TRADITION!?

tra·di·tion [truh-dish-uhn]

1. the handing down of statements, beliefs, legends, customs, information, etc., from generation to generation, esp. by word of mouth or by practice.

2. a long-established or inherited way of thinking or acting.

3. a continuing pattern of culture beliefs or practices.

4. a customary or characteristic method        or manner.

In the New Testament, the word tradition or traditions appears 11 times. Each time it appears, it is placed in a neutral or negative context.

My questions about tradition are simple: what traditions do we have in the Church that are neutral? Which traditions do we have that are negative? Are any good or redeemable? Are any spiritually deadly?

LEARNING ABOUT PRAYER

There is a quote on prayer from Quaker writer Richard J. Foster in his book "Celebration of Discipline," which says, simply:

"Real prayer is something that we learn."

He points out that the disciples - who ostensibly had been praying all their lives, came to Christ and asked the Master to school them in the art of prayer. He then recounts how he learned to pray at the feet of seasoned Christians, by reading the great prayers of the Scripture, and from delving into pages on prayer written by the great devotional writers of church history. 

My question to you is, what do you know about prayer that you could share with me as I seek to learn a deeper prayer life?