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Our Father, who art in heaven, we recognize: That Thou art--art all holy and loving and merciful, and that we are the children of Thy care, and not the subservient, sinful and depraved creatures that our false teachers would have us believe.
That we are the greatest of Thy creations and the most wonderful of all Thy handiwork's, and that we are the objects of Thy great Soul's love and tenderest care.
That Thy will is that we become at one with Thee and partake of Thy great love which Thou hast bestowed upon us through Thy mercy and desire that we become, in truth, Thy children.
That Thou will open up our souls to the inflowing of Thy love, and that then will come Thy Holy Spirit to bring into our souls, this, Thy love in great abundance until our souls may be transformed into the very essence of Thyself; and that there may come to us faith--such faith as will cause us to realize that we are truly Thy children and that we are one with Thee in very substance and not in image only.
Let us have such faith as will cause us to know that Thou art our Father and the bestower of every good and perfect gift, and that only we, ourselves, can prevent Thy love changing us from the mortal to the immortal.
Let us never cease to realize that Thy love is waiting for each and all of us, and that when we come to Thee with faith and earnest aspirations, Thy love will never be withholden from us.
Keep us in the shadow of Thy love every hour and moment of our lives, and help us to overcome all temptations of the flesh and the influence of the powers of the evil ones who so constantly surround us and endeavor to turn our thoughts away from Thee to the pleasures and allurements of this world.
We thank Thee for Thy love and for the possibility of receiving it, and believe that Thou art our Father--the loving Father Who smiles upon us in our weakness, and is always ready to help us and take us to Thy arms of love.
We pray thus with all the earnestness and longings of our soul, and trusting in Thy love give Thee all the glory and honor and love that our finite souls can give.
Did you know that Jesus stopped preaching the gospel over 2,000 years ago? He was killed so he couldn't keep preaching the voice of God. The Bible can't preach the voice of God so it's impossible you can obey his gospel. I preach the same gospel as Jesus did so if you want, start obeying him. He can deliver you from all your sins and into the kingdom.
God wouldn't "rather" have anyone do anything. You are speaking of god as if god were some sort of person, with opinions, thoughts and preferences- which is as far removed from any sort of reality as can possibly be.
Below is a more realistic approach to what "god" is about:
With the exception of referring to god as "he" (and I acknowledge that the use of said word might just be for point of reference), I agree fully. Religion is man made. And any suppositions we humans have regarding god are COMPLETELY fabricated by us- period. LOVE and acceptance is the light and love of god, and irregardless (and sometimes BECAUSE) of one's adherence to the christian bible- that aspect is often overlooked. And it isn't anything that anyone "fabricated", such as the whole "OBEY god or else", nor the "you will go to HELL if you don't blah blah blah...". God just IS, and is all that is life and love, and if you understand and are truly a part of god- this is non-negotiable and completely obvious. One need not seek god externally and superficially in terms of *having* to have something like a book/bible as a means to live and think; such a thing should only be used as an extension of one's own self- not the end-all-be-all. And the same can be said for prayer/praying, and how to pray effectively, there needn't be any 'tools' or 'quotes' when one prays since prayer *should* be from the heart...
...I do happen to believe that prayer works. NOT because I believe in a god that is actually, physically "listening" to the mutterings of any of us- that's as absurd as Santa actually delivering presents to EVERY child in the world on Xmas. I believe in prayer because it is a manifestation of energy. And one's energy is oh-so VERY powerful and mighty; but only as mighty as the will, depth, and heart behind one's will. It's important to seek strength from within while accepting/yielding to that which is greater than you; for instance, asking for the inner strength required to tackle and deal with whatever issue is at hand- rather than asking said issue to just be removed. Doing the latter won't work, for what I think are obvious reasons, though no doubt some of you will disagree.
As well repeating/quoting prayers verbatim and/or citing bible quotes like a parrot is not only useless, it's trite. GOD doesn't care. because god CAN'T "care" and can't do anything but exist as part of you, me, and the light and life of the universe and all that exists within. Be careful not to separate yourself from that which you are; which, is, a splinter of god, as mighty and as important as each and one another. Love and allow love to find you, and do that which you know in your heart will ensure the aforementioned. Then you will likely understand HOW to pray, and how BEST to use your energies to where your "prayers" are answered.
Maybe God is fabricated by humans...
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