Looking into the history of Halloween, we find it to be filled with pagan customs—masquerading as Christian traditions. Christianity and true Christians do not endorse or embrace this pagan holiday. It started with the ancient Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago, in what is now known as Ireland, Great Britain and Northern France. The Celts were pagan nature worshippers who had many gods, including the sun. These Celts believed that the sun and many gods governed and controlled their work, prosperity and rest time. They believed the sun controlled the earth and kept it beautiful, and caused their crops to grow. The Celts observed the New Year on November 1, which marked the end of summer, the season of sun and harvest, followed by dark winter, the beginning of the season of cold and darkness.

            From October 31 to November 2, the Celts celebrated a 48 hour ritual, the Vigil of Samhain –being pronounced “sow-in.” The Celts believed that Samhain, “the pagan lord of the dead,” assembled the souls of those who had died during the previous year, and were now deciding in what form they wanted to be for the next year.

They also believed, these souls would either pass on to human bodies or would live within the animals; being the most evil souls or spirits. The most evil of the bad souls, would take the form of cats, [black cats being on top of the list].

            So, for the sake of their safety and their well-being, they put outside of their homes sweets, meat, vegetables, eggs, even honey and wine, so the evil spirits would consume them on their way back to the netherworld. [ the world of the dead; the underworld].

They thought failing to “treat “ these evil spirits might result in a curse to be put on the home or an individual. They literally believed that. So they thought, when these evil spirits came to your door, unless you “treated” them, they would “trick “ you!

This is the true origin of “Trick-or-Treat.” Do you still want to take your kids “Trick-or-Treating?”

            How sad, Americans spend $ 2.5 Billion on Halloween each year.  Halloween, is the second largest holiday in the United States, after Christmas, and it is catching up so fast…soon to become number one! Now that you know the true origin of Halloween, do you still think it is harmless fun? You might ask, why is it drawing so much attention then? THREE REASONS:

 1-     FOOD & FUN: Hearing, “ Trick or Treat,” from children, the three words bring back the childhood memories to most adults and they just cannot resist. Add to the sweets, the memories of masquerading as monsters, ghosts, witches, and fairies many adults give-in. The memories of going door-to-door , yelling “Trick-or-Treat,” watching their bags fill up with all sorts of fruits and nuts, candies and other goodies, obviously brings back child-like memories to anybody’s mind. What about those spooky costumes, tricks and colorful parades? It all looks like clean and innocent fun.

2-     MONEY & MOTIVE: It is not by accident that some stores start displaying Halloween costumes around the later part of August. The motive obviously is, to build up excitement and anticipation, and in turn building up their bank accounts. It is obvious that those daily casual costumes, before October 30^th will return and contribute $ 2.5 Billion to such a Satanic cause.

3-     SATAN & SAMHAIN ( lord of the Dead). What about the so-called, Samhain, the lord of the Dead? The Bible reveals to us who he is. In Hebrews 2:14, we find that he is a defeated foe, and the Lord Jesus had destroyed him. “ …that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil.” Those who celebrate Halloween, thinking they are serving God, are deceived into worshipping the god of this world, Satan, who is the father of lies and religious deception.  See also: Galatians 4:8; Revelation 12:9; 2 Corinthians 4:4; and John 8:44. Satan may have had power over death at one time, but he has no power any longer, for we read in 1 Corinthians 15:55 the Apostle Paul states that, “ O DEATH, WHERE IS THY STING? O GRAVE, WHERE IS THY VICTORY?”

WHY SOME BELIEVERS ARE GETTING MIXED UP WITH THIS?

      The fact is that, a long time ago, the believers decided to celebrate what was known as “All Saints Day,” on November 1^st  of every year. It was a special day to commemorate those saints of God who gave their lives to help others. In turn these believers wanted to reach out and help the other believers in dire need—in the name of those saints who had given their lives serving the Lord. The evening before this very important day of November 1^st, was called a hallowed or holy evening-somewhat, a little like Christmas eve. During this, hallowed holy evening (Hallowe’en), the poor could go to the homes of those well to do, and who loved Jesus to ask for food.

Now you see how closely Satan has duplicated, just the day before, on October 31 Satan has come with his own plan to promote his wicked work.

NO TRICKS,…NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH:

LET’S COMPARE:

1-      Now, the Trick or Treat that the world offers you tells you, the devil tells you it is no fun, because you have no weird costumes on. The devil also tells you, you just are too young to follow Jesus now, you need to have fun. Jesus Himself knew about Satan’s Tricks. In John 10:10 He said this, “ The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I Am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”

2-     The devil says,  you need to make up your own mind, and need to be an adult before you receive Christ. The Bible says Jesus loved children and He wanted them to come to Him. said in Luke 18:16 “…Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.”  See also: Matthew 18:2-3;  2 Corinthians 6:2 .

3-     The devil says, it is a free country, you need to live the way you want to live. The Bible says the way you live, not only effects you, it also effects people around you, especially your parents. The Bible says, you need to live in order to please God ( Galatians 6:7, 8 ).

4-     The devil says, there is only one life, so get all you can before you die. The Bible says there is a life eternal, and this eternal life is received through the Lord Jesus (Romans 6:23; John 3:16-17).

5-     Now, DO YOU STILL WANT TO TRUST WHAT A PUMPKINHEAD COULD OFFER YOU, OR DO YOU WANT TO TRUST IN JESUS AND THE TRUTH HE IS OFFERING YOU?

6-     Now here is how you could pray to receive Jesus Christ.

a) Lord Jesus I know I am a sinner. b) I know that no man could pay for my sins, for all men born of Adam are sinful (Roms 5:12). C) I know you came and died on the Cross for me to pay for my sins. So I put my trust in you to forgive my sins and to receive eternal life. Amen!

