Spirituality Tips Guides

Prayer is very important. There are medical studies linking both prayer and meditation with better health. People who pray on a daily basis have been found to experience lower blood pressure, less stress, stronger immune systems, less depression, to live longer and happier lives, etc… These are great benefits and should not be overlooked, but the reason for prayer is to communicate with, ask for help and forgiveness, and please God.

To pray correctly we must be sincere and pray from the heart. Jesus Christ was angered by the falseness of the local religious leaders and likened them to hypocrites - “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him (Mathew 6:5-8). Here Jesus Christ specifically states to pray in quiet, not to rant and babble like many priests and evangelists do. This is not sincere, as they are trying to impress their followers and stroke their egos with their impressive vocabulary. God is infinitely smarter than that and will not be impressed by incantations, repetition, and insincerity. He wants us to pray in private, not for show. God would much rather hear a prayer from someone meek and sincere.

We can pray about anything and there is nothing saying you can’t repeat requests. We should pray not only about what troubles us, but also for forgiveness and what we are thankful for - our families, good times, God’s help, etc… In Matthew 6:9-15 Jesus Christ gives us a great example of how to pray - The Lord’s Prayer - “This then is how you should pray:” ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we have forgotten our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’ For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” Jesus Christ implies in the Lord’s Prayer that we need to forgive everyone. We have all sinned and all need forgiveness. We also need to be thankful for what God has given us. We may be poor, we may have a terrible boss or financial hardships, but we need to look through this and find the good. There is always some good we can reflect upon.

Prayer can be very benefitial when done correctly as God will actually hear and answer prayers and requests that are sincere, truthful, forgiving, and not full of earthly desires - this is coveting and is one of the ten commandments - “Thou shalt not covet.” When our prayers aren’t answered, maybe its because we weren’t praying for the right reasons or for what we really need. Remember, God knows and sees everything and loves all of us so much that he sent his only son Jesus Christ to die for us and our sins. Let us honor him by praying correctly and for the right reasons.

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It is both a wonderful and terrible aspect of God’s love that when we lose someone we love, the deep pain we feel can draw us closer to God, the author of life and death. As Christians all our relationships are a triangle, with one another and God at the head. Our deepest selves are connected to one another and to God because it is in him we live and love and have our true being.

For in him (God) we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ Acts 17:28

It is natural to grieve the loss of someone we love, and God not only does not deny us our grief, he tells us in Matthew 5:4, “Blessed are they who mourn for they shall be comforted.” What this means is that God calls you in your grief to enter more deeply into communion, communication and relationship to him so that he can lift you on wings of angels through the grief process.

One might ask if this makes the grief process easier, lighter, less intense even. I don’t think so. By no means, as Saint Paul would say. God calls us to more deeply examine the powers and attributes which make our lives and our relationships worth the earthly journey.

We can begin to study the nature of love, of forgiveness, of solace, of sorrow, of joy, of joy in the midst of grief, of silence, of oneness within ourselves, with others, with others lost, with our precious Lord, to experience a new wholeness and holiness in our Lord Jesus. For we are not lost to each other. We will meet again, dance and sing and feast, banquet with our Lord at our marriage supper as at the wedding of Cana.

If our love of the other person who died is deep enough we may even feel we cannot live without them. In this case only God can relieve our pain. It is just by drawing near to him that we can experience solace, a healing and restorative solace, that can put us back on the path of life and more than that a fulfilling life. The greater our sense of loss may well mean the greater our closeness to God, our willingness to let him enter our pain and heal because we so need him. It is a time to build trust and to come to believe and to surrender to a God who will deliver us out of all our afflictions. The grief process can reveal more fully than at other times the God who is enough and more than enough.

The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:17,18

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9

With the loss of each person, each reliance temporary and earthly or final and eternal, we come to an end, and what must we do just to survive, to keep on living? We must begin a new journey, take a new risk, follow a different and unknown path. Boy, these are all my favorite things! Right? No, wrong! These are the things I fear, almost to the point of dread, the very most in my sojourn here. Will it be an adventure? Will it call me toward the God whose love is an unbounded and timeless consuming fire? Will the grief shake me and root up and out all the earthly things which keep me from him; keep me clinging to anything I can recognize, touch, see or feel; keep me supported, restrained and even melded into this world? Yes is the answer, I think, to all of these questions.

“Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken that is, created things so that what cannot be shaken may remain. Hebrews 12:26,27

Do we have a choice about this new journey into grief? Yes, we always have choices. So why should I make the choice to cede my grief process to God when I am sheered of the wool of the presence, the comfort and love of the person or thing whose loss I have suffered?

Because it is in my nakedness, in my vulnerability, in my birth into grief that the Lord can show me, can teach me, can inculcate into me, can impress upon me like a seal my true and eternal self in him. My grief can be my door to forever with my precious Lord and Savior, Jesus.

For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. Romans 14:7,8.

Diana Burg is an author with several books. She writes novels, short stories, plays, screenplays and poetry. Her passion is writing.

Mourning Glory - A Devotional for Grieving is a book for those struggling through a loss and looking for support and comfort. http://www.amourningdevotional.com

Religion for me has been a bewildering and reluctant adversary. For the longest time religion meant belief in some strangers prescription for salvation. As one matures and questions their life and the role of religion in it, certain sticking points become clear. Why so many different perceptions of religion? Why so many different versions of religion? Why so much mutual exclusivity of the various religion doctrines? Belief in one religion shouldn’t automatically exclude an individual from believing or practicing in another. That’s ridiculous. The different and varying threads in the spirituality of religion have far more in common then their proponents would care to admit to. It’s almost as if their saying that you must believe in everything that I say. No picking and choosing, just believe in all, or else your out. And it’s not just the zealots, it seems to be a persuasive thread among most religions.

