How have your prayers changed?

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Without getting denominational about it I am wondering who besides me has found theselves meditating, praying and or contemplating differently than before they heard about Y2k. I am interested in hearing from people of all faiths.

I find I am praying much more globally than ever before. Peace and compassion are very high on the list. As always I pray for wisdom and strength but now pray for the courage to protect my family.

My meditations too have altered in important ways. It is hard to describe without getting too specific other than it feels deeper than it did before.

-- R (riversoma@aol.com), July 26, 1999

Answers

A part of me wants to be right about my Y2k predictions. Prideful as it is, the urge to say, "I told you so!!" is real.

But when I stop and consider the cost if I'm right -- which would surely include the death of many loved ones -- I'm driven to my knees, a mass of conflicting emotions.

That is why I need to pray daily that my nickname for the rest of my life will be "Chicken Little." I ask God to make me the laughing stock of all my relatives, neighbors, and co-workers.

It hurts my pride to make such a prayer request. But I have to do it -- every day. Otherwise, I find myself losing sight of the big picture and wishing that I'm right just so I can gloat.

-- ace (x@y.z), July 26, 1999.


I take NOTHING granted anymore and I thank God for each and every blessing I receive.

Those include:

Freedom

My wife

My kids,

Good food,

Fresh water,

an income,

and plenty of toilet paper.

That of course is the short list.

On a serious note....I believe the only way we are going to survive and come out of the coming mess as an intact nation, is for national repentance, fasting and prayer....which unfortunately doesn't look remotely possible in the face of all this hubris wealth and pride.

America, your time is almost up. You'd better humble yourself before God and make some drastic changes in your heart...or no amount of praying and crying aloud will save you.

God did say he would set His Face against us, and laugh at us in the day of our calamity.

You may choose to ignore this advice, but you'll perish for it later.

Mark His Words....

-- INVAR (gundark@sw.net), July 26, 1999.


INVAR- I for one am really glad to see you posting again! Thanks for your insight. I hope to see one of your special, in depth, get you thinking about everything rants posted here in the near future. I know it probably takes alot of energy but there are some new people around here who need to here from you and Nikoli and the rest of the crew. And there are alot of people who need to be put in their place. You have an audience and we are waiting! Be good- Johnny

-- Johnny (JLJTM@BELLSOUTH.NET), July 26, 1999.

Well slap my bass and call me Sally!!!

*Blush*

I is touched. I thank God for a sound-mind and the ability to type!

Thanks Johnny.

Well now with Andy back, all we need is Greybear and Nikoli to get the Four Horsemen of the Coming Apocalypse riding on the forum again!

-- INVAR (gundark@sw.net), July 26, 1999.


Like David Wilkerson said in his book, "God's Plan for the Coming Depression", Who knows how long the coming crisis may last. It could last seven years and who has prepared for that long?

The first preparation has always been trusting God through prayer. I am not so sure the coming crisis will allow any of us to sit in our homes eating our hard red winter wheat bread by our lanterns by the warmth of our woodstoves. Jesus' advice for what it's worth was to 'watch and pray'. I have been doing that although I have been more like Martha than Mary lately. I have been storing up Scriptures that promise God's protection, strength, and blessing during a time of trouble. My favorites are in the Psalms, especially 46 and 91.

Like it or not, INVAR is correct. God will not be mocked, what a nation (person) sows is what they will reap. I am hearing from many spiritual leaders that it is too late for America to repent, including Wilkerson. Get ready for His judgments, believe me, they are on the way. I can't tell you how many times in my own personal communion with God, He has impressed me with this truth. For believers, 'watch and pray'.

-- BB (peace2u@bellatlantic.net), July 26, 1999.



a nation that turns'there BACK on GOD=get,s a major BACK ache.as in broken.

-- backproblem (dogs@zianet.com), July 26, 1999.

Extremely pertinent question R.

