Praying in Public

I woke up yesterday morning thinking about prayer, specifically praying in public. I don't remember if I'd dreamed about it or if the Holy Spirit was just showing me something "out of the blue", but I can't get it off my mind now, so I have to share my thoughts/feelings. Please do the same!

The passage in the bible that came to mind was Matthew chapter 6:

1"Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.
2 "Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 
3But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
4so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
5"And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 
6But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
7"And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 
8Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.



I understand that this all comes down to our heart attitude, the motivation behind praying in public, but from the outside looking in, it just feels that all too often in today's world, people are turned away when someone prays in public rather than drawn to Christ. Now, I am not referring to any kind of religious gatherings, funerals, weddings, baby showers, etc., I am talking about regular prayer that is done in public, such as praying before you eat your meal at a restaurant.

Don't get me wrong, I do not intend to condemn anyone, just to get you to think and maybe question your own motives. As I was looking for a picture to go with this post, I came across this blog from a non-believer, and I tend to agree with her about how it is perceived. Here is what she wrote:

It’s a weird feeling when you are sitting in a restaurant, and the ppl at the next table suddenly join hands, bow their heads and start praying. It feels as if you’re participating in a very intimate moment with them. There is a secret ghost that they are praying to, and it could be hovering around us. I wonder if the praying ppl ever ask, why me? Why did god give me more than I need to survive, and across the ocean, a little boy’s stomach is distended from hunger?


Sometimes I turn and look the other way; sometimes I want to shout “Get a room!”

Unfortunately, I think she is right, and I think a lot of people feel the same way. Why is it necessary to bow our heads when we pray? Why do so many people hold hands around the table? Those things in and of themselves are not wrong -- it keeps kids from being distracted and giggling during group/family prayer, but it also attracts attention when we're in public.

So am I suggesting to just not pray? Certainly not! YHWH wants to hear our prayers! Do we HAVE to pray before every meal? No, I don't think so, but it doesn't hurt either.

So, what I have concluded for ME is that I will pray with my eyes open and my mouth closed, opposite of what most believers do. No one will know (when we're in public) that I am praying but me. I will teach my children to do the same and make sure they understand why.

Again, this is just something I have been meditating on, and I do not share this to condemn others, just to share what the Holy Spirit has shown me. I would love to hear your thoughts on this as well!

My personal testimony

I was a sinner (Rom. 3:23), I placed my faith in God who saved me through His grace (Eph. 2:8-9), and now I am dying to myself and living for Him daily (Luke 9:23)!

I do not really remember much of my life before I committed it to Christ at the age of 5. All you really need to know is that I was a sinner, just like everyone else in this world. I realized that I needed a Savior, not for "fire insurance", but because He loved me and wanted me to be with Him for all eternity, praising His name forever! (1 Peter 3:8-9)

I lived a pretty typical "good Christian" life and never got into big trouble with anyone. God definitely had His hand of protection on me concerning things of this world, such as drugs, sex, and anything that comes along with hanging around the wrong crowds (the influence of the world). Even though I saw these things in the Christian school I attended and in church youth groups as well, I recognized that it was not God's plan that was messed up but the heart of individuals who were not seeking His will. They were only seeking selfish desires. I was not immune to selfish desires, but mine were more along the lines of wanting to just hang out with friends regardless of other priorities, not taking care of my body as well as I should and things like that. Still bad. Still selfish. Still sin.

And I still struggle with these things. Not that they are "easier" to deal with now, but as an adult and as I have grown in Christ, I recognize the importance of putting selfish desires of any kind to rest and trust that God will take care of my wants if they are HIS desires. I have learned to pray that my desires become His desires, and it works!

The greatest time of growth for me personally has been in the last 3+ years. I met a family who holds weekly meetings in their home. I learned a lot about how the New Testament Church was structured, and I was faced with some biblical doctrine I had not ever heard before, or in some cases, had even argued against before. My first reaction was to run away, thinking it was false doctrine. I was challenged, and through trials come growth! James 1:2-4 says, "My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing." I have also learned to pray for wisdom, believing God will give it to me (James 1:5-6, the very next verses), and what a difference this truly makes!

