Losing your religion

Losing your religion

The experience of losing your faith, or of having lost it, is an experience that in the long run belongs to faith; or at least it can belong to faith if faith is still valuable to you, and it must be or you would not have written me about this. I don¿t know how the kind of faith required of a Christian living in the 20th century can be at all if it is not grounded on this experience that you are having right now of unbelief. "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief" is the most natural and most human and most agonizing prayer in the gospels, and I think it is the foundation prayer of faith.

- Flannery O'Connor

Confession

Here is the 'C' in A.C.T.S.
I may be Lutheran, but I find Roman Catholic rituals fascinating.

Here is (minus the Mary and the Saint's stuff) the Latin prayer of confession:

Confiteor Deo Omnipotenti
Quia peccavi nimis
Cogitatione,
verbo
Et opere
Mea culpa
Mea culpa
Mea maxima culpa

I confess to God Almighty
That I have sinned
In thought,
in word
And in deed
Through my own fault
Through my own fault
Through my own grievous fault

Prayer Spam

Here is a neat little prayer forward that my brother-in-law recently sent me. You can highlight it, copy it, paste it into an email and send it to as many people as you can think of. Remember, this Thursday, May 5 is the annual National Day pf Prayer.

I need this back. If you'll do this for me, I'll do it for you....

When there is nothing left but God, that is when you find out that God is all you need.

Take 60 seconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply say the following small prayer for the person who sent you this.

Prayer:

Father,

Bless all my friends in whatever it is that You know they may be needing this day!
And may their life be full of your peace, prosperity and power as he/she seeks to have a closer relationship with You.

Amen.

Next send it on to five other people, including the one who sent it to you.

Within hours you caused a multitude of people to ! pray for other people.

Then sit back and watch the power of God work in your life.

The Five Finger Prayer

This is beautiful - and what a great way to organize our prayers. It is surely worth making the 5 finger prayer a part of our lives...

1. Your thumb is nearest you. So begin your prayers by praying for those closest to you. They are the easiest to remember. To pray for our loved ones is, as C. S. Lewis once said, a "sweet duty."

2. The next finger is the pointing finger. Pray for those who teach, instruct and heal. This includes teachers, doctors, and ministers. They need support and wisdom in pointing others in the right direction. Keep them in your prayers.

3. The next finger is the tallest finger. It reminds us of our leaders. Pray for the president, leaders in business and industry, and administrators. These people shape our nation and guide public opinion. They need God's guidance.

4. The fourth finger is our ring finger. Surprising to many is the fact that this is our weakest finger; as any piano teacher will testify. It should remind us to pray for those who are weak, in trouble or in pain. They need your prayers day and night. You cannot pray too much for them.

5. And lastly comes our little finger; the smallest finger of all which is where we should place ourselves in relation to God and others. As the Bible says, "The least shall be the greatest among you." Your pinkie should remind you to pray for yourself. By the time you have prayed for the other four groups, your own needs will be put into proper perspective and you will be able to pray for yourself more effectively.

Feel free to highlight, copy and paste this into an email to a friend!

Mallory