Power of Prayer

Jesus taught his disciples how to pray -
Our Father, who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy Name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
[For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever.]
Amen.

Considering myself a disciple I find myself reciting the Lord's Prayer to myself a couple times a day. I don't really have any set practice of doing so. The mood or "need" just seems to strike me and I find myself in the midst of it.

I must say that it makes me feel stronger, fills me with warmth. It makes me feel closer to God.

Of course one or two other prayers make it into each of my days.

I was given a nice little knick-knack box and on top it says "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you." I see that every day and it fills me with strength and assurance.

I've been told that the Lord hears all prayers. Who am I to question that? I guess He does. There are a lot of things that I'm not meant to understand.

To me, prayers were always a way to get closer to God. Prayers were a bridge, they were a hand out-reached.

I'm not sure how God could hear all of our prayers from the many corners all around the world. I'll tell you He must have one really over-filled i-Phone, and a really big bill.

But I don't expect all of my prayers to be answered. Somehow I know that they are being heard. It is a connection for me, a living, breathing, every day connection to our God. That's all I need.

I don't feel right praying for myself. Oh I do pray for forgiveness. I do pray for times when I'm not even half the man that I should be in God's eyes. But I don't pray for my health, or for a flat-screen TV.

I pray for others, for all those who are so close to me and for those I will never know. I pray for those who know the Lord well and those who have never met Him. I pray for those who are suffering, starving, in-need.

Are all my prayers answered? No. But it doesn't matter. Prayer gives me that special connection to God. They say that communication is the cornerstone to a relationship. Prayer provides me with that special relationship which bonds my faith with the beyond.

It can be a complex issue to really look at deep in our hearts and souls. But Jesus did simplify it for us in the Lord's Prayer that we all recite today. The prayer that I have just recited to myself just now.