So as I was challenged, I continued to ask God for wisdom. The teacher at these bible studies, the elder of this house church, taught in a way that made us look for the answers ourselves straight from God's word (2 Timothy 2:15). He asked questions and was constantly giving Scripture passages to look up, many of these things I had read over my whole life but never noticed before! After having been in church since the first Sunday after I was born, I honestly felt completely dumb every time I walked through the door of this house. But that was a good thing because I had become teachable!

After a few months, some concerned friends and family were getting to me. I started having doubts about whether these doctrines that were being taught were really biblical or if this was some kind of cult, as the average life-long denominational Christian seemed to believe. So I backed off for a while. I stopped meeting with this group of believers, but I was still challenged and still hungry for the word! Over the next couple of years I thought of this family and the others who attended quite often. I would occasionally call or email, but they had come to believe that I was like most other Christians and was not open to any more teaching. They thought I had gone back to the denomination and was no longer teachable.

Not so! Quite the contrary, actually. As I was continually challenged by family and friends, I only saw confirmation again and again that some of the doctrines I had held onto most of my life were indeed false! Instead of listening to the doctrines of men, I was now listening to the Word of God, and I could see much more clearly that so much of what I believed was wrong! And it was important to get it right!

As a result of me being challenged and growing through it all, I am now burdened to challenge others. I do not always come across well in written form, but I am overcome with love for God and for my Christian brothers and sisters, for everyone to get the doctrines of the bible right. God desires unity, so I do not believe it is okay to just "agree to disagree". (Eph. 4:3, Rom. 15:5-6, Phil. 2:2) 1 Cor. 10:10-13 says, "Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. 11 For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe’s household, that there are contentions among you. 12 Now I say this, that each of you says, “I am of Paul,” or “I am of Apollos,” or “I am of Cephas,” or “I am of Christ.” 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?" There is so much in the bible about being in unity. We are all part of one body, the body of Christ. I do not have all the right answers, but I definitely have better answers now than I did 3 years ago, because they come from the bible, not from denominational doctrine.

Through being challenged in a denominational church earlier this year, I have learned that by adopting a creed, a statement of faith, catechisms, etc. I was putting God in a box and did not feel the need or desire to learn outside of those things. I have also learned that if those things are truly based on Scripture, then I do not need to rely on man's own interpretation of Scripture....I have my own copy of God's word and the Holy Spirit to interpret for me! I think that is why there is so much division in the Church right now. Everyone wants to believe something different, and instead of just simply studying the bible together, they refer to a written outline, a man-made set of beliefs. No wonder there is so much confusion in the Church, and we know confusion does not come from God! (1 Cor. 14:33)

I pray that all who read this testimony of how God is working in my life will be challenged in their own walk, to seek the Truth of God's holy word and not rely on man-made doctrine. May God get the glory. For only He is worthy. I am merely a vessel used for His purpose, to give glory, honor and praise to the Creator of all things! It is my prayer that I will be used to show others how they can do the same. God bless!

Pray for this family!!!!

From this site:

Family of Irving 'Bud' Feldkamp, Owner of the Nation's Largest Privately Owned Abortion Chain, Dies in Montana Plane Crash

Contact: Gingi Edmonds, www.gingiedmonds.com, 559-772-7911

MEDIA ADVISORY, Mar. 24 /Christian Newswire/ -- Some of you may have seen the major news story of the private plane that crashed into a Montana cemetery, killing 7 children and 7 adults.

But what the news sources fail to mention is that the Catholic Holy Cross Cemetery owned by Resurrection Cemetery Association in Butte - contains a memorial for local residents to pray the rosary, at the 'Tomb of the Unborn'. This memorial, located a short distance west of the church, was erected as a dedication to all babies who have died because of abortion.

What else is the mainstream news not telling you? The family who died in the crash near the location of the abortion victim's memorial, is the family of Irving 'Bud' Feldkamp, owner of the largest for-profit abortion chain in the nation.

Family Planning Associates was purchased four years ago by Irving Moore "Bud" Feldkamp III, owner of Allcare and Hospitality Dental Associates and CEO of Glen Helen Raceway Park in San Bernardino. The 17 California Family Planning clinics perform more abortions in the state than any other abortion provider - Planned Parenthood included - and they perform abortions through the first five months of pregnancy.

