How many of us have stood in prayer circles, holding hands while sincerely seeking God?  I have.  What about standing in the middle while others have prayed for you?  Yep, me too.  Imagine my surprise when I began to search the scripture for references to prayer circles and found none – zero, zilch, nothing!  Digging a little deeper, prayer circles are actually a form of witch craft with pagan roots.  They are an occult practice which supposedly causes the energy in the body to form a chain.  Prayers circles are indeed another form of paganism that has made it’s way into God’s House.  God’s children who are sincere (as I, myself was) but sincerely wrong!  Before I go any farther with this subject, please don’t misunderstand, I am not talking about prayer meetings.  I am talking about the rituals man has placed on talking to God.  When the great day of Pentecost came in Acts 2:1 “they were all with one accord in one place.”, not in a circle holding hands.

The Bible tells us how to pray but we tend to like “our” way better; it seems more spiritual and holy – you know kind of like the Pharisee and the Publican in Luke 18:9-14.  “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:16.  We pray with confidence that we are given authority to come to the throne of God in full consciousness that it was the atoning Blood of Jesus Christ that made this meeting possible.  It is with this humility in the sight of God that He lifts us up (James 4:10), not because we are holding hands in a circle.

Many will say “God knows my heart” when it comes to prayer circles, easter bunnies and the like, but shouldn’t we be seeking HIS heart on the matter?  Look how long and how imbedded the easter bunny is in our Christian religion. Just because “we” have Christianized the easter bunny and other doctrines of demons and made them holy according to our standards, doesn’t mean we have successfully brought God’s bar of Holiness down to our level.  It simply means instead of “Chrislam” we have “Chrisaganism” (Christian with a dash of paganism).  What’s the difference?  Compromise with false doctrine is compromise…it doesn’t matter which false doctrine, they all have the same leader, satan.

In conclusion, I would like to revert back to my study on prayer circles.  As we know, Christianity is not a religion but a relationship; therefore, when in the presence of God, I do not want to hold your hand but I prefer to lift up my hands and pray to the Lord God Almighty.  I may even fall on my face in the presence of the Lord.  The Holy Spirit doesn’t require the holding of hands for “unity in the Spirit”, He is omnipresent and ministers directly to our heart.  What would you do if you were in the literal presence of God (because you are when in prayer), stand in a circle and hold my hand …or lift up holy hands and approach Him with boldness and humility?   “I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, …” 1 Timothy 4:8.  – Donna Warren