In ‘Prayer Dos and Don’ts’ America’s Best Christian, Mrs. Betty Bowers, provides tips to maximize your payoff when pestering invisible people for all the stuff you’re either too lazy or cheap to get for yourself! This video is an undated, rewritten, re-shot and reedited version of Betty’s video on prayer five years ago, and it’s only getting better!
There is a big, nasty controversy going on in YouTube over this video. Some think Betty is snarking and making fun of a certain religious group. If anyone is offended, I apologize in advance. Personally, I think we all do or have done some of these silly and thoughtless things, and when you think of it, what kind of Creator would insist that you hold your hands just so, kneel on the cold, hard floor, and say the magic word ‘Amen’ – after a quick after-thought for someone ‘else’ so as not to appear to be self-centered to the Lord, who knows well the grasping withered pit of greed, which beats where your heart should be…And what kind of Creator would deny your request if you missed one of the vital steps? Some people are well suited for religions in which a certain liturgy and predictable ceremony is performed each week. Perhaps the originators of this particular sect suffered from OCD? Just a thought.
Betty reviews the many ‘rules’ and ‘ shall nots’ of prayer, because we’ve apparently forgotten some of the big ones in this country. For instance – and this is a big one! Jesus says in Matthew 6:5-6 that we’re to go to our closet and pray, unlike those hypocrites who pray out in the open for all to see! I ask you, how are we to conduct a National Day of Prayer, or a political prayer breakfast in a closet?! Nobody knows who the good guys are with that silly plan!
I hope I haven’t begun to ‘spoil’ all of Betty’s words to the wise, but I will close with a comment Betty makes while viewing a photo of the after-affects of a major storm. On one of the few homes standing, the owner has painted a Thank You to God on their roof. According to Betty, this is a big ‘Shall Not.” Says Betty, “Never be vulgar and thank God for sparing you after a national disaster. It’s like sending a thank-you note to a serial killer for stabbing the family next door.”
There is the ring of truth, though it’s not wrapped in pretty paper!