Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
As you read this, I will be in Kenya, W. Africa on a mission trip. It is an opportunity I cannot ignore. As the planning for the trip began, my husband was signed up and was the team leader. I told God it was okay with me if I didn't go. But God had other plans, because someone came to me to say "I believe you are supposed to go." How could I ignore that word someone else had received from God? By then, I was an alternate and could only go if someone dropped out. My prayer then was "Okay God, if You want me to go, You will work it out." Although I did not want someone to have to drop out, it did happen, and now I am going. All this is to say, the power of prayer is mighty when God wants us to do something. Not that I am always living in the perfect will of God, I know I make mistakes, but I continually strive to know and seek to be in the will of God.
It is my hope that my wanderings in this article will be an encouragement to all of you to continue in prayer! Scriptures are full of talk about prayer. Jesus took two friends with him and went to the Garden to pray. Jesus gave us an example to go by with what we call "The Lord's Prayer." Every day, God gives each of us the same treasure, no matter what our circumstances might be. That is the treasure of 24 hours each day to spend in living. God offers us the opportunity to choose how we spend our gift of life. Daily prayer opens us up for God's guidance in discovering our inner purpose. Daily prayer can become a way of life so we can sense that every breath we take can be prayer. The practice of prayer will draw us closer to God who seeks us in love. It is our special time with God.
As Oswald Chambers says, Prayer is an effort of our will. After we enter our own secret place, sometimes it is difficult for us to pray. We have those wandering thoughts and find it hard to get our minds to work. So we have to discipline our minds. Closing the door is to find our own secret place. This means close the door to our emotions and take the time to remember God, to talk just to God. This will help us to be rid of those doubts or fears that try to creep into our special prayer time. Just remember God does not see us as others see us or as we see ourselves. When we continue to seek God and live in our secret place, it will become impossible to doubt God, we will become more sure of God than of anything else. If we get in the habit of dealing with God about everything, we can let God into every waking moment of every day. Then we will recognize God's presence every moment of every day.
Let me share a prayer with you. "O God, you gave your Son, Jesus to save us, to show us how to pray. May we be like a 'spring of living water' as we commit ourselves to strengthen families, working together to heal the brokenness within ourselves, our families, our neighbors, our churches and our communities. May we share our love and help bring healing to all in Your family of God, to achieve 'the day acceptable to the Lord.' As we say 'Yes!' to where you lead, O God, we know we can count on you to minister to us in ways we never dreamed possible. Now let us walk together in faith to do your will, sustained by your strength and peace. In Jesus name we pray, Amen."
Grace, peace and love to all,
Carol Crumpton, Spiritual Director
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