Spiritual Life

But I Can't Pray Aloud! - Pastoral Insights

pdfIconI have written this article because of the enormous guilt some Christians may feel about not being able to pray aloud off-the-cuff, and also because of the wrong pressures to do it that other Christians may unwittingly impose.
In some Christian circles folk do not even expect their leaders to be able to pray extempore; while in others it seems almost to be a requirement for Christian membership.
What follows will help you understand much more about praying off-the-cuff, and it will help your attitude to those whose experience of it differs from your own, whatever your present position.

A computer to some is an irrelevant mystery, to others it is nothing but a toy, but to the majority of those who have taken the time and effort to learn what it is really for it is probably an indispensable aid. We need similarly to learn about the purpose and nature of blessings and how to live with them if they are to be for us what God intends.
It is so sad that Christians often seem driven to confusion, doubt, despair and guilt - on account of God's blessing! Since I cannot believe that a genuine Christian blessing can be wrongly given then the fault must lie with us, and with our understanding of it and our expectations.

ANOINTING with Oil – in the Bible and Today

pdfIconThere are two main sorts of 'anointing':

  • spiritual anointing with God's Spirit and
  • physical anointing with oil.

I shall deal with them together because they often go together, and each throws light on the other. Both are of increasing interest among Christians today, especially among those who are rediscovering the importance of the Holy Spirit and/or those who want to deepen and enrich their expressions of the Church's Healing Ministry on Biblical principles. Don't jump ahead to find out what to do, because what Christian anointing means comes first. In other words the 'What?' comes before the 'How?'. We need first to outline the uses of oil in the Bible and the meaning of anointing.