Miko,

I was raised by a very Catholic dad and a very "Spiritual" mom so I understand a bit about the issues you're having. I was lucky enough to be immersed in biblical study as well as encouraged to question and be a free-thinker. I ultimately decided, for myself, that the many contradictions and unexplainable discrepancies in the Bible (due to mis-interpretations and mis-translations by Men, who, we can all agree on, are only human) were too great to have blind faith. And none of the human's I know are perfect. Plus, most of us are reading the bible in it's translated form from original Hebrew, of which to this day, many words and meanings are still disputed. I would recommend watching the movie Religulous by Bill Maher, which I'm sure any Christian person would say is blasphemous...but it definately brings to light some important questions.

I do believe in the power and place of prayer, and think the person praying should feel comfortable doing so. If you choose to be alone and pray, then do that and don't worry what anyone else thinks or ask for justification. Do what feels right for you always. I personally don't believe in rules.

All my best to you Miko!