Believe: The power of prayer

Yes…the answer to a prayer sometimes comes in disguise, but it always comes. And when it comes, we must learn to acknowledge it and be grateful. It is easy to remember God when we are going through a hardship; then we approach Him and intensely ask for help. But when things are good, we tend to forget to thank Him. Oftentimes we forget that gratefulness is important, and we end up not giving the glory and praise that is due to God. To remember to say thank you is important, because in doing so, we make ourselves aware of the gifts that are constantly given to us, we feel blessed, and we truly understand God’s awesome love for us.

Let’s pray, so that:

Ø  We can be less selfish, desiring to be givers instead of receivers: We must get rid of “I want! I expect! I deserve!” and think “What can I give both to others and to God?” After all Scripture says that it is more blessed to give than to receive! Now many times when we think about giving, we think in terms of giving money. But sometimes the most precious thing that we can give or share is not material. Oftentimes what is most valuable for us is in fact what is most precious for us to give.   For example, we can share a friend. Let’s have a desire to share those special people who have come into our lives, so that they may go and touch others in the same way that they have come into our lives and touched us!

Ø  We can find joy in every situation: “Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter various trials, for you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance” (James 1:2-3).  Mother Teresa used to say, “The best way to show our gratitude is to accept everything with joy”. And that “a joyful heart is the result of a heart burning with love”. We may not always be able to give much, but we can all always give the joy that springs from a heart that is in love with God. Let’s give thanks for all that we have, and have had! Let’s give our best to God a heart full of joy!

Ø  We are not proud and we can surrender totally to the will of God: “Your will be done” (Matthew 6:10). We pray this constantly, but when it is time to apply it to real life events, we have a hard time accepting it. Many times, we want our way, we want what we want, we get upset if we don’t get it, and we cannot even find a reason to be grateful. The fact is that we deserve nothing. We cannot allow ourselves to be disheartened by anything, not even when at first sight it seems that our prayers have not been answered. Mother Teresa also used to say, “If we are discouraged, it is a sign of pride. We must not let anything disturb us so much and fill us with so much sorrow or discouragement that it makes us forfeit the joy of serving God and thanking God in all that happens in our lives!”  In Holy Scripture God reminds us to “Persevere in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving” (Colossians 4:2). As we turn to Him and to His love, we can face everything with an attitude of loving trust. A song I love says: “Jesus knows the heartache that you are feeling deep inside…and He will heal your heart!” So even when it seems impossible to remain cheerful and we barely have the strength to smile, we can draw our strength from Him who is always there for us.  Him, who is our rock and our salvation.

If we do not make prayer and thanksgiving a habit, inadvertently we will have a tendency to become unaware of our blessings. On the other hand, when we are grateful, we feel closer to Him and we become happy as we ponder how blessed we are. Being happy is easy when we understand how much love is constantly being poured our way. The ability to understand this is a grace given by God, and God always gives good things to those who ask.

If we just have a little faith, if we trust a little more, if we are just a bit more grateful, we will be aware of all the miracles that happen in our lives. And we will take pleasure in the fact that we have come to know and understand that God is a reality and not a myth. We will feel God, alive in our heart, not just as words in a book we hardly ever read. He will bless us with the desire to get to know Him more through the power of His holy Word. We will marvel at the fact that He is living inside us, guiding us and providing strength to us in every situation, so that we may reflect His love to others. We will be able to console because He has given us consolation; we will be able to love because He has given us love. Then we will be examples and living proof of the miracles that He performs in our lives.

Wisdom to contemplate:

“Everything is possible to one who has faith.” (Mark 9:23)

“Therefore I tell you, all that you ask for in prayer, believe that you will receive it and it shall be yours.” (Mark 11:24)

“Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing.  In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

“O LORD of hosts, happy are those who trust in you!” (Psalm 84:13)



If We Want Help: We Must Do Our Part!

In life, when we go through trials, often we pray. But often we pray with doubt and fear in our heart. These things are the opposite of faith. How can a prayer without faith be effective? When we pray, we must pray with confidence and know that prayers are always heard.

If the answer that comes back is different from what we expected, it does not mean it is not the right one; it only means that there was a better solution to our problem. It is important for us to give the benefit of the doubt, to recognize the fact that we might not always know what the best outcome for a situation is. After all, there is a chance that there can be moments in our life when we might not know the best road to follow. We should not be stubborn, obstinate or inflexible, stuck to a specific idea. We need to trust and be aware of the fact that everything is perfect because God is in charge of our lives.

We must let things flow, with the certainty that in the process we are learning and growing. We must be confident that our prayers are being heard by a loving Father who would never ignore us and who has promised to give good things to those who ask. He reminds us in Holy Scripture: Would we ever ignore the request of one of our children? Now, if we, who have so many faults and defects, are not able to deny our kids anything, then what are the chances that He will ignore our requests? Think about how God is perfect; He is love Himself. Now think about how He has made us, His children. Think about all His promises and about His amazing love. It is simply impossible that He would ignore our prayers.