Unbelievably Fragile Beliefs

Tolerance and acceptance should not just be facades painted on by the practitioners of every dogmatic religious power. They are principals and values that need to be shared and instilled as the cornerstone of any religion. We all have our little quirks, just as each religion has bizarre little rules, taboos, and rituals. How can one religion insist that their leaders practice celibacy, while another promotes marriage for it’s leaders, and yet another is perfectly fine with polygamy? They can’t all be wrong, surely one of these wise old sages is right. Or, maybe their all right. They’re definitely all wrong in suggesting their way is the only proper way. No wonder their is so much confusion amongst people in this day and age of enlightenment. Sometimes, it feels like if one tiny tenant of their dogmatic domicile fails then the whole thing fails. I don’t believe that a religion or it’s people can really be that fragile.

Your Way Is The Right Way

For a period, atheism or agnosticism seemed to be the way to go. All the other competing dogmas wanted my entire mind, heart, and soul. Well, if that’s the case, then no one gets anything. Seemed like the safe way to go. Not very satisfying, and certainly not very enlightening, but definitely safe. Just another brick in the wall, close them all out. Maturity and time have a way of changing religious views and beliefs. Sometimes old age does as well, but that can be just a convenient hope to the inevitable fear of what comes after the whole mortal coil shrug. Not a real belief I think. Some where along the line it occurred to me that it just rang hollow to believe in nothing. Even the religion of little green men seemed to have a lot more going for it, then believing in nothing. So it occurred to me that there simply has to be more to life then just what we can see and understand on the third planet from the sun. There certainly is a lot more to be understood yet, then there currently is understood today. Current notions of religion try to help there, but it’s painfully old technology. I mean hey, 200 years ago they didn’t even have black and white TV. What made those guys smart enough to start a religion that answers today’s questions.

My Way

I do believe that there is something bigger, grander, smarter, more tolerant, more enlightened and compassionate then any religion we on Terra firma have come up so far. Someone, something, is waiting and watching and guiding. We just need a little more time to figure it out. In the mean time, can’t we all just get along?

For more on religion visit religioninfoonline.com or read other religion articles at http://foolishmumbles.com/category/religion/

He is a figure known the world over, an endorsement for gift giving, the winter holiday season and cookie eating. At times he is called Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas or Kris Kringle and is arguably the most famous heavyset celebrity - well at least to precede Elvis Presley. Yes, he is the loveable, enduring and jolly old chap we call Santa Claus. In 1897 one little girl from Manhattan, at the urging of her father, took it upon herself to ask the New York Sun Newspaper once and for all if the man in the red suit was the real deal.

Countless numbers of letters are written to newspapers all around the world each year, and few if any, will ever see a moment of fame beyond the readership of their respective dailies. However, over a hundred years ago a simple letter comprised of only the words, “I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, “If you see it in The Sun, it’s so”. Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus?” would go on to become one of the most enduring symbols of North America’s take on Christmas.

One day in September 1897 (historians speculate that the question arose not in December as one might expect, but in September, because this would have been shortly after the new school year had commenced and children would have already been turning their attention to Christmas) young Virginia O’Hanlon approached her father, Dr. Philip O’Hanlon (who worked for a coroner’s office), with the sort of innocence only the very young are able to possess. She likely asked in a small but inquisitive voice if the rumours of her school chums were correct, was Santa Claus fake? Now not knowing for sure how tense the air got in the room at that moment when Mr O’Hanlon’s only child asked him to debunk or concur with the tale of St. Nick, we can only assume that he did not have the heart to break the truth to her himself. And so the letter (and its reply) that would go to become almost as much a symbol of the Christmas season as Santa himself was born.

Off Virginia went to write a letter at her father’s suggestion, which she mailed herself, to the New York Sun newspaper where its answer was assigned to an ex-civil war correspondent turned newspaper editorial writer by the name of Francis Pharcellus Church. Story has it that Mr Church was not exactly jumping for joy at the assignment, but he took the child’s letter back to his desk and proceeded to write one of the most stirring tributes to Christmas that has ever graced the pages of any newspaper.

Perhaps it was the atrocities of war he had witnessed firsthand, perhaps it was his own desire to believe in Father Christmas, or perhaps it was exactly what he would have said had anyone asked him if Santa was real, but that day Francis Church wrote an earnest, dramatic and nearly poetic response to Miss O’Hanlon’s query. In no short terms he assured her that indeed Santa Claus, or at the very least the unshakable spirit and message of Saint Nicholas’s image were as real as anything else on earth.

Though at the time it ran in the New York Sun it was but the seventh editorial on its page, this candid, lively and touching response would go on to find its way into the hearts and Christmases of millions of people, spanning many generations since the 1890s.
In fact both the letter and its answer are reprinted in oodles of newspapers around the globe every year, a modern tribute and testimony to Virginia’s, Francis Church’s and Santa Claus’s contribution to the timeless beauty, wonder and magic of Christmas.

Jessica Cander is a professional freelance writer who currently calls the Southern tip of Ireland home. You can read more of her writing on all things Christmas gifts related at the Christmas Gift Ideas Center, mostly in the Gift Ideas blog section.