Pray Them to Heaven

By Doris Gaines Rapp

Pray Them to Heaven. Some ask why God takes people from their loved ones so soon. I believe He takes no one but receives them when they arrive home. We feel helpless when a loved one dies who doesn't believe that the one God is their God, and Jesus is their savior. We grieve when we lose the loved one. If we are Christian, but our loved

• Language: English
• Publisher: Daniel's House Publishing
• Release date: May 4, 2021
• ISBN: 9781736511015

Doris Gaines Rapp

Doris Gaines Rapp, Ph.D., is an author, psychologist, educator, and speaker. Her books are loved by all those who read them. Doris enjoys painting and drawing, including the covers of three of her books and the interior pages of one. She has spoken before many groups, has sung for many others, and has written songs she shares. Rapp continues to be fascinated with the many ancestors she has found through DNA testing. Their names aren't enough, however. She has started researching all she can find, starting with her 7th Great-grandfather, John Gowen. While still a full-time psychologist, Doris directed Taylor University and Bethel University's Counseling Centers. She has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in psychology at local universities. Rapp taught a graduate course in Counseling at the Caribbean Graduate School of Theology in Kingston, Jamaica.Doris and her husband, Bill, reared six children. Now that they are grown, Doris and Bill enjoy their small-town life. She loves the stories that come to her, and Bill still serves as a pastor and Chaplin. Dr. Rapp's desire for all of you - "I hope you live all of your life."

Book preview

Pray Them to Heaven

Doris Gaines Rapp, Ph.D.

Pray Them to Heaven

Doris Gaines Rapp, Ph.D.

Huntington, Indiana

Copyright 2021 Doris Gaines Rapp

Daniel’s House Publishing

Huntington, Indiana 46750

www.dorisgainesrapp.com https://praythemtoheaven.blogspot.com

contact: [e-mail]

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author, except a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.

The Cover design is stock imagery from

Dreamstime.com. Illustration 78301126                                                © Unholyvault | Dreamstime.com

Put in place by @Debi Lindhorst/The Type Galley.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021906039

ISBN-13: 978-1-7365110-0-8 (paperback)

ISBN-13: 978-1-7365110-1-5 (eBook)

Table of Contents

Chapter

1      God Receives Them

2      Prayers for Others

3      Light Your Lamp

4      The Prayer We Know

5      The Lord’s Prayer

6      A Prayer for the Non-

believer

7      Family

8      Other Beliefs

9      The Visit

10      Life Can Move Fast

12      He Laid it on My Heart

13      The Process

14      Pray them to Heaven

References

About the Author

Dedicated to all those who grieve.

Grieve no more.

One

God Receives Them

Some ask why God takes people from their loved ones so soon. I believe He takes no one but receives them when they arrive.

Still, we feel helpless. We think we must be in control of everything, but we can’t stop our friend or loved one from dying. So, it has to be someone’s fault. And . . . we blame God.

We live in such divisive times we blame everyone else for everything else. Those others may be those of a different political party or philosophy, a different race, different religion, different sex, different . . .. You get the idea; they are different.

Families have shunned family members who don’t believe as they do. I can’t have them around. I don’t agree with them.

As Christians, when those others are nearing death, some believers begin to panic. They fear they may not see their loved ones in Heaven because they didn’t have the same beliefs here on earth.

Believing we have Heaven figured out, we grieve. Whether you’re grieving over the death of someone you hold dear, you’re a clergy member, counselor, hospice worker,

or the always-ready-to-listen-friend

people call when they’re in pain, I’m sure many of you are familiar with the accusations people throw at God.

As a psychotherapist, I heard people blame God for everything in their lives that isn’t perfect.

Who said the things of this world are supposed to be perfect? In Luke 18:19, Jesus said, Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. And nowhere on earth is perfect. Only Heaven is perfect.

Some believe that God should be their genie-in-a-jug. All we should have to do is rub the magic bottle and God should grant our every wish. Instead, He sits up there in Heaven and waits until we’re happy, then takes our loved one away from us. When grief hits, we have nowhere to turn.

A few months ago, I thought

there was nothing I could do when April, our daughter-in-law, was dying. She hadn’t accepted Jesus, the son of God, as her Savior.

No—April followed the Pagan religion of Wicca, Pagan Witchcraft. So, I feared she would pass out of this world without knowing the wonderful love of our Savior, and the redemptive power of His saving grace. April was rapidly slipping away and I feared I wouldn’t see her in Heaven.

To a Wiccan, the afterlife is in the Summerland. Wiccans believe they have many reincarnations. After their last incarnation, their highest level of an afterlife is Nirvana. As the Bible teaches