Sunday, January 6, 2008

Copyright 2006 Annette Bridges
Surveys have stated that millions of Americans pray regularly. And millions believe prayer can have a healing effect.
University medical school studies continue to test the medicinal power of prayer on recovery from illness or injury. And the findings remain varied and inconclusive. Consequently, newspaper headlines also tell an inconsistent story: "Prayer no help to sick" . . . "Prayer works as a cure" . . . "Prayer's effect on health called nil" . . . "Healing power of prayer revealed".
I suspect that no university study examining the influence of prayer on health would be considered definitive, even in the academic community. Therefore, the underlying question for me is why should scientists and physicians continue to test prayer?
Perhaps Christ Jesus knew the answer to such a question when he said, "Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe." Maybe the creators of these studies are unconsciously looking for "signs and wonders." The very fact that such studies are happening cannot help but admit to the possibility of "wonders", even if the motivation of some of them at the outset was to dispute such claims.
It's not unusual to doubt or question when one hears of healings reported as a result of prayer. Even one of Christ Jesus' closest disciples – Thomas – doubted that his Master could have been resurrected from death. But didn't Thomas want to believe?
So one might describe studies exploring and probing the effects of prayer as symbolically crying out like the father of a sick son who cried out to Jesus, "Lord I believe; Help thou mine unbelief."
I understand this hope-filled cry. My heart has sung that tune many times. Time and again I've caught glimpses of the omnipotence and allness of God and my inseparable relationship to God as His beloved daughter. I would be among the 41% of Americans who said they had been cured of illness or had their conditions significantly improve as a result of prayer. (Yankelovich Partners Survey 1999) Even still, moments of doubt, uncertainty and fear have brought me to my knees to reckon with my unbelief.
I can't imagine a formula for testing prayer that can be effectively implemented, analyzed, measured or evaluated. Surely, prayer is as uniquely spiritual and individual as the individual doing the praying. Lack of healing results in a medical study on prayer would never cause the faith-filled to stop praying.
We read in the Gospel according to St. Matthew of a lunacy case the disciples were unable to heal. Jesus responded, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me." Jesus healed him. But his disciples asked why they could not heal him to which Jesus answered, "Because of your unbelief…." Christ Jesus instructed, "And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive."
In her writings on prayer in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy wrote, "The Hebrew verb to believe means also to be firm or to be constant." She explains the Biblical injunction, "Believe…and thou shalt be saved!" as demanding "self-reliant trustworthiness, which includes spiritual understanding and confides all to God."
So why do I pray?
Because I believe Christ Jesus' words are a promise. A promise for all people in all times. And surely for all conditions and situations. I mean Jesus did say "And all things". I'm praying to understand more fully what this means.

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Annette Bridges is a freelance writer and lives in Tioga, Texas with her husband, John. Her B.A. degree is in Sociology with graduate studies in Early Childhood Education. Her goal is to offer a positive message and healing ideas in response to news, current events and life's occasions. Visit her website at http://www.annettebridges.com and send her an email at txfsm1@gte.net.


