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Back when I was in the Worldwide Church of God, our ministers told us that in order to pray the way God would hear you, you had to get down on your knees for one hour, following the outline of Matt 6:9-13. We were to have our own personal prayer notebook that we opened every morning, with everything written down, so we wouldn't forget anything. First, we were to confess our sins because, after all, God wouldn't hear one word we uttered unless we did this first. Then we were to tell God what we were thankful for. We could never be thankful enough for the "truth" they told us. Being called into His "true Church" was at the top of the list. Next, we were to pray for the worldwide Work, Herbert W. Armstrong, and then for each of the evangelists, ending with our local pastor, the elders, etc. (This came under the heading of "Thy Kingdom come.") Then we started praying for everybody else's needs (mostly those in the WCG). Lastly, we could squeeze in some requests for ourselves--if we weren't too tired by that time, or if it wasn't too "selfish." I even remember reading in the Good News that if we started to pray in bed before we went to sleep, we were to immediately "get out of bed and get down on the floor, because God does not hear sleepy-time prayers!" That stuck with me for a long time. No wonder when we leave the WCG we can find it hard to pray--especially on our knees on a daily basis. We can even find it hard to pray at all! By D. W. NOTE: If you know you are a Christian, but are finding it very hard to pray as you once did, just try talking to the Lord Jesus like you would talk to a close friend. You don't have to do anything ritualistic, such as getting down on your knees, praying according to the clock, or praying according to a formula. You can talk to Him when you go on a walk, or as you go about your daily chores. If it's even hard to do that, just ask Him to show you what He's like (His love, His mercy, His faithfulness, etc.) and tell Him how hard it, at this point, is to trust Him and that you really have doubts, but wish you didn't. If you are sincere, He will understand and accept that, and He will hear you. While, it may take a long time to feel close to Him after exiting these controlling groups, He will always be with you and He will help you if you ask Him. You may want to read: It's Hard to Get Close to God After Being in Philadelphia Church of God (also applicable for survivors of WCG) and Poems/Free Verse/Comfort in Music (comfort for survivors of abuse; no audio). Articles For Those Who Were Emotionally and Spiritually Abused Index for Personal Writings About the WCG Experience |
