Your Comments - Page 83: 11/25/08 - 1/12/09 (The Prayer Foundation)

Your Comments: Page 83 11/25/08 - 1/12/09

Next Previous Page of Letters (Page 82)

1/12/09________________________________

Dear Prayer Warriors, Thank you immensely for your prayer and the work you are doing to help so many. God bless you richly. Nancy A. (North Carolina)

1/6/09_________________________________

I would like to subscribe to your e-newsletter.
I would also like to thank you for your ministry. It has been a great encouragement to me in times of despair, as well as for my spiritual growth. I am a Baptist minister in Arkansas, and I often turn to your website for information and encouragement. I hope to be able to become a postulant monk soon. Keep up the great work that God has called you to.
In Christ's service,
Patrick (Arkansas)

12/12/08_______________________________

Survey:                                                                                                                 How Found: Searching for grants related to Amish.
Liked Best: The weaving together of different people groups held together by God's Spirit.                                                                                                     Liked Least: Blue colors are a bit hard to read with the green back ground.
Born-again? Yes.
Comments: Beautiful, gentle, God inspired.                                        (Wisconsin)

12/9/08________________________________

I am having trouble getting a feeling for the difference between praying the Psalms, as opposed to just reading them---(especially on occasions when the Psalm doesn't seem to apply to my life at the time.)

Can you explain to me what the difference is/should be---in my head or in my heart? How do I feel that I am praying them?

Thank you,

Sheri

Comment from The Prayer Foundation ™: Usually when a verse really is applicable to something happening in your life (often some sort of problem) is where you will really feel that you are praying it. Praise, thanksgiving, and repentance/asking for forgiveness, of course, are always applicable.

Praying (slowly) any Psalms that you have memorized (most people begin with Psalm 23 and Psalm 117) will give you the "feel" for it. It is often much easier for most Protestant Evangelicals to pray a Psalm that they have memorized.

Those of us who have not come from a Protestant Denomination where written prayers are used in Church (as in the Anglican, Lutheran, Presbyterian Churches) have almost a "mental block" about tending to reject written prayers as "not really praying". It can be very difficult for us.

This puts us in the very strange position of rejecting prayers consisting of Holy Scripture and given by God specifically for that purpose, as being "no good, not really praying", while something we just make up out of heads is "real praying" (they're both "real praying", of course!).

We can do both. Praying extemporaneously is necessary and scriptural; praying the Psalms is actually praying scripture, (God speaks to us as we speak to Him) and can be wonderful, especially (to us) when they are memorized.

On the other hand, I had a Professor in Bible College who had never memorized even one Psalm, but had prayed five of them daily (he liked to pray them out loud in his private prayer time) for over twenty years. You may find that praying the Psalms out loud helps you, also. He could tell you everything in each Psalm from memory (but not word for word), and considered this practice to be of the greatest benefit to him in his Christian life.

We spend an hour a day either praying Psalms that we have memorized and/or praying/memorizing new ones, in which case we are praying them in an attitude of prayer while we are memorizing. This can be done for any length of time---see our webpages: How to Pray the Psalms and Athanasius: Praying the Psalms).

12/8/08________________________________

I am in search of the wilderness of God, prepared for his people.
I see that you are part of the New Monasticism movement. The first of
the 12 marks of this is: Relocation to the "abandoned places of Empire" (at the margins of society).
Yet when I look at Wikipedia, it has a list of communities in places like Minneapolis and Philadelphia. How are these abandoned places of the Empire? The empire is very strong there and exercising full power. Now there are signs of weakness and collapse at the edges (such as the Northern Great Plains), but not in Seattle.
So how do you define abandoned places of Empire or margins of society?
Please pray for the small farmers of the world. They are about to feel the persecution of the empire; those who haven't already.
In Christ,
Pete (Northern Great Plains)

Comment from The Prayer Foundation ™: When we started in 1999 there were no other groups, nor even a name for what we were then and still are doing---some of the other groups that came along later, came up with the "12 marks" thing---we don't recognize or accept at least one of the "marks"---that the entire community has to all live in the same local place or something---we currently have over 1,700 volunteers in 41 countries, so perhaps we're "disqualified" according to the other, newer groups?

Yet perhaps not, for we were just this month contacted by the "Simple Way" community to be a part of a new magazine for the entire New Monasticism movement that they are attempting to bring out.

We don't even know what all of the so-called "marks" all are---we're just not interested---the Media places us together with these other, more recent groups. However, since all true Christians are one in Christ, anyway, we don't really mind this. In fact, we thank God for all of these Christians and their unique ministries! Praise God for them, and for what they are doing!

But maybe you should write and ask your questions of one of these other, newer groups---we had never even heard of the particular "mark" you mention---but now that you bring it up, it makes no sense to us, and we would probably disagree with that so-called "mark", too.