Several important matters must be considered in order to have a good, live prayer meeting. Of course the all-important thing is the presence of the Spirit of God, without whom no spiritual blessing can come. But there are certain things on the human side that help or hinder success.

First of all, the physical conditions. I do not believe even the angel Gabriel could infuse life into a meeting that is held in a dull, close room. Let there be plenty of fresh air. Make the room bright and cheerful, and there will be little chance of people falling asleep.

The meeting should begin and end promptly on time. Announcement should be made on Sunday, and a cordial invitation given to everybody to attend. If the prayer meeting is held in contempt, it is useless to expect a blessing there. I know some churches where they look forward to it more if anything than to the Sabbath services.

It is a good plan to allow about a quarter of an hour at the beginning for singing, another quarter for the leader to read Scripture and introduce the subject of the evening, another quarter hour for prayer and testimony, and the remainder of the hour for special prayer. But I do not suggest this as a permanent division of the time. Avoid falling into ruts of any kind. If some leading minister can attend, let him occupy the whole time; and introduce variety in other ways.

The music should not be neglected. Paul says, “In everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God.” I take it that thanksgiving and praise can best find expression in songs in which all can join. It is therefore important to have an active, earnest leader of the singing, who is able to read the pulse of the meeting, and by striking up suitable and familiar hymns bridge over a pause, if need be.

A Good Leader

The success of the meeting depends largely on the leader. If he is full of life and of the Spirit, the audience will catch his enthusiasm; but a cold, listless manner throws a wet blanket over the proceedings.

He should be there ten minutes before the meeting begins, in order to see that everything is in good order, and he should come prepared to lead. If there is one thing that will kill a meeting sooner than another, it is to have the leader stand up and state that he has not come prepared. If a subject has been announced, it is his duty to study it so that he can introduce it intelligently. If he is not limited to any special subject, let him introduce one that appeals to the hearts of the people, and that they can speak upon without special preparation. When I was in charge of a work in Chicago, I used to say, “I am going to take up the Good Shepherd (or some such topic) tonight,” and then got friends to quote texts or make remarks on that subject. Let the leader set an example by being short and to the point in his opening remarks.

As at all other services, I believe the best thing to do is to feed the people with Scripture. Why is it we have so much backsliding, so little growth in grace? Because of the lack of food for the soul. If one neglects the Bible, his soul becomes starved and easily stumbles. “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the Word, that ye may grow thereby.” The more men love the Scriptures, the firmer will be their faith. And if they feed on the Word, it will be easy for them to speak; for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

Like everything else, the plan of announcing a topic beforehand can be abused. The objection is raised that in many meetings persons get together, have one or two prayers, and discuss a topic. There is no need to pervert the meeting in this way. Let there be full liberty to all to tell their joys and sorrows, and give their testimony along any line.

A Good Following

The success of the meeting must also depend largely on the audience. The leader is not a Goliath, to go forth alone. Of all church services, the prayer meeting is the one specially intended for church-members to take part in, and the subject should be such as to draw them out. The leader should try to bring in fresh voices, even if he has to hunt them up before-hand.

The members should come to the meeting in the spirit of prayer. It ought to be on their hearts from week to week, so that they are thinking about it and praying about it. If a spirit of unity prevails, such as we read of in the case of those early Christians who “all continued with one accord in prayer and supplications,” blessing will surely follow.

I have no sympathy with the excuse that people have not time to attend. Of course there are certain ones whose circumstances or duties keep them away; but with many the excuse is due to sheer carelessness or indifference. Daniel was a busy man. He was set over the princes of a hundred and twenty provinces. Yet he found time to retire to his chamber three times a day to pray and give thanks before his God.

When the meeting is thrown open, friends should be brief and pointed in their remarks. We are not heard for our much speaking. Bible prayers are nearly all short. Christ’s prayers in public were short. When he was alone with God, it was a different thing, and he could spend whole nights in communion. Solomon’s prayer at the dedication of the temple is one of the longest recorded, and yet it takes only six or eight minutes in delivery. “Lord, help me”; “Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom”; “Lord, save us; we perish”— such are the prayers that never failed to bring an answer. The prayer that our Saviour left his disciples is a model in its brevity, its recognition of God and desire for the glory of his Kingdom, its sense of dependence upon him for daily needs and for deliverance from the guilt and power of sin.

Be Definite

Beware of vagueness. It is a sure sign that the prayer is heartless and formal. Beware of praying about everything that can possibly be touched upon. Leave something for those who follow to pray about. Beware of falling into ruts. Dr. Talmage says that if we were progressing in our Christian life, old prayers would be as inappropriate for us as the hats and shoes and clothes of ten year ago. Mr. Spurgeon said that some men’s prayers are like a restaurant bill of fare— ditto, ditto, ditto.

I believe in definite prayer. Abraham prayed for Sodom. Moses interceded for the children of Israel. How often our prayers go all around the world, without real definite asking for anything! And often, when we do ask, we don’t expect anything. Many people would be surprised if God did answer their prayers.

As it is the members’ prayer meeting, special prayer should be offered on behalf of the church in all its varied activities, the pastor and all in authority. Other subjects for special prayer are the sick and sorrowing, the unconverted, and the services of the coming Sabbath.

Before the meeting is closed, an opportunity might be given for the unconverted (if there are any present) to make a confession or rise for prayer. I have one church in mind where they have conversions right along at the prayer meeting. Some testimony, some personal experience of God’s grace and blessing, will often convince a man where sermon and argument fail.

The greatest need of the church today is more of the presence and power of the Spirit of God. O that Christians were roused to greater earnestness and importunity in prayer! I believe that the greatest revival the church has ever seen would result. God help us, each one, to be faithful in doing our share.

From “Golden Counsels” by D.L. Moody