Although Feldkamp is not an abortionist, he reaps profits of blood money from the tens of thousands of babies that are killed through abortions performed every year at the clinics he owns. His business in the abortion industry was what enabled him to afford the private plane that was carrying his family to their week-long vacation at The Yellowstone Club, a millionaires-only ski resort.

The plane went down on Sunday, killing two of Feldkamp's daughters, two sons-in-law and five grandchildren along with the pilot and four family friends. The plane, a single-engine turboprop flown by Bud Summerfield of Highland, crashed into the Catholic cemetery and burst into flames, only 500 ft. from its landing destination. All aboard were killed.

The cause of the crash is a mystery. The pilot, who was a former military flier who logged over 2,000 miles, gave no indication to air traffic controllers that the aircraft was experiencing difficulty when he asked to divert to an airport in Butte. Witnesses report that the plane suddenly nosedived toward the ground with no apparent signs of a struggle. There was neither a cockpit voice recorder nor a flight data recorder onboard, and no radar clues into the planes final moments because the Butte airport is not equipped with a radar facility. Some speculate that the crash was due to ice on the wings, but this particular plane model has been tested for icy weather and experts have stated that ice being the cause is unlikely.

In my time working for Survivors of the Abortion Holocaust, I helped organize and conduct a weekly campaign where youth activists stood outside of Feldkamp's mini-mansion in Redlands holding fetal development signs and raising community awareness regarding Feldkamp's dealings in child murder for profit. Every Thursday afternoon we called upon Bud and his wife Pam to repent, seek God's blessing and separate themselves from the practice of child killing.

We warned him, for his children's sake, to wash his hands of the innocent blood he assisted in spilling because, as Scripture warns, if "you did not hate bloodshed, bloodshed will pursue you". (Ezekiel 35:6)

A news source states that Bud Feldkamp visited the site of the crash with his wife and their two surviving children on Monday. As they stood near the twisted and charred debris talking with investigators, light snow fell on the tarps that covered the remains of their children.

I don't want to turn this tragic event into some creepy spiritual 'I told you so' moment, but I think of the time spent outside of Feldkamp's - Pam Feldkamp laughing at the fetal development signs, Bud Feldkamp trying not to make eye contact as he got into his car with a small child in tow - and I think of the haunting words, 'Think of your children.' I wonder if those words were haunting Feldkamp as well as he stood in the snow among the remains of loved ones, just feet from the 'Tomb of the Unborn'?

I only hope and pray that in the face of this tragedy, Feldkamp recognizes his need for repentance and reformation. I pray that God will use this unfortunate catastrophe to soften the hearts of Bud and Pam and that they will draw close to the Lord and wash their hands of the blood of thousands of innocent children, each as precious and irreplaceable as their own.

"I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Choose life, then." (Deut. 30:19)

Gingi Edmonds is a freelance pro-life activist, writer and photographer based out of Hanford, California. Gingi writes a bi-monthly ProLife Opinion Column and is available for pro-life presentations and speaking engagements. Visit www.gingiedmonds.com for more information.

Pray for this little baby!

This must be so hard for the parents! Lift up this little guy to the Lord!

(click on image)

Prayers please?

Have you ever had those days when you think you just can't take any more bad news or anything negative in your life?

Our whole year has been like that. Well, mostly the past 6 months. I just keep thinking, "God, how strong do You think I am? I can't possible bear any more burdens, and I have no more tears to cry!"

The good news is that God carries our burdens for us, and He walks us through the darkest times in our lives.

I have thought a lot lately about the poem called Footprints. I have loved that poem ever since I can remember.

"One night a man had a dream. He dreamed He was walking along the beach with the LORD. Across the sky flashed scenes from His life. For each scene He noticed two sets of footprints in the sand. One belonging to Him and the other to the LORD.

When the last scene of His life flashed before Him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand. He noticed that many times along the path of His life there was only one set of footprints. He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times of His life.

This really bothered Him and He questioned the LORD about it. LORD you said that once I decided to follow you, you'd walk with me all the way. But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life there is only one set of footprints. I don't understand why when I needed you most you would leave me.

The LORD replied, my precious, precious child, I Love you and I would never leave you! During your times of trial and suffering when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you."

But it is still hard. Please pray for us. It's been a very emotionally draining year.