Prayer Corner

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The Prayer Corner

(or Pooh's Thoughtful Spot)

"And whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do,
that the Father may be glorified in the Son" John 14:13

I don't actually have a set place for prayer (and certainly not a whole room!) I find it really hard to make a special time for prayer, and tend to say little prayer-ettes through the day, but I do try & make sure we say Grace (a prayer of thanks for food) at every meal (if I know I have to face the Lord & say thanks to Him for everything I eat, it's one good reason not to sneak chocolate or snacks through the day! - but I have to confess, it's not foolproof!)

We’ve visited for a few days recently with friends at a community farm in Devon. The community, called Stentwood Farm, is part of an international religious group called The Twelve Tribes, whose beliefs and practices appear similar to Messianic Judaism.

This group seems to have grown up out of the hippie movement, and has from the beginning nurtured the Hebraic root of the faith of the early Church. It seems somehow remarkable to me, amazing even, that this group has so much in common with the Messianic movement: a love for Torah (they are slowly learning Torah-observance, including celebrating the Feasts, they take Jewish or Hebrew names when they convert, they learn Hebrew etc.) They call Jesus by his Hebrew name, which they transliterate Yahshua (rather than the more usual Yeshua or Y’shua), emphasizing the fact that the Messiah bears the set-apart name of God - Y-H-V-H, normally transcribed in English Bibles as 'Jehovah', though commonly accepted today as being closer to the pronounciation 'Yahweh'. They meet together every morning and evening for worship, which they call a “sacrifice of praise”, corresponding to the Ner Tamid evening and morning sacrifice, and the call to worship is made on the shofar (ram’s horn), they sing partly in Hebrew and do a kind of Israeli-style dance; they see themselves as wild olive shoots grafted in to the olive tree of Israel - all this without actually being plugged in or connected with the Messianic movement in any way. They also place a high value on modesty, and all the ladies covered for worship, while all the men grow their hair (in a similar way to orthodox Jewish boys) and beards. I felt right at home!

I have to say that I was really convicted by their depth of faith and commitment. They emphasize the community living of the early church as described in Acts 2:44 (perhaps over-emphasize?), as well as Yeshua’s call to his disciples to give all they own to the poor. This call is completely overlooked by most of wealthy western Christianity, but I was convicted just recently by his words when he said “if any man will follow me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me”. Those words are to any who would follow, so it’s difficult to see how the Church can push that one under the carpet and keep good conscience. I don’t think I’ve ever done that.

I’m aware that they have more than a smidgin of dodgy theology – one of their principle doctrines is “three eternal destinies” – the idea that you can firstly be saved by becoming righteous through Messiah, secondly reject righteousness entirely and be heading for eternal death, but then thirdly it is possible to be righteous apart from Messiah. For Christians, I think that this would be altogether too hard to stomach, but it seems to be genuinely grown out of a sincere understanding of scripture, and is also more in line with Jewish thought than the traditional heaven or hell teaching of Christianity.

Other things which disturb me slightly include very strict training of children and the fact that they completely dismiss all of Christianity as heretical, often in quite scathing terms, which would be fine up to a point, because I’m already convinced that the church fell away from its roots by the time of Constantine at the latest, but they seem to be saying that actually you can only be saved if you’re living in community and part of their movement. I couldn’t actually pin them down on that one – they didn’t say so in so many words, but that did seem to be the subtle or not-so-subtle message that was coming through.

My mum asked me if I thought it was a cult. Hmm. It’s difficult to say. What is the definition of a cult? I think from the point of view that you are free to come and go, my answer would have to be no. You can stay with them, live with them for as short a time or as long as you wish, and they won’t ask you for anything in return, except perhaps for you to muck in and help with the work around the house and farm. I have never met such genuinely kind, loving and generous people, not to mention happy! But if you wish to become an actual member, you need to make a Covenant with them, which is essentially for life, and at that point you would need to completely give up your old life, your wealth, your land and houses – just like the disciples of old. It’s a tall order.

Recommended Books

"What Happens When Women Pray" by Evelyn Christenson
I'm not terribly good at putting theory into practice, but I would warmly recommend this brilliant book on prayer. I produce préce-notes on the book. e-mail me if you would like a copy.

"The Power of a Praying Parent" by Stormie Omartian
Easy to read inspiration to pray for your children. There are some others in the same series which I haven't yet read, including "The Power of a Praying Wife".

If nothing else, I try & make a point of saying our prayers with the children first thing in the morning around breakfast time and, if possible, before we go to bed. I sometimes wish I did have some little quiet corner of my own, & I really like the Roman Catholic idea of a prayer mat or cushion, because I sometimes feel that I ought to take it a little more seriously (I have a very good e-friend who covers her head for prayer even in private), although I am confident that I may "boldy approach the eternal Throne of Grace" through Messiah whose sacrificial death alone makes access to the Father possible for sinners!

Take a look at some of my links:-

Take a look at my spiritual journey so far here * My Testimony *

You may like to look at my experience of churches here * Churches *

If you don't know what all this Messianic stuff is about, or you know about it but want some hard evidence, take a look at my Gospel page here:- * Gospel Page *

And here is a collection of useful info & links * Devotional Page *

I have started a family prayer request list on the * Refrigerator Door *

Please forgive me if anything I say suggests a 'holier-than-thou' attitude - let me know if it does! Constructive ('edifying') criticism is always welcome! Believers can so easily be drawn into a 'holier-than-thou' attitude, thinking that, because we might be being obedient in one area, we've already achieved "saint"-status, forgetting that we're really no more than sinners who believe & who've had the "slate wiped clean" (which in actual fact is all that the word "saint" really means!). Of course, once that slate has been wiped clean, we ought to be "reformed" - or perhaps more precisely - "reforming sinners", but I know I'm a long way off from "righteousness". Thankfully, God's wonderful, amazing 'Chesed' - Grace knows no bounds! He knows how weak and "human" we are, and He allows us to take "one step at a time". Praise Him! Baruch Hashem!

Take a look at * My view on Head-covering *

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