Prayer By Thomas Keating, Contemplative Prayer

In Tan’s article, “The Use of Prayer and Scripture in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy” published by the Journal of Psychology and Theology in 2007, he discusses integrating prayer and scripture with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Tan uses examples of integration from real-life counseling sessions that he has been involved in, as a counselor. Tan’s article first discusses the usefulness of CBT and other behavioral techniques in counseling (Tan, 2007). Tan discusses very early in his article that CBT is as effective as antidepressant medications and is more effective that cognitive therapy alone according to a recent placebo study (Tan, 2007).

The third movement is from illusion to prayer. Nouwen (1986) indicated that most people live their lives in an illusion that they will never die. They believe that they hold the key to all that happens in their lives. They do not put God first in their lives and they do not realize that God is in control of every aspect of their lives. There are three essentials elements to a fulfilling prayer life; the Bible, silence, and spiritual guide (Nouwen, 1986). Reading the Bible, and being silence as we mediate on the word of God. We gain understanding through the power of the Holy Spirit. These spiritual references are able to help us work through the challenges we may encounter.

Prayer connects us to the heart of God and allows God to transform us. This book was not like another praying book I read that left me feeling guilty about my prayer life but it instead improved my prayer life. Major Themes: Learning to Pray like a Child

Prayer is an essential to any kind of religious faith. Over the years and years of believing in a higher power,

In this paper, I will review Charles Ryrie’s book The Holy Spirit. I will detail what I feel the book is about. I will emphasize various points given by the author that stood out to me. Finally, I will give my personal evaluation of the book.

According to the article Use of Prayer and Scripture in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, published in the Journal of Psychology and Christianity in 2007, Siang-Yang Tan talked about how prayer and scripture can be incorporated into the practice of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). Lately, in the field of CBT, there have been an increased on a suggestive awareness regarding a two-component model that involves self-regulation of attention in order to preserved on instant knowledge, centers on present circumstances, and implements an orientation to the acceptance of a person’s

In the poem “A Blessing” by James Wright written in 1963, self realization is the main theme. This poem was written to really embrace a connection with nature. The refreshing aspect nature brings to a human's life is calming and has a way of healing. The feelings that the two horses bring out in the man are overwhelming.

Each night, there is a point where the day falls to silence, a silence that encloses you in your own thoughts and reflections. For as long as I can remember, my dad always told me "that is when you pray." His words matched the ones of every Sunday school teacher, but their voices faded as my worries grew. It seemed there were some stresses a man on a cross could not eliminate. Bible stories where Jesus cures people from their pain and problems appeared no different from the storybooks I stopped reading years ago, unrealistic and improbable. I vacillated between the faith instilled in me and the plausibility of things occurring by chance, not by Christ. As each day came to a close, I struggled to thank a voiceless God for a day I wasn’t grateful

As a Christian counseling, I realize that I am an adjunct, specializing in a practice that is appropriately attached to and derived from the core practice, as it is legally defined (Clinton and Ohlschlager, p133). I also realize that I am more than a counselor; however, I have become a soul-care artisan, a disciple, a mentor, a spiritual director, and a guide into the deeper way of Christ (p132). Therefore, every Christian counseling session, I have encountered, has started with a prayer, to welcome God into the midst, as the Holy Spirit take the lead and guides what is said by me, as the counselor. As a Christian counselor, it is my hope that my knowledge of Spiritual formation reshapes the inner man, by being formed spiritually from the inside out, transforming from a selfish and carnal existence to a holy and joyful one; by one’s faith, as well as, the client’s faith, in God (Clinton and Ohlschlager, p130)

In the Third Meditation, Descartes forms a proof for the existence of God. He begins by laying down a foundation for what he claims to know and then offers an explanation for why he previously accepted various ideas but is no longer certain of them. Before he arrives at the concept of God, Descartes categorizes ideas and the possible sources that they originate from. He then distinguishes between the varying degrees of reality that an idea can possess, as well as the cause of an idea. Descartes proceeds to investigate the idea of an infinite being, or God, and how he came to acquire such an idea with more objective reality than he himself has. By ruling out the possibility of this idea being invented or adventitious, Descartes concludes

