Why do they say the lord's prayer at the end of an AA meeting?
361653
I have alcoholic friends who are professional people and not at all religiously minded.\nThey say that it is almost like a "mantra" - a way of fucusing your mind.\nThey all mix with different classes and are non-judgmental.\nIt is a terrible disease and not tolerated by society, because it is so scary.\nI wish I had the guts to go to one of their meetings and I genuinely respect those who have, irrespective of race, class, religion etc... good Luck!
90312
"Behold I stand at the door and knock" not only refers to a call to repentence, but also pertains to the state of the churches of the end-time putting Christ out of the Church altogether, because "they say they are rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing", they have their own dogmas and creeds in place of the Gospel, but unfotunately for them God says that they are "wretched,and miserable, and poor and blind and naked". If they followed the Word of God the way He wrote it they would not behave as they do. It's a sign of the times. "he that hath an ear. let him hear what the Spirit says unto the churches". Just because they may not follow Him, doesn't mean you can't.
618811
You really need to get the Pastor and your deacon together, and ask for an explanation. The only reference is in EXODUS in  the Bible is that when the Israelites left Egypt and God covered them with a Cloud during the day and Protected them with a fire at night. \n   As for the answer given by Raducu192000, If you pray, God does and will talk to you. He is that Little voice inside of you, listen to him he wants to talk to YOU!!!
168887
Hi Aviva,\n\nI'm back attending the JESUS CHRIST THE SURE FOUNDATION (Isaiah 28:16), during Sundays.\n\nIn it the order is normally as follows:\n\n1. Call to Worship\n2. Singing psalms, hymns, songs..dancing..clapping..\n3. Introductory Prayer and more prayers\n4. Bible Study: Preaching and more preaching for 2 hours(not the same person, sometimes when one gets sick or has other meetings the other takes over)\n5. Music interlude: Singing or dancing clapping..joyous songs\n6. Offering prayer (for tithes)\n7. Tithing ( with music interlude)\n8. Thanksgiving and closing prayer\n9. Fellowship in Joyous music (there can be singing..dancing..clapping..talking..hi's and hellos and goodbyes or what suits the person) \n\nusually...takes about 3 and a half hours...\nGod Bless the congregations.
704929
Because you are passing in front of holy ground, in front of where the eucharist takes place each sunday. And because in every church there is a "tabernacle" where The blessed Hosts are kept.\n\nIt is a sign of reverence to Christ presence in the Eucharist.
181175
"This is how you are to pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors; and do not subject us to the final test, but deliver us from the evil one." \n\n"If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions."\n\nThe Lord's Prayer brings us into communion with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. At the same time it reveals us to ourselves.
160574
It is always a priviledge to be able to sit down and have a nice meal with family or alone, and I love to thank Our Lord, for the many blessings, and my prayer is something like this, Father, I thank you for our blessings that You have bestowed upon us this day, I thank you for this food that it will nourish our bodies, so that we may be better able to serve you, we thank you and ask your soverign protection upon all of our troops all over the world and may they be comforted in You Lord. In Jesus Name we pray.\nI feel we are speaking directly to the Lord so each time we pray our words may convey other prayer requests, but mainly we just want to Thank Him for His Love.
403517
Apocalypse 22:21. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen\n...because its finally the end.
5563
I assume you are talking about the Christmas story in Luke's Gospel.  An angel appears to shepherds and tells them of the birth of the Messiah, and then "  Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." (Luke 2:13-14, NIV)\n\nI don't think anyone understands the heavenly host.  We Christians believe that God created angels to serve him and glorify him.  In this passage, they are singing his praises, as they do constantly in heaven (Revelation 4:8 and similar).  Here, instead of singing in heaven, they sing above the earth.  Why?  Because the God who dwells in heaven has come to earth in the form of God-made-man Jesus, the Messiah.\n\nSo, they give him glory as they were created to do.  They also show his glory to the shepherds.  And, this is recorded, I think, to show us His glory of God in this most amazing and incomprehensible moment.\n\nI find it emotionally touching to think of God the Father sending his servants to sing praises at the birth of God the Son.  And, it causes me to want to join in this sort of worship.  Which I think is the point.