Therefore, we need to make sure that we understand and know in our hearts that even though at times it might take longer than expected, and even though from time to time our need might be met in a way less than hoped for or anticipated, our prayers are always answered. When we ask for help, we must do it with the absolute certainty that help will come, and we must know that invariably all things will come to us, with our welfare as a first priority.

Jesus said, “Ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” (Luke 11:9) If we pay attention to this scripture verse, we will realize that it requires action on our part. We cannot just pray for something to happen. We cannot just wish things were different. We cannot just sit and hope for something to happen. We need to contribute to the miracles in our lives by asking, seeking and knocking. We need to try our best to make things happen. We must take an active role in our lives and be participants in the miracles that we will experience.

We cannot just passively sit and wait and complain about how we pray and pray and hope and hope and nothing changes. We need to be more involved and take responsibility for the direction our life is going. And we must know that through prayer that direction can always change. It is up to us; it is up to God. Let’s learn how to pray and work on improving our relationship with God. Let’s strengthen our faith and work hard at doing our part. And, as St. Paul advises in Romans 8, let’s hope and eagerly wait with perseverance for the best to happen. I guarantee you that then we can never be disappointed, because hope in God does not disappoint. 



Wisdom to contemplate:

“Learn to savor how good the LORD is; happy are those who take refuge in him.” 

(Psalm 34:9)

“If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17:20)

“For in hope we were saved. Now hope that sees for itself is not hope. For who hopes for what one sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait with endurance.…We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:24-25,28)

“Hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.” (Romans 5:5)

 “Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1)

Let's be little !

Can we go back in time?

Isn’t it a mystery how “little ones” live in a mix between reality and fantasy; never truly sure of what is real? They dream so intensely that when they wake up, they bounce around in joy, trying to replay every detail of their dream. They are convinced that, in fact, they lived through whatever experience they had. These “little ones” are positive that the daydream, vision, illusion or mirage actually happened. I can’t help but wonder: 

• Are these experiences real? 
• Are “little ones” somehow able to actually go to these magical places? 
• Do their imaginary friends really exist? 
• Do angels really come and play with them? 
• Can they see things we don’t? 
• Who are we to say no?

After all, it has been so long since we ourselves were “little ones” that maybe our perceptions have changed. We are so certain of what the limits are that we do not allow room for the unexplained. Our minds quickly disregard our experiences as a dream due to something we ate, or as something for our psychiatrist to explain as coming – because of too much stress.

Our awareness of the extraordinary often fades away as we get older. Maybe because it is then that we start learning about our limits, about what is possible and what is impossible. For the “little ones,” there are no limits to what is possible, only undiscovered frontiers to which they are determined to go. And it is this determination that makes all the difference.

So let’s think for a moment: 

What if “little ones” have a way of entering different “dimensions”? 
What if they are able to experience a multitude of worlds, 
being here and there as they please? 
We should not be afraid of this possibility. After all, are“little ones” fully here yet?

What I mean is that “little ones” are like heavenly beings for whom nothing is impossible. They seem to fluctuate between heaven and earth maybe because when we are little, we have an easier time keeping a strong connection to the heavenly realm and to the unknown dimensions of God’s created universe.

I deeply believe that we should not tuck away the “little one” in us. Why do we have to stop being “little” on the inside? As we grow up, our body changes and ages, we gain knowledge, we become wiser (hopefully!). But the fact that our body and intellect can and will grow does not mean that we must sacrifice the “little one” that we once were. We are all “little ones” deep inside. The problem is that some of us hide that part of us in a deep dark corner and suppress it. Some of us have almost forgotten how to get in touch with that part of ourselves. But we all have been “little” before, so if we allow ourselves to regain contact with the “little one” we once were, we will be free to fully enjoy all the things God intends us to enjoy and to experience all that He has in store for us.

You must be wondering what I mean by “little.” Well, what I mean by “little” is the person, big or small, who:

·   Is keeping alive that side of himself/herself that knows how to trust and love completely…both the people in their lives and God our Father.

·  Does not know ego and does not know how to fake emotions¾what you see is what you get!

·   Is always willing to learn more.

·  Finds joy in simple moments.

·  Is not afraid to love.

·  Is eternally seeking and searching for happiness.

· Is not limited by anything and is not afraid to dream.

If we give value to that side of us, we will have much richer experiences, and we will be able to stay more easily connected to the heavenly realm. We surely will be connected to God our Father by always believing, hoping, enjoying, trusting and allowing ourselves to have a perfect balance between our mind, our body, our heart and our soul a good balance between our humanity and our spirituality. 

When we maintain the connection to our heavenly Father, we can enrich our lives and those of others by shining on them the graces that we receive, sharing the love and the peace that light up our lives. Let’s allow our “littleness” to surface and take over our hearts!

Wisdom to contemplate:

 “Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it.” (Mark 10:14-15)

“Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it.” (Luke 18:17)