In (Matthew 6:6 NIV), Jesus explains the merits of praying to the lord God and the reward of inner peace, “But whenever 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.” It is through this conversation with God that Christians pursue peace in their lives. Prayer can either be private or communal, spontaneous prayer is one way that charismatic communities can come closer to God. The act of prayer allows believers to have a personal conversation with God; it alleviates stress attributed to the monotony of everyday life. Besides prayer, meditation is another way of attaining inner peace, it is an ancient practice within the Christian tradition, which has undertaken a recent revival, a global group that reaffirms the concept of praying and meditating for inner peace is Taizé. Not as popular as prayer and meditation, Lectio Divina, generally known as bible studies is a way for Christians to feel connected to God and to finally attain inner peace. The studying of the sacred scriptures on a day to day basis and reflecting on prayers also maintain a continual connection with God. It is vital to maintain equilibrium between prayer and service, whereby an individual fathoms the notion ‘ora et labora’, in order to equally partake in both prayer, and the concept of action whereby ora develops inner peace, which is mirrored through the

This article talks about Cognitive-Behavior therapy and using prayer and scripture appropriately, how to approach using biblical/ Christian values in therapy. The journal also talks about an historical overview of behavioral therapy, throughout the years. The commentary discusses the two component of mindfulness, in which the first component engages self-guidance concentration and the second component engages implementing a meticulous direction that is distinguish by interest. He discusses the eight main features of the Christian approach to

After reading Meditation one by Rene Descartes my mind started processing this information and understanding why do we doubt. One of the many reason has to do with seeking for the truth. Doubting is a process that many of us try to evade, especially because we are afraid of getting out of our comfort zone. Since the moment we born until now, whoever raise us influence our education and the way we do critical thinking. Even though we grab and learn information from our surroundings, we always tend to do what was thought. When we start doubting about something, we try to snap out of it, as quick as possible because we are afraid of that unknown world, were there is not answer.

Edward Taylor’s “Meditation Six” uses a coin-based conceit to explore the ambivalence of the persona; using the coin, Taylor describes his spiritual value to God in material terms. The first stanza reflects an uncertainty within Taylor about his worth to God. He equates himself to gold, asking if he is “thy gold” (1) or merely a vessel for God’s wealth—the congregation. The speaker worries he may only appear to be worthful to God, but he is worthless underneath and “brass in heart,” alluding to the Brazen Serpent of the Bible. Working through his ambivalence, the speaker compares the impression of the grace of God to the stamp on a coin, and he asks if God has left such an impression on him, stamping value onto worthless metal. Taylor writes that he is “a golden angel” in God’s hand, meaning he is valuable to God, which ends his ambivalence as he concludes that he is worthful as a man. In the final stanza, the speaker asks God to make his soul the plate, a blank coin, onto which God stamps value with his “superscription in a holy style” (16). The speaker then becomes a coin with value to God, part of God’s hoard, whereby Taylor acknowledges that he is one of many. A surrender ends the conceit and poem, the speaker asks if he may be an angel, period slang for an English coin, in God’s eyes and if God may be his Lord.

Joe Biden, the vice president of the USA from 2008-2016, once said that “Corruption is a cancer: a cancer that eats away at a citizen's faith in democracy… It wastes the talent of entire generations,” showing the way corruption can hinder the success of an individual (Corruption Quotes). Corruption, in any form, attacks those who are pure at heart, eventually causing them to never be the same. These effects are seen in war, especially war poems in the US during the mid-twentieth century, which tried to go against the romanticization of war. The poem, “Prayer Before Birth,” by Louis MacNeice, is about an unborn child and it’s feelings on the world it will soon be born into, this being a world in the midst of conflict. MacNeice shows readers