completely-your-own money. Happiness? Meditate and visualize yourself being happy.
Doing that on a consistent basis will attract to you anything you want. Now, of course you're gonna have to let go of those: "This is never going to happen" kind o' thoughts because THOSE have energy as well and will ruin any endeavor.
Also, negative thoughts have energy and dwelling on those will result on that bad thing happening.
Notice the people who are always worried about something happening will have it happen to them?
Also, notice the people who are always happy and thinking happy thoughts tend to be happy 90% of the time?
Anywho,
Keep whatever it is you want consistantly in your mind and you'll get it. It might take some time, but you'll get it.
Heh. Why not? After all... Brass and Tacks.
Look, Penumbra, sister-in-humanity, praying doesn't seem to work for you, does it? No, it really isn't.
Let me share a little something with you that anyone can benefit from, if they take the time.
The universe is energy. Everything little thing in the universe is energy. Why? Who knows. So if everything is energy, then the things you want are energy. Right? K. Your very being is also energy, and so are the very thoughts that run through your mind. Yes, those are energy too.
Now, here's the juicey part.
Tune your thoughts into attracting what you want. Money? Meditate and visualize yourself with lots of free and easy and completely-your-own money. Happiness? Meditate and visualize yourself being happy.
Doing that on a consistent basis will attract to you anything you want. Now, of course you're gonna have to let go of those: "This is never going to happen" kind o' thoughts because THOSE have energy as well and will ruin any endeavor.
Also, negative thoughts have energy and dwelling on those will result on that bad thing happening.
Notice the people who are always worried about something happening will have it happen to them?
Also, notice the people who are always happy and thinking happy thoughts tend to be happy 90% of the time?
Anywho,
Keep whatever it is you want consistantly in your mind and you'll get it. It might take some time, but you'll get it.
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What kind of energy are you talking about? The measurable, scientific, E=MC^2 type of energy or spiritual energy?
I'm not sure I see how visualizing something will bring it into being. I mean, I absolutely agree that positive people tend to be happier, but that seems to be due to psychology. It's like a lucky charm- the charm itself doesn't actually do anything, but because a person who has that lucky charm believes in it, it will increase her or his confidence because she or he believes it brings them luck. Because they are more confident and positive, "luck" is more likely to come to them because they make the luck for themselves.
I try to be positive but I can only go so far. I fake being happy in front of my family and to some extent my friends, and I perform well in work and school. It's only my internal world that is full of pessimism, sadness, and chaos. There's nothing in particular that I want that would make anything better, so I'm not sure how I could go about visualizing what I want.
Thanks for your post.
I'm not sure I see how visualizing something will bring it into being. I mean, I absolutely agree that positive people tend to be happier, but that seems to be due to psychology. It's like a lucky charm- the charm itself doesn't actually do anything, but because a person who has that lucky charm believes in it, it will increase her or his confidence because she or he believes it brings them luck. Because they are more confident and positive, "luck" is more likely to come to them because they make the luck for themselves.
I try to be positive but I can only go so far. I fake being happy in front of my family and to some extent my friends, and I perform well in work and school. It's only my internal world that is full of pessimism, sadness, and chaos. There's nothing in particular that I want that would make anything better, so I'm not sure how I could go about visualizing what I want.
Thanks for your post.
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nightfire_blue
Newbie
I dunno hun. The Bible is it. It says in the Scripture that I read and believe "if you seek Me with your whole heart, you will find Me." You aren't seeking the true God (sorry, I'm not trying to be narrow-minded, but that's the truth) with your whole heart. You're seeking A god. Sometimes reading your Bible isn't just about relating to it yourself, but learning more about God. Oftentimes actually.
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Hi Penumbra! I think I can sort of understand where you're coming from. There was a long time where I prayed and prayed, but felt like God didn't hear me at all.
Have you ever tried writing down your prayers? I found that to be very helpful. It was really hard for me to organize my thoughts and get things out without my mind wandering, and like you said, feeling like I was talking to myself. I found that writing it down helped me realize that I was actually talking to someone else, not just randomly thinking things in my head.
And I agree with what some of the others have said about not really being able to go on feelings. Sometimes I don't feel like I've been heard; other times I do. But regardless of whether I feel like I've been heard or not, I know that I have been. The Bible says that God knows the secrets of our hearts.
I wish I had something useful to say, something that would help!! But I'll be praying for you...and God will be listening.
Have you ever tried writing down your prayers? I found that to be very helpful. It was really hard for me to organize my thoughts and get things out without my mind wandering, and like you said, feeling like I was talking to myself. I found that writing it down helped me realize that I was actually talking to someone else, not just randomly thinking things in my head.
And I agree with what some of the others have said about not really being able to go on feelings. Sometimes I don't feel like I've been heard; other times I do. But regardless of whether I feel like I've been heard or not, I know that I have been. The Bible says that God knows the secrets of our hearts.
I wish I had something useful to say, something that would help!! But I'll be praying for you...and God will be listening.
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L
l0v3n
Guest
When I pray I feel like God is listening and letting me talk. I give thanks for anything that comes to mind. I then pray for others. Afterwords I say my needs that I want for myself and so forth. Later I shut up and let god speak to me...as I ask questions as to make sure if I am making the right decisions on many things that I am trying to decide on.
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