Approximately 2-1/2 years ago a great sense of urgency came roaring upon me. I realized almost immediately (long story) that I had to focus my energy upon my spiritual growth. It was an offer I couldn't refuse, so to speak.

My wife & I moved one year later to Virginia where we were led to rent a house in the country. We GI'd a few months later. Suffice to say we owe a great big thanks to the Special One for the kick in the pants & the guiding hand.

Y2K has, for the most part, reinforced that sense of urgency in me. I feel that I can only be at my best when my spiritual house is in order each & every day.

R, I'm very happy for you that your meditations are getting deeper. That special contact is truly addicting, is it not? Also, the deeper we go the easier it is to hear the Divine Whisper. Thus, the easier it is to make correct decisions in our day-to-day lives.

Finally, peace & compassion should be high on all our lists - every minute of every day - with or without the threat of Y2K.

Best Wishes,

-- Bingo1 (howe9@pop.shentel.net), July 26, 1999.


My prayers have certainly changed but so have other aspects of my spiritual life. I have felt like I should get to know God better so when the time comes I will understand his direction/guidance better. I am more thankful for everything I have. I am reading more of the sections of the bible dealing with times of judgment and looking at how god treated those being judged and also how he treated those (such as the prophets) he wasn't judging. I have also been giving more. Buying more spiritual resources for others. Stocking up spiritual resources for myself and others. (The book "Spiritual Survival During Y2K Crisis by S. Farrar is really excellent.) I felt like I needed to obey totally and get rid of those disobedient areas of my life. So I broke up a three year relationship with a non-believer. Wah. But I needed to do it. I am also learning alot aobut the end times--I guess desperately trying to see where all this fits? This is certainly an interesting time isn't it? God is good. Did you know that there was evidence in ancient literature that the Christians moved out of Pompeii two years before Mt. Vesuvius went off? Yep, God told them to get out and they got out. He warns his own of judgment doesn't he?

-- T (applpie@aol.com), July 26, 1999.

Thanks for the thread. My gut is telling me y2k is just the opening scene of a multi-act plan. I believe it is entirely possible that next spring (when the tullips bloom) you will see classified yard sales/garage sales of prep supplies being sold at 10% on the dollar. Will I be buying? You bet. The public wants "instant gratification" from everything from sports to drugs and disasters. When y2k dosen't live up to the end-of-the-year hype (I'm not saying there won't be some SHTF) the gov.org will proclaim "y2k is over, folks, and yes, Virginia, you can go back to sleep, we're cleaning up the mess now so don't bother your pretty little head over it anymore." Whatever happens in the first quarter (assuming our friends who predict Russki attack this fall are wrong) will seem benign by the third quarter. The assertion to yuze relegious "warners" will be "God has nothing to do with this, dummy. It's y2k code. It's man's mess, and man will clean it up just fine. We can do it, and we can do it all by ourselves without ANY help from the BIG GUY in the SKY."

-- Procopious (whynot@zog.net), July 26, 1999.

I'm a Christian, but I forgot to pray about this...

Good idea. I'll get right to this regularly.

Thanks. It's so easy to get caught up with the things of this world.

-- Bryce (bryce@seanet.com), July 27, 1999.



"And yet forty days, Nineveh shall be destroyed!!" Yet, Nineveh donned sackcloth and ashes and was saved.

Wealth and Hubris can be overcome by TURNING (Teshuvah), and it is that time of the year. I will be spending much time with my favorite prayer book, The Gates of Repentance



-- K. Stevens (kstevens@It's ALL going away in January.com), July 27, 1999.


An interesting thread. I'm not a praying man per se, but when Y2K overwhelms me, I strive to recall that I am a flawed, limited being. That I control nothing except my own response to what happens around me. That as Dickens said, "my time on this globe is very brief." Taking the long view, Y2K is simply another challenge on the journey. The only question being, how great a one? Perhaps this is a meditation of sorts...

-- M.C. Hicks (mhicks@greenwich.com), July 27, 1999.

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