What happened to all my prayers?

[waysider]

What happened to all my prayers?

Ya know, before I ever heard of The Way, I had no idea my prayers were second rate. Then I got witnessed to and found out I had it all wrong. See, you can't actually talk to God like you talk to everyone else. You have to have this special language, that they speak in the land of Lo Shanta, or God won't have a clue what you're talking about.And, God can't talk back to you either unless you talk to yourself in this new language lots and lots every day. And you have to make a real effort to expand your vocabulary, too, or God will just keep telling you the same stuff over and over again. Heck, I've even heard people say they prayed to God for answers (without the Lo Shanta stuff) and, presto, someone from TWI appeared to invite them to Twig and sign them up for PLAF. But, how can that be if God can't understand your prayers in the first place?

So then my question is this:

What happened to all those prayers I said before I heard of TWI?

[George Aar]

Well, obviously, those prayers were thrown in the same cylindrical file as those of the Catholics, Mormons, Christian Scientists, Penticostals, Anglicans, Presbyterians, Lutherans, Methodists, and all the other various and sundry Christian brands. You see, you have to get it JUST right or God won't pay attention. Misunderstand HIS Wurd, pray "improperly", or believe "wrongly" - NO SOUP FOR YOU!

There now, doesn't that explain how loving and faithful The Almighty is? It's all YOUR fault.

The truth is so simple...

[RumRunner]

So then my question is this:

What happened to all those prayers I said before I heard of TWI?

I'll tell you what happened to those prayers - it was the fear in the heart and the life of George Aar that killed those prayers. And do you know why? Because George was painting your prayers fire engine red.

[doojable]

Misunderstand HIS Wurd, pray "improperly", or believe "wrongly" - NO SOUP FOR YOU!

So Gawd is the soup nazi? Or is that that prayer nazi?

On a more serious note...

What would you say to a father who answered the requests of his child ONLY if they used exact and proper phrasing - else they didn't really want it?

[krys]

What happened to all your prayers after you heard of twi. I have a feeling the former were more successful than the latter. I'm sure your needs and wants were parallel!

[Watered Garden]

I pray a lot more now than I did in TWI. I talk to God whenever I feel like it. He understands my heart, my hopes, my dreams, my fears. He understands my unspoken needs. I very seldom pray in a group, though. I don't know, maybe it's the kind of religious organizations we have been involved with (and no longer are!) that think women should keep quiet, but even in a small group I don't want to pray out loud.

WG