The Power of Prayer

I set my alarm clock each morning for the milk feeding of my little girl.  I hardly spend immediate time in prayer as I rush to the feeding set and prepare for it.  Feed.  Make her relax for a while then have her early morning bath. I take my breakfast and say my prayer before meals prayer in rush.  Make my daughter take her “solid – puree mixed” blended vegetables.  After which  I would remember late in the morning that I forgot to pray.  So I would mention some “rush” prayer. 

Rush…rush …rush.  I seemed to have done things in rush particularly my time for God.  I am a little ashamed to admit that there was a time that this has become a routine.  Not until I heard a Eucharistic celebration where the priest that just joined an Asian convention …a so huge gathering of the devotees of the Divine Mercy shared how it was when he joined it.  What struck me the most was when he said “…we are underestimating the power of God”.     

What did he mean by that?  Underestimating the power of God  meant that we are walking around living our life not minding at all what God could have done with our life.  We have not really accessed Him in all capacities.  He is so available each moment yet, each of these moments is spent as if He is not reachable.  We live life “doing our way” most of the time.

Let me give you an example.  I and my husband like so much to discuss anything including our plans for the future.  In my own moments, I would always feel so far from those we discussed or I felt negative about them that they felt so unreachable.  After hearing that mass with that priest I felt God has to be involved in our plans.  So I shared the same with my husband.  I had difficulty though answering his question “how would we know if our plans are what God wants and wills for us?”.  That is such a big question to answer (which I would deal in my future writing in the simples possible way that I can) yet, we really decided to make time for it so that we would be guided in our plans. 

I guess I and my husband just reached that point when we both felt God has to be seriously involved in our lives and life as a family.  We would want also to prepare our daughter to a future where she could stand firm and grounded with her values.  And we could not see any other way of doing it except really bring her closer to God through prayer

We do pray together as a family – rosary and the Divine Mercy devotion.  I and my husband were able to witness first and foremost how our now 9 - month old baby responded to it.  Before each session starts, I make her sit on my lap.  When we start with sign of the cross, I feel in all those prayer dates together that she starts to compose herself and stops with hopping on my lap together with her giggles and some of those sleepy cry.  She simply participated by being silent and listens to whoever is talking. 

Her eyes seem to try to figure out what we are doing.  At my end,  I do not totally understand how she automatically behaved during prayer time but I sensed some calming effect it gives to her including her moods.  And if she is so sleepy already she just dozes off in my arms. 

At times when I was so ON with those angry mood, I felt its power when I automatically ask for help from God to calm me down.   And I could easily think and process myself immediately right there and then.  I could sense that I could immediately weigh its consequences and decide to immediately move away from it.  Through the grace brought about by prayer, I learned how to set aside the personal desire to be satisfied with my anger.  Another grace brought in by prayer is forgiveness.  In fact after I decide to forgive,  the funniest of all is that I am  able to forget the incident including the train of thoughts and reasons why I should be angry. 

Moreover, it is grace to be able to see more of the goodness of the person than bank on and stick with the lie that the other is no good or good for nothing (hmmm let me give you a tip…do not listen to the voice in your mind that says that).   As I see the goodness in the other and the capacity of the other to continue to really care and do good for others, I am able to feel compassion to extend myself even more. 

Let me end this by going back to that priest sharing his homily during the mass.  He mentioned that since he no longer underestimates the power of God, he asks not of small things but really huge ones.  And He found God to have provided them all.  Hmmm I thought that time how he was able to convince God with those huge requests (hheheeh).  He said he explained to God how others would be blessed even more if He grants them.  As simple as that.  But let me give you another tip… God does not really need  an explanation…ahahah He can read our motives through our hearts. 

Hmmm. I hope you have seen the other point, too.  Whatever we ask for in prayer…it will be granted for as long as it is in line with His will.  His mission…of doing good to a lot of people.  So you may now wonder why some of our prayers were not granted?  Oops I may be to judgmental hehe please don’t get me wrong, some would really come in His own time.   Hmmm we can never manipulate God to have it our way right.  It is always His ways of doing them…for His mission…His time…for the Good of His people…:-)

PS.  Some of those we ask for in prayers may not be really for us…Just trust that God knows better.  Trust even in pain.  In your pain you will learn…and soon enough even without understanding…you will feel God’s gift of …PEACE…

But let me give you another tip… a very close friend told me yesterday that she has been asking God in prayer describing in detail what she wanted.  She almost gave up.  It took years for God to answer them.  And He gave them beyond what she expected.  “Cloud 9” ang friend ko ngayon hehehe…I am sooo happy for her.

....Do not ever ...ever underestimate the power of God...nothing is impossible for Him...you and I know that...He has the Power...He is the greatest power of all...in prayer:-)