726244
i am taking this question seriously, although it seems some have not. when i pray at night or in church my eyes are closed. i even go so far as plugging my ears. it's just a matter or focusing on God and your conversation with Him. there are times throughout the day when I say quick little prays of thanks or something, and i don't always close my eyes then. it's not a matter of whether it is commanded. in this case it is what works best for you and ensures your mind ad spirit is focused on the task at hand!
1075836
I bet it does get old. I don't know why they do that. There is a time to quit. they may not know this.\n\n\nProverbs Ch. 22 vs 23-24-25\n\n23) For the LORD will plead their cause, and spoil the soul of those that spoiled them.\n \n24) Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go:\n \n25) Lest thou learn his ways, and get a snare to thy soul.\n \n\n.
417030
Prayer is many things, but most importantly, it is communication with the Almighty. This means it is conversation, not a monologue. When I pray, I try to spend more time listening than talking ... I figure God knows more than I do, so He should have the bulk of the time to do the talking :)\n\nFor my part, there are the short "HELP! ! ! " kind of prayers when I'm in a bind; the pouring out my heart to God, kind of prayers; the lifting up a brother or sister who is in a bind kind; the deep and travailing intercession for others; prayers of blessing for my friends (and enemies); praying for protection, wisdom, direction, etc.\nIn short, even though the form of the prayer changes with the circumstance, the Object of the prayer (God) remains a constant, so any prayer that is prayed in veiw of God's glory being manifested in the greatest possible way, is assured of a positive answer.\nI do try to pray for things VERY specifically (God, please bless Tom by giving him a job that will let him spend more time with his kids, and still pay the bills), as opposed to general prayers like "God, please bless Tom." In this way, I can know with greater certainty that God has answered the prayer (He may very well answer both, but If I have only prayed a general prayer, I won't know if it's really God answering or just 'the way things turned out').\n\nIn my experience the best prayers start with listening to God, finding out what is on God's heart, and then praying for that to happen.\n\nEdit: I wanted to add that prayer does not have to be done in any set or formal way (although formal prayers are not wrong), or use a bunch of high-sounding words that lack personal meaning but sound 'religious'.\n\nAlso, I think God likes us to be 'dirt honest' with Him (It's not like we are really hiding anything from Him anyway). Sometimes my prayers are more like yelling at God, and sometimes I get downright demanding (like a child who still has some 'growing up' to do), but I know that God is big enough not to be threatened by my anger, frustration, disillusionment, disapointment, etc, and even when these emotion are directed at Him, he is patient with me, and (I think) is actually just as pleased in those times as much as the ones we usually refer to as a "good prayer time".
863610
I think it is prayers of "contrition".  An Act of Contrition is a prayer to express sorrow for sins.  I hope this helps.
1006472
Technically, we are asking the saints to intercede with God on our behalf, not praying to them. You are correct, though, most people don't get it and that is a problem. Most people go to church out of habit and just do things without thinking about them--not a good practice at all! There is a fine line between worshiping Saints and asking for intercession!
332730
"God bless America" doesn't mean "God blesses America" - it means "May God bless America" and as such is a prayer like what Dolly and PJ always do on their knees at the side of their bed (did anyone actually do this?).\n\nI guess people are free to ask God's blessings on whomever and whatever they see fit. Doesn't mean he'll comply, of course.
79736
I wish I were more diligent about this. I used to keep the Liturgy of the Hours. Morning lauds open with, "O Lord, open my lips and my mouth will proclaim your praise." They are wonderful words with which to begin a day. Evening vespers and night time prayers help make a tranquil end of the day, too. Prayer draws you closer to God.
1180709
"Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.\nGive us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.\nLead us not into temptation, deliver us from evil, for Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen."\n\nIt's called the Lord's prayer, it was a guide given to us by Jesus to show us how to pray. For example, "our daily bread" could be praying for all the things we want and need from God.\n\nIf you ever want to look up a certain verse, biblegateway.com has a passage lookup or keyword search. =)