Recently, I was in a hospital waiting room and reluctantly picked up an issue of Guidepost Magazine. I very seldom read Guidepost because the long time publisher, Norman Vincent Peale, promotes heresy and diabolical religions. He has also denied the virgin birth and the necessity to be born again.
As I perused the magazine I landed on an article by Anna Gentile, a hospital chaplain. The article was about Guideposts and Gentile’s work with sick children. In the first paragraph she wrote:
“Put your hand on your chest,” I tell the young patients in the hospital where I work. “Can you feel your heartbeat?” They nod. “Now, with each beat, you can say, ‘I am, I am, I am.’” That prayer, addressed to the great “I Am,” is at the beginning of the journal in each Guideposts for Kids Comfort Kit I give out, and I can’t begin to tell you how much comfort it gives.” – Happy Birthday, Sparkle, Anna Gentile, Guideposts, July 2016
I believe that Christ is pleased when we care for and minister to little children whether they are sick or not. However, giving toys to sick children and teaching them to say “I am, I am, I am,” to God is spiritually equivalent to handing them poisoned candy. The practice smacks of Contemplative Prayer. During Contemplative Prayer the individual may count his or her breaths and chant a word or phrase. Continue reading