We are just ourselves being just Christians---teaching prayer and evangelizing the whole world. The entire world, including all parts of all societies---not just the "margins". Perhaps they just mean that they are especially desirous to help the poor, and of course, this is something that is actually incumbent upon all Christians.

For this and other reasons Monk Preston has "coined a new term" which we prefer, our own term of Evangelical Monasticism to include or encompass all of these somewhat related (many newer) movements listed below. We ourselves would consider "New Monasticism" to be a part (a subset) of it. But we are more concerned with what we are, and with following God's Will for our lives, and not really with what we are called by others.

There are many separate "movements" all coming together in this---we do in fact consider ourselves to be a part of several current movements in Christianity: Evangelical Monastic Orders, The Prayer Movement, New Monasticism, Interest in Traditional Monasticism, Spiritual Disciplines, Hours of Prayer, Church Fathers, Celtic Christianity, Church History, World Evangelism.

What is God's view of us, and of what we are doing---now that is what really matters. For more thoughts on this subject see our webpage: Evangelical Monasticism.

12/7/08________________________________

Survey: How Found: Surfing the net.
Liked Best: The detail.
Born-again? No.
Visit Site: Less than weekly. Comments: It is excellent. (Somerset, England)

12/6/08________________________________

I agree whole heartily with the Statement of Faith as does my future wife. I also can and will do the Hours of Prayer. I was born again April 22nd 2001 (I am Quaker) and my fiancé (messianic) was in August/September of 2007. I am currently going through Seminary to become a Pastor and I try to remain active in the mission fields. I have long looked at and read over your site and with serious prayer I have decided to seek joining you. Feeling serious conviction about the distracted and luxurious life style in the west even among the poor like myself. Enthralled about the ability to join without having to remain single I have decided about contacting you.

Your brother in Christ,

Gary C.

12/2/08________________________________

The Lord led me here! Thank you so much for your faithfulness to what God has called you to do!
The Lord has been drawing me closer and closer to himself challenging me to walk with him in a deeper way.
I began a few months ago to sense the direction in which he was leading me, however, I was both intrigued and a little hesitant as I had seen no precedent of such a life for a married woman.

The Lord spoke to me of specific hours of prayer...to come apart from the world and to live as simply as possible while loving him and serving others. I began to see that this was a monastic form of living and yet I could find no current support of others (especially female) who lived such a life, while working, being married and having a family.

Having always been Protestant, I had no knowledge of some of these things which may be associated with a more Catholic upbringing or history.
This past Sunday we went. The first day of the Advent! The message was all about God calling us to change and it seemed as though He was confirming everything to us.

The next step, God led me (Lee) to your website...and there it was, everything as clear as it could be! Everything God had been speaking to me for the past few months all gelled. Everything that I believed, supported by the Word! I knew I already was a monk in my heart just as you describe.

I can't tell you what it meant to me to come home and find your letter waiting in my email! Your kindness and love expressed in the letter really overwhelmed and filled my heart with joy. Today was the first day I actually got to take my laptop to work and pray the lunch time hour as well (in my little cubicle!). I can't tell you how wonderful it was to know that my brothers and sisters were doing the same, no matter where we are dedicating that time to God. I get more excited each day, looking forward to the next prayer time to be alone with Jesus.

Your letter to me was so clear and laid out exactly your points of view and I so appreciated that. It was wonderful when I first came across the site and you recommended all the books that the Lord had had me studying for years as I journeyed with him. Many were books that if I mentioned them to others, they had no idea who I was talking about (i.e., Hudson, Nee, Bounds, etc.) I feel like you all are long lost family!

In conclusion, I would like to receive certification as a monk, not that I think I really need that so much (the title) as I feel I would like to be a member of the Order and part of the family (if that makes any sense). I will be studying any material you have made available that I haven't been aware of over the years. I will also check out the prayer chain info. as well.

Most importantly......I am praying for you all,
Your Sister in Christ,
Mrs. Lee B.

11/26/08_______________________________

You have all made me very happy today with this email (monthly E-Newsletter). I've missed you very much for a long time. Thank God you are back.

Jean (Tucson, Arizona)

11/25/08_______________________________

Dearest Monks Preston and Linda,

I Love You!

I just received my Newsletter! Thank You!!!!!!!!

I was praying and then had a bite to eat. I saw the Newsletter!

Praise to our most merciful God! My spirit is soaring!

I am renewed!

(I am praying also that we find the money to give to your efforts that help so many.) I am writing to you today to say that I am overjoyed that you have returned to the website.
Your absence stirred emotions of sadness inside of me. Truly you two were terribly missed.
I Love The Prayer Foundation ™ and what it stands for. But you two have brought so much into my life.
With the structure of prayer and reading and contemplation, we maintain our happiness at all times. We know that we have this connection to many who feel as we do. God Bless You.

Preferring nothing to the love of Christ,

Monk Elli (Colorado)

™ ____________________________________________________________

Next Previous Page of Letters (Page 82)

E-mail Your Comments to: monks@prayerfoundation.org

Next Comments Index