The Power of Prayer – Day 84

“I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom and that of all about me seemed insufficient for that day. – President Abraham Lincoln

I saw President Lincoln’s quote while sitting in a conference room waiting to fill out paperwork for a job that I had accepted and it struck me.  Prayer is so powerful.  You can do it anywhere and no one has to know you’re doing it.  Many times I have simply said a prayer under my breath and sometimes when people say pray for me, I’ve done that do too, right then and there.  I remember many times while we were at the hospital for my mom where we would gather around her bed, hold hands and everyone would pray in agreement.   We didn’t need to wait on a chaplain to get a prayer in.  On more than one occasion my son and I have prayed with one another to help us get through some tumultuous times as we’ve experienced my mother being in and out of the hospital for the last two years.

When my mom had this last stroke in July, we met with the doctors to discuss end-of-life choices.  Our family had decided to wait before making any rash decision.  Of course everyone was upset and emotions were high.  My son  grabbed me by the hand and we went to the chapel when things just got to be too much.  We sat there, just me and him and prayed.  So many times after I’ve prayed, I have felt something lift and other times I’ve felt drained but I know this for sure, prayer works.  My mom who was previously non-responsive, would come out of the coma and while her recovery is slow, she is still with us.  You can’t get enough of prayer and I should probably do more of it but I know God hears our prayers and He answers them.  Even if the answers are not always the ones we want, it is our trust in Him that should ultimately lead us to believe that His love would have Him choose nothing but the best for us and after all doesn’t He know best?

I think sometimes we forget the privilege of being able to simply talk to Him without fear of judgement.  Yes, He knows your heart but being able to get something off your chest does wonders for your heart.  Holding it inside versus having that private time with Him should not be underestimated.  There are times where I’ve just recited favorite scriptures during my prayer time.  I can’t say there’s a right or wrong way to pray but  I know it’s something we can’t live without so the best thing to do is just start and not worry about any rules.  Even if it feels like a one-way conversation, trust me He will answer you and talk back to you in ways you can’t even begin to imagine.  We just have to be open to how and when He does choose to talk to us, sometimes long after we gotten off our knees.

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