I was shocked when I read about a web site called InformationAgePrayer.com that offers, for people too busy to speak to God themselves, a daily service of invocations using voice-synthesizing software. Each prayer is voiced individually with the subscriber's name on the screen, and set up for the individual specific beliefs. (For Muslim prayers, the computer's speakers point toward Mecca) The cost varies depending on the type of prayer. (Hail Marys are 70 cents a day, the Lord prayer or Islamic Fajr is $3.95 a month.) As I read about this service, I couldn’t help but think about what Jesus said in Matthew 6:7, “But when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.” It probably wasn’t what Jesus had in mind when he uttered those words but it sure fit. We are to a continually praying people but not at the expense of meaningful prayer. True prayer requires the heart of man not just a voice.
I always hated buying gifts for my Mom. If I got her something like a new set of pans, it was like saying “Here’s something you can use to go make me something to eat”. A gift for her was seemingly a gift for me. There are however gifts you give that benefit you more than the receiver. For example, forgiveness. When you give it, you are giving it to yourself as much as you are giving it to them. Jesus said that when we forgive others it means God is forgiving us our wrongs (Matthew 6:14-15). I once read: “ Heaven is where everyone's forgiven. Hell is where nobody's forgiven. So, when we forgive we pull heaven down into our lives. When we withhold forgiveness, we pull hell up into our lives ” Give yourself something nice today, Forgive.
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