Prayer And Worship- 5 : Questions

While reading the Spiritual Disciplines Handbook, I did not expect to come across a spiritual discipline that would be a perfect combination of my own idea of spiritual formation, and a wonderful way to connect with the Lord. What I mean by this, is that I was wanting to create a gratitude journal, but I wanted it to be deeper than just a list of things that I was thankful for. That is why I fell in love with the idea of writing responses to the questions that were posed in the Spiritual Disciplines Handbook, but still taking a few minutes to write a list of things that I am grateful for! A journal like this is also a great way for me to see the strong points in my day or week, and the areas where I need improvement. Since journaling has always

On the first day of school this year, my English teacher had told the class that our junior year was probably going to be the most stressful year that we would have to encounter in our high school career. It did not take long before I was drowning in the daily, piling assignments, taking ‘life-dependent’ tests, and struggling through some days due to multiple sleepless nights that junior year is associated with. I would have to say that Jesus (and coffee) had a lot to do with my getting by this past year. Having to deal with a rough ankle injury, lost friendships, and the struggle of finding where I could fit in while being the best version of myself has left me exhausted. I was faced with a couple of adversities this year, however I believe that they not only brought me down to a low and put me through some rough patches, but also these obstacles brought me higher than I was before, opening my eyes up to the greater good. When people say that things happen for a reason, I can now say that I believe them 110%. God has graciously placed angelic and wonderful people in my life when I needed it this, and there is not a day that goes by where I don’t count these God-given blessings and thank him for lifting me up this past

Everyday someone goes through challenging moments in their lives. These challenging moments can range from having a bad day at work to losing a family member unexpectedly. Life can be tough but with prayer, faith and love in Christ, our lives can change dramatically. I’ve always been a believer in Christ but there are moments I find myself questioning his existence. Questions that formulate in my mind are: why is this happening to me, what I did wrong, and God do you hear my prayers, why aren’t you answering me. I’ve realize that during our challenging moments, Christ wants us to channel our minds and think of positive solutions to better ourselves instead of him intervening all the time. Christ is a jealous God and I should not place anything or anyone before him. God gives us air to breathe, eyes to see, ears to hear and so forth, so why don’t I give him at least 30 minutes of my time each day. This is the beginning of evaluating my spiritual condition.

In (Matthew 6:6 NIV), Jesus explains the merits of praying to the lord God and the reward of inner peace, “But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret: and your father who sees in secret will reward you.” It is through this conversation with God that Christians pursue peace in their lives. Prayer can either be private or communal, spontaneous prayer is one way that charismatic communities can come closer to God. The act of prayer allows believers to have a personal conversation with God; it alleviates stress attributed to the monotony of everyday life. Besides prayer, meditation is another way of attaining inner peace, it is an ancient practice within the Christian tradition, which has undertaken a recent revival, a global group that reaffirms the concept of praying and meditating for inner peace is Taizé. Not as popular as prayer and meditation, Lectio Divina, generally known as bible studies is a way for Christians to feel connected to God and to finally attain inner peace. The studying of the sacred scriptures on a day to day basis and reflecting on prayers also maintain a continual connection with God. It is vital to maintain equilibrium between prayer and service, whereby an individual fathoms the notion ‘ora et labora’, in order to equally partake in both prayer, and the concept of action whereby ora develops inner peace, which is mirrored through the

While walking out of the building, I found myself walking the same path as a classmate who was also leaving. “What did you think of that, Taryn?” With a smile upon her face, she looked up and said, “I just love how great it is to have that time to fellowship and have with God during a stressful week.” Her answer summed up my feelings perfectly. “Have you joined?” Not

This semester has been a revelation for me in my spiritual walk and building relationships with others. I have taken what I have learned in this class to bless others and encourage them that they can make it because God loves them. During the times of witnessing and servant hood, I have found so, many people that just want someone to listen and love them. My perception of people has changed because now I feel that I am more compassionate now, sensitive to the needs of others, humble, loving, and willing to be servant.

