PRAYER - THE MOST POTENT INSTRUMENT OF ACTION

----------------------
NUDGE NOTE #8,  2014

As we are now in the season of Lent, each in our individual ways we engage in prayer (along with other traditional observances of the Holy Week) as each day is ticked off by the Lenten Clock. Mr. Quote Man sent to my inbox this tiny lovely quote by Mahatma Gandhi,

to quote:

'The sky may be overcast today with clouds, but a fervent prayer to God  is enough to dispel them.  Prayer is not idle amusement. Properly understood and applied,  it is the most potent instrument of action.'

Unquote.

Allow me my thoughts this fine morning.....

We all stand connected and nothing describes that connection so well as in friendship. But sadly we can't be there up close every time it's needed that we be there for someone. Life with all its drama puts down reasons sometimes we can't avoid nor understand.

Mom, bless her soul, made sure that I understood that line very well since the day I began to learn my ABC's .... that prayer is 'the most potent instrument of action'.

Believe me, when God sees you as inclined to prayer He sends the reason for a prayer. One need not look far but right where you are can be found a person, a stranger or a friend, who might be needing a tiny prayer or two to get through the day or life.

Basically, we're all the same. We eat problems for breakfast. It may differ in size, shape, color, intensity, flavor, degree, difference or reason but all the same in its job of challenging the heart, mind, body, and soul. We deal with it in many various and diverse ways too ... bare and open to the world or quietly behind the four walls of our homes or in the silent corners of our hearts. And the one lingering thought is too the same.... a wish for help. But no matter our perceived strength sometimes God dishes the ego with one clean sweep. For a very wise purpose.

Let us be generous with prayer. There is always a reason for prayer. Because at some point in our crazy lives we will be sent that reason for a prayer or to pray. But God teaches us this singular potent instrument as our pillar of strength ... A powerful tool to use generously, freely, compassionately. Prayer.

Let us twixt a familiar cliche a bit this way....... Life is tough BUT prayerful people are tougher.

God bless you with faith, strength, peace, joy and everything good for you to enjoy this wonderful God-sent gift of TODAY.

(Thanks, Mr. Quote Man, for the quote and the internet for the lovely images.)

I HAVE LEARNED THAT..... (PART 3)

“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.