“I have learned that I can always pray for someone when I don’t have the strength to help him in some other way.” --a friend
When talking with people online I have learned to keep my heart open to signals for help. Well, I have found out that the hurt, pain, issue, concern or whatever else it’s called which a person goes through in life manages to slip out in the chat or conversation. Even his silence can be telling.
Yet I also know my limitations. No matter how much I want to help sometimes I can’t because I don’t have the ready answers to it in my hands. I’m not superwoman or a fairy godmother or some deity who has the solution easily turning woes to joys – and no human being is. Not right to pretend at it either – not good to give out false hopes. And maybe I’d be tempted to simply disappear from the chat and blame it on the ‘failed’ internet connection the next time we meet. Often though I find that neither is my strength sufficient for such a deep need. I may be just like the other person frail and weak; I know I am.
But then I can’t let the moment pass without trying to help ease someone’s burden when the moment calls for it. It’s something Mom was very good at with friends and strangers alike in her time. She never turned her back on a hurting heart. Maybe I am unable to give concrete solutions but I stay and listen. It tugs right at my heartstrings I guess just like Mom.
Yet my human limitations are not a drawback in helping people I now understand. There is something that I can do that transcends everything else. I can --- PRAY.
I can pray and pray I will. I don’t need a church to do that nor a prayer book nor some grand manifestation or external trappings of ‘feigned holiness’ which admittedly is often seen around us unfortunately. Just like this lady I saw in a passenger jeep with closed eyes and fingers on her rosary supposedly ‘praying’. Ten minutes later, her fingers were still on the same bead unmoving! -- Quite amusing indeed. Several days after in another jeep I saw this old woman with her rosary -- finishing ten Hail Mary beads before she got off for her stop. That was something. Just an observation. Not saying that one is better than the other -- I can't read minds nor intent. We each have our ways in pursuing piety or religion. That is not the issue here.
You and I can pray for anyone where we are at with what we have in the silence of our souls – with nobody knowing at all. It’s called the ‘heart prayer’. It’s accurate, foolproof, speedy, and effective because it travels from heart to heart --- from your heart to God’s heart. Straight, direct, no jammed lines or messed up signals. And you’re sure to catch His attention because you know what --- He always keeps tuned-in to --- hearts.
So then when you find yourself saying to someone ‘I’ll pray for you’ --- do it please. You’ll be doing the very best you can do for that person.
Hi Ellen,
ReplyDeleteYou blogged about prayer; here i am cursing and praying for the murderers! If anybody asks me the theological twists of cursing, at least i have a wall to lean on- they could consult the Psalmist, hehe. Your post on prayer is really to the point - no facades, no photoshopped posture. Lovely writing i should say. Blessings roundabout you and your family my friend...
God's seeming silence to the evils of our times does not have to mean He does not care. He will certainly handle that (His way in His time) ... but He is also wishing for good to overcome ---in whatever arena He has chosen to bring it to through His children.
ReplyDeleteEvil shall be dealth with in full measure as it deserves in God's hands. On the other hand, evil will in a strange way lead men to unleash the good from within themselves. On one end, evil will destroy lives. At the other end, evil will give rise to men of new strength, new courage, and new faith. It will build lives. By God's design. God sees both ends of that spectrum.
:-) I have two friends who look at the color red in two different ways -- Peter says red is life (hope, optimism); Anthony says red is danger (negative fear). We all gaze at the same things or maybe different things in diverse ways, don't we? We see the world with the things we bring into this life.
Evil, like the color red, can be both a (hidden) blessing and a bane. So what is it that God wants us to do according to His will?
You are a prayerful man -- such is closest to God's heart. Blessings to you, dear friend.
hi ELLEN!
ReplyDelete'I’m not superwoman or a fairy godmother or some deity who has the solution easily turning woes to joys – and no human being is.' and thought otherwise that u have all the answers...
but let me tell u, i do find all my answers from ur inspiring posts... i do read between the lines too...
u such a dear human being...
GOD bless my dear friend!
Amit, that is such a dear thing to say and you don't know how much it has touched my heart so.
ReplyDeleteMy dear friend, things of wisdom are only appreciated by those who search for it. Because there are some who simply let wisdom or the opportunity to gain wisdom to pass them by ignored or unnoticed. But not you. I further encourage you to learn all you can from life, from your elders, from your peers, from people who have much knowledge and wisdom to share. Learn for yourself and more to pass it on to others too.
Thanks for dropping by. Finally found the time huh? lol :-) Do pls extend my best regards to your family. May God bless you all.