[Faith-talk] Daily Thought for Friday, May 31, 2013

[Paul]

Hello and good day to all of you wherever you reside in this world.  Well, as this is being written, it's already the month of June in parts of eastern Europe and points east, whereas we in a line extending from central Europe to the American West Coast still have several hours to go before we, in our turn, can say farewell to May and hello to June.  Anyway I hope that your day is going well or went well.

While I was away visiting my friend Carol Platt, I received a magazine in the mail which contained, among other things, a rather clever satirical piece on prayer.  It was written originally by Peter Lundell and it's entitled "Genuineness in Prayer," rendered as follows:

Jesus would have had a great time with this one:  A web site offers to have a computer with text-to-speech capability say your prayers for you, so you don't have to.  They "voice each prayer at a volume and speed equivalent to typical person praying.  Each prayer is voiced individually, with the name of the subscriber displayed on screen." You may choose from Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, Muslim or Unaffiliated prayers.  For Muslim prayers they even face the speakers toward Mecca.  Isn't that thoughtful? Don't laugh, these guys are serious--about making money at least.  I clicked on "Protestant" and found I could have a computer say the Lord's Prayer for me each day for only $3.95 a month.  Or I could choose prayers for peace, get well, financial help, my children or get a package deal.  Catholics pay 7 cents for each Hail Mary.  That adds up, you know.  "Show God you are Serious," they say, and order one of the complete packages.  This site has a whole shopping section with "Add to Cart" and PayPal links.  They even have monthly specials.  I am so blessed.

I suppose if people are mindless enough to give money to these guys, they deserve to get ripped off.  (And since you're probably wondering, the URL has "information" and "age" along with "prayer.")

If there's one thing God wants from us when we pray, it's genuineness.  Of all the things we ever do spiritually, prayer is supposed to be the most personal connection we have to God.  Our Father loves us and wants to spend time together, hear our voices, feel our hearts.

Prayer is not a software program for sale.  It's a passionate joining of ourselves with God.  May your prayer connect you tightly with God, every day, and cost time, not money.  And may God ignite you with His Spirit.

And there you have that article which, for the most part, was satirical but, as you read toward the end, had its serious side.  Now let's see.  I think that I'll go over there and peruse the Bhagavad Gita or the Sikh sacred Vedic writings.  Oh, I almost forgot:  Brother Peter didn't include the website.  Oh well, I guess I'll just have to be content without that.

And now until tomorrow when, Lord willing another Daily Thought article will be presented, I remain your Christian friend and brother, Paul