Each night, there is a point where the day falls to silence, a silence that encloses you in your own thoughts and reflections. For as long as I can remember, my dad always told me "that is when you pray." His words matched the ones of every Sunday school teacher, but their voices faded as my worries grew. It seemed there were some stresses a man on a cross could not eliminate. Bible stories where Jesus cures people from their pain and problems appeared no different from the storybooks I stopped reading years ago, unrealistic and improbable. I vacillated between the faith instilled in me and the plausibility of things occurring by chance, not by Christ. As each day came to a close, I struggled to thank a voiceless God for a day I wasn’t grateful

During this time, I was lost in excessive school work, contemplating my existence, and truly feely hurt and lonely. I was simply depressed without a solid reason and did not know how to recover. During this time, the RCF community made an effort to reach out to me and illustrate to me that there is love for me through the community and through God. When I sat in my room alone crying, a couple of the RCF sisters reached out to me and talked me through my problems. This type of support and growth provided through participating in RCF opened my eyes to the love of

Do we become angels?” “Does God hate gay people?” “What is the meaning of life?” Those were some of the many questions i had that didn't get an answer to other than “ You just have to believe in God and his word, don’t question God's word.” those weren't the answers i was looking for but what was i expecting from a catholic school teacher. This year we looked at different ways people look at life the one that i agree the most is “Roger Ebert: the essential man” by Chris Jones. I agree that even when life hits you with really hard obstacles we need to look at them in a positive way; a new challenge; something that was thrown at us to help us learn not to take anything for

I had never had to cling to God as hard as I did this year, despite my Christian upbringing, and that I have been pursuing Him my whole life. In the throes of my deepest and most personal challenges, every prayer that was said was gut wrenching, tear filled, and heartfelt. I was in misery. You know what though? It was beautiful. God was clinging so hard back. He always is, but to be brought to a place where you can feel His embrace so tightly and so clearly is to feel true beauty and joy amid life’s inevitable pain. It is a holy honor. To be completely and totally honest with you, my experience with Campbellsville University was pretty much a girly Christian college cliché. I met the man of my dreams, and I had my “ring by spring.” We are now

My topic today is about suffering. God allows us to suffer, though He always has a good purpose for our agonies, even when that purpose is inscrutable to us. Everything has a good and bad side, and therefore, we cannot say that suffering is bad. God shows us the challenges and obstacles so that we could grow stronger, and be more grateful for the things we already have. Though suffering hurts us, emotionally or physically, it also protects us from the greater evil, reminds us of God’s love, and lifts us to a far greater view to see what is good and bad. We must also understand that God never leaves us when we suffer. Through these challenges and troubles, God shows his love by bring our friends and family together to aid us through our misery.

I’m in the middle of a journey in my life with choosing to return to school after being downsized from a job of more than 12 years. These past few weeks have been exceptionally difficult with taking multiple classes, homework, looking for a job, running a house and my husband getting sick. This was the main thing that just took me over especially since he’s usually healthy and rarely ever gets so much as a cold. We’ve been together since high school so together longer than we’ve been apart. We’ve been back and forth to the hospital and to a specialist all in the past few weeks. The devotional contains so many scriptures that sent me the messages I truly need to hear as I was feeling overwhelms and tired. But the following is the one that hits home for me:

Week 8: This week I had a meeting with one of the young adults in my church who moved here recently from Tacoma, Washington. She got a chance to be an intern at the church and after the intern she decided to stay here and not return back to Tacoma. I have been sharing my story in my faith and the things that God has done in my life and she told me this week how by sharing my the stories in my life how God has moved in my life encouraged her in her faith and these past months that we had met had really effect her faith and journey with

There are six distinct types of prayer which lead to well-being, my preferred prayer types are thanksgiving, petitionary, and reception; the prayer approach used is meditative and colloquial. Prayer relieves stress and worry in my life and as learned in Positive Psychology, stress can exacerbate heart disease. Meaning and purpose in life is enhanced and seen through my connection with God. I want to know and do God’s purpose that He has for me; knowing and acting on your purpose for Him brings worth to your daily life. The love we feel for Him and the love He felt for us to give His only Son for our sins can inspire forgiveness in us to others. Forgiveness is not accepting what someone has done to us or discrediting our feelings for the situation, it is allowing ourselves to see the issue head-on and moving forward from it. Transcendence is a feeling of pure love, light, and peace that I wish upon everyone, bringing spirituality into one’s life improves it

In examining my experience during the recent Cohort Intensives held at Payne Theological Seminary (PTS) in Wilberforce, Ohio; I was quite intrigued with how all of the scholars and guest speakers reinforced many of the initiatives I have already implemented in the context of my own ministry. Likewise, my time spent in class with my Cohort mentors Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie and Rev. Dr. Kenneth S. Robinson was both scholastically and spiritually invaluable. During the week-long Intensive class sessions with my mentors, I learned a number of new things about myself that I was not previously willing to address. In short, I had a moment of self-actualization that required some personal omissions on my part regarding my faith and yes some internalized oppression as labeled by author Gayraud S. Wilmore. Opening up in class and admitting a few of my own short-comings was nothing short of liberating. Suddenly, I felt as though I had an epiphany; that has given birth to a renewed zeal, mind, and spirit. For the first time in years I am certain that I am now moving closer to the apex of excellence where God intended me to be.