Leadership Musings (2)
You have permission to publish this article free of charge eitherelectronically or in print, as long as the bylines are included. A courtesycopy of your publication would be appreciated.Leadership Musings (2)As part of the evaluative sessions about famous leaders, my team ofleadership students and I reviewed a documentary on the life of Jesus. Aswas the case with previous reviews, the assessment was based solely on thesubjectÆs leadership skills, and not on who or what he represented. Theintention was not to praise or condemn this leader, but rather to review hisleadership style, his characteristics, and the determinants that occurredduring his emergence toward the great soul he became.Our concentration areas were:1. What correlation could be found between the leader, the followers,and the situation?2. What were this leaderÆs perceived positive qualities?3. What were this leaderÆs perceived negative qualities?4. What outstanding traits could be detected within this leader?According to the documentary reviewed, Jesus was from humble beginnings. Notthat this was an unknown factor, as the story of ChristÆs birth is one ofthe most famous worldwide. However, the authorities interviewed in thisprogram stated that, unlike in the famous Christmas story, Jesus wasprobably born in Nazareth, the hometown of his parents, Josef and Maria. Thesources claim that Jesus was presumably raised to become a carpenter, justlike his father. He was Josef and MariaÆs oldest, but not only child. He hadseveral siblings: at least 3 brothers and a few sisters.Little is known about the first half of JesusÆ life, except for the incidentin the synagogue at age 12, where he impressed the elders with hisintellect. In general, most of the sources assume that Jesus generally ledan ordinary life as member of an ordinary Jewish family. The sources alsoassert that he may have had some exposure to life outside his hometown atvarious occasions. These encounters may have planted the seed for hisroaming years later on.JesusÆ first experience with inspirational leadership may have been hisconfrontation with John the Baptist in the Jordan. If perceived from aleadership perspective, we can conclude that John the Baptist became JesusÆmentor, igniting within him the stimulation to become a transformational andmotivational leader. Whether as a follower of John, or individually, Jesusapparently interacted with a multitude of people after that. However, hiswhereabouts in this timeframe are mainly based on speculations. Fact of thematter is, that when Jesus returned to his hometown, Nazareth, his fellowcitizens did not appreciate the change he had undergone and even feltthreatened by the stranger he had become in their eyes.As usually happens with people who grow out of the proportions of the smallenvironment they were raised in, Jesus was soon chased out of his hometown,after which he started collecting followers on his journeys through othercities. This is where he made his name and fame: he held speeches insynagogues, was widely praised for his eloquence, wisdom, and healingpowers, and continued to gather crowds of devotees everywhere he went.One can question whether the miracles that Jesus performed during hislifetime, such as changing water into wine, walking on water, andresurrecting the deceased, were acts of mass hypnosis, mass suggestion, orreal miracles, but his popularity was undisputable.No wonder that he became a clear and present danger in the eyes of theassigned contemporaneous leaders. JesusÆ case is a clear illustration ofcommunity (unofficial) leadership versus assigned (official) leadership. Andas his influence grew, so did the fear of King Herod for being overruled bythis strange inspirational figure.So, what could we learn from Jesus as a leader?1. The correlation between Jesus and his followers was one ofinspiration. Most of his admirers were initially attracted to him by thestories of his supernatural powers, and they wanted to experience thesepowers, either for themselves or for their less fortunate loved ones. OnceJesusÆ name was established through word of mouth, the crowd kept onswelling. Like fans around a celebrity.2. Some of JesusÆ positive qualities were:a. The contents of his message, with non-violence, respect, andempathy as some of the highlights.b. His self-confidence: the first registered manifestation of thisquality was JesusÆ conversation with the elders in the temple at age 12. Hismany verbal explanations of being the Son of - and the only way to - God,may further serve as examples of his high self-perception.c. His capability to inspire: he gained followers wherever he went,and he must have been a charismatic person.d. His intelligence: he was never shy for words. On the contrary: healways managed to formulate answers that could be interpreted in multipleways.e. His determination: even when he realized after the murder of Johnthe Baptist that he might soon suffer the same fate, he continued hismission, and traveled back and forth to Jerusalem until he got arrested andkilled.f. His faith in his mission: He believed that everything happens asit is written, so it is no use to fight against it. One can rather do his orher utmost in executing whatever he or she believes in, for as long as oneis given the time to do so.g. His influence: He changed the lives and perspectives of many. Itturned out that JesusÆ legacy grew immensely after his death, while he hadhis share of opponents and ridiculers - like any leader û during his life.3. Some of JesusÆ negative qualities are:a. His emotional outbursts at times when he