Global Prayer Digest focuses this month on the Indian subcontinent.
In this month's details they post a fascinating article on the Ganges River and its significance to the peoples of India. Here is a sample from that page.
In many religious traditions, there is a special river that symbolically washes away impurities and sins. In ancient Persia, there was the Tigris and the Euphrates, and in Egypt, it was the Nile. When it comes to the Ganges River, Hindus probably outdo them all. Some believe that life is incomplete without taking a holy dip, or bath, in the Ganges. One Hindu pilgrim told a BBC News reporter that, "I am here to wash away my sins-the sins I accumulated in my life so that I can die as a pious soul." (Jan. 15, 2007, BBC News). Many Hindu families keep a vial of Ganges water in their homes. This gives the family prestige. If anyone is dying in the home, they can drink from this vial of water. They believe that act will either cure them or cleanse their souls of all past sins. Sadly, the water is so badly polluted that it most likely speeds their death.
In many religious traditions, there is a special river that symbolically washes away impurities and sins. In ancient Persia, there was the Tigris and the Euphrates, and in Egypt, it was the Nile. When it comes to the Ganges River, Hindus probably outdo them all. Some believe that life is incomplete without taking a holy dip, or bath, in the Ganges. One Hindu pilgrim told a BBC News reporter that, "I am here to wash away my sins-the sins I accumulated in my life so that I can die as a pious soul." (Jan. 15, 2007, BBC News). Many Hindu families keep a vial of Ganges water in their homes. This gives the family prestige. If anyone is dying in the home, they can drink from this vial of water. They believe that act will either cure them or cleanse their souls of all past sins. Sadly, the water is so badly polluted that it most likely speeds their death.
Will you join me in praying this month for spiritual breakthroughs for the glory of God and the fame of the Name in India?
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