perceived injustice, suchas the temple market, which he fiercely condemned by smashing the tableswhere the trading was done.b. His stubbornness, which drove him forth long beyond the point ofcarelessness. He knew he ran the risk of getting killed, yet he firmlycontinued his mission. One can, of course, question whether this is really anegative quality, or just a positive quality stretched beyond itsboundaries. But risk-taking can be responsible or irresponsible. Jesus drovehis risk predilection to the point of no return.c. His over-confidence: he was uninhibited when it came tointellectual encounters.d. His unwillingness to compromise: Jesus simply did not accept anyother vision than the one he was proposing. That may seem like an "ItÆseither my way or the highway" mindset.4. Some of JesusÆ outstanding traits were:a. His physical flexibility, which enabled him to adapt to variousdifficult situations, such as the fasting in the wilderness for arespectable amount of weeks.b. His obvious energy: considering that traveling in those days mainlyhappened by foot or donkey, Jesus must have had a decent dosage of vibrancyto withstand this.c. His strong will: JesusÆ ability to rise above the mediocrity of anaverage life in an average town to become one of the greatest and mostinfluential leaders of all time proves this.The question remains whether Jesus, had he not taken the risk of beingassassinated, would have also risen to the immortality that he now enjoys.Of course his appearances after his death remain unexplainable, but, like somany other leaders after him, his legacy really skyrocketed after hispassing. Jesus of Nazareth has proven that leaders donÆt have to be born:they can be made.Joan Marques, Burbank, February 1, 2004---------------------------------------------------About the Author:Joan Marques, holds an MBA, is a doctoral candidate in OrganizationalLeadership, and a university instructor in Business and Management inBurbank, California. You may visit her web site at www.joanmarques.comJoan's manual "Feel Good About Yourself," a six part series to get you overthe bumps in life and onto success, can be purchased and downloaded at:http://www.non-books.com/FeelGoodSeries.html-----------------------------------------------------It is better to live in serene poverty than in hectic abundance. Everythinghas a price. The price for nurturing your soul is turning away fromexcessive stress, destruction of self-respect, and the constant strive inlifestyle with the Joneses. But itÆs worth it.[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]


Are You Tired, Yet?
Are You Tired, Yet?Are you tired of having more days at the end of the monththan money? Perhaps you've missed family time due to overtime ~just to make ends meet. Maybe, your credit card bills arerising, too. Only, Murphy's Laws go into effect about the timeyou'd intended to keep your word and pay on your debt. Supposeyou borrowed from Peter to pay Paul, then failed at keeping yourword to Peter, too. Exhausting creative ideas to your financialdilemma, the end of your rope could be near.Are you ready to give up and admit the solution is beyondyour control? That would be a really good place to start.Because then, we're ready to look higher for answers.Our enemy is the same one it always was. "The thief comethnot, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy" (John 10:10)and he can not be dealt with by earthly methods. That's why Godgave us 'how-to's', like this one.Owe no man any thing, but to love one another:for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.Romans 13:8Are we listening, really listening? Or, are we still in themode of learning everything the hard way? If you want theanswer, pay attention.Owe no man any thing ...Not if the car breaks down, the furnace goes out, or anythingelse goes wrong. God isn't kidding. Don't forget that He getsjealous. Your faith, for the remainder of your needs, is to beplaced in none other than Him. If you have a debt to pay, pay itfirst and don't make any more debts.But to love one another ...If another is left holding the bag (so to speak), likelyputting them in a financial bind because you didn't makepayment(s), you have multiplied your bondage and theirs. And,God cares about them, too. Thus, you have not really lovedanyone ~ not even yourself.For he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.In loving God, we will love others and only by loving otherscan we truly love ourselves. In following the above, you willhave fulfilled the requirement/met the provision for God'sblessings in overcoming financial bondage.And, once you set your path in this direction, you will beamazed and so blessed, step by step, at God's creative solutions.Your money will stretch further, you'll need less of it, and yourdebts will gradually become smaller. Then, once you experiencethe wonderful freedom of being debt free, you'll wonder how youcould have ever chosen any other way.Once we have nothing left to lose, we discover God's answerswork!® 2003 by Joyce C. Lock.................................................................About the Author:Joyce C. Lock is a published author, poet, and columnist.In addition, she founded and maintains the email ministries"Heavenly Inspirations"http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HeavenlyInspirations/ and"Share a Smile" http://groups.yahoo.com/group/smilesharing/ .Joyce's writings encourage us in our relationship with God andeach other.begin 666 Welcome.vcfM0D5'24XZ5D-!4D0-"E9%4E-)3TXZ,BXQ#0I..CM796QC;VUE#0I&3CI796QCM;VUE#0I.3U1%.T5.0T]$24Y'/5%53U1%1"U04DE.5$%"3$4Z:'1T