How do you pray?

As a child my parents taught me to pray --

Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep,
If I should die before I wake,
I pray the Lord my soul to take.

God is great,
God is good,
Let us thank Him for our food.

The "grace" before our meal -- now that was fine, it made sense to me as a child, but the bedtime prayer -- I didn't understand the concept of soul, and I surely didn't want to die in my sleep.

So, I haven't taught my children to pray using nifty little poems. I have taught them to pray like they are talking to their daddy. To hear them telling God about their day, asking Him to help them, thanking Him for things they have, it makes my heart happy. I hope they will keep up this habit of a healthy prayer life.

I Thessalonians 5:17 says simply; "Pray without ceasing."

I have witnessed prayer work in my life. I have seen God's hand working in my life when I pray. But sometimes, I forget to pray and when I do -- since God gives us free will (a whole other topic) I believe he says -- okay, I guess she thinks she can handle this one on her own, let's see how she does. But like a prodigal daughter, I return to Him and pray for His help and amazingly enough things get better. I make better decisions, situations get better. I am constantly in awe of the effects of prayer.

What do you pray for?

I keep my prayers simple, ask for His guidance, His wisdom, and I reveal to Him my gratitude for all the wondrous things I have as blessings in my life.

I pray for:

• Myself to be a good mom. For God to give me patience and understanding.
• For my children to be healthy, strong, happy, and to live a life in service to Him. I also thank Him everyday for these three beautiful miracles he has given to me.
• For my husband, for Him to give him temperance, patience, to continue in his sobriety. I thank Him for holding J****'s hand through this time of his life, for the progress that J**** has made. I also pray that J**** doesn't return to his old ways and I let the Lord know that I fear that he will return to his ways. He has been drinking on and off for a few weeks now. I ask God to give me wisdom in handling this and to give J**** strength.
• I pray for my niece, for her happiness and her health. For her children and her family. I ask God to help her defeat this disease sarcoidosis.
• I thank God for my job and understanding employers. I ask Him to help me to do my best everyday.
• I pray for my brother and sister, to protect them, to be in their lives and to let me be a light in their life to return to God's fold.
• I pray for my aging parents and thank God for giving me parents that love me to the extent that they do. I pray for their health and pray that my father will find happiness and closure to the things that have happened in his life.
• I pray for my internet friends who through the anonymity of blogs and forums pour out their hearts to total strangers as I do looking for input and comfort.
• I pray for the Church in the hopes that it will grow and thank Him for the opportunity to worship Him.
• I thank him for all that He has given me. I am not rich, I am fed, clothed, sheltered, and have no needs.
• I ask Him to give me wisdom, to be a good steward of the money that He has blessed me.
• I ask Him for willpower to stay with my efforts to lose weight and be healthy.
• I pray for the leaders of the land to be wise and for our soldiers to be safe and to come home soon.
• When someone tells me of illness, hardship, etc... I try to remember them in my prayers and ask Him to help them.

I do not pray for:

• things
• money
• quick fixes
• revenge

Why pray?

Frankly, it works. In al-anon and AA you are taught to have a higher power. You need someone stronger than yourself to ask for help. You need faith to keep the worries away.

The other day J**** did not sleep all day. (I believe he had been drinking too.) He said he was worried about me driving a van that had a bad motor, he was worried about his kids riding in that van, he was worried about how we were going to pay for a new motor. He's worried about his dad with no job, no transportation, a fixed income living alone in another town. He's worried about his sister, recently divorced and being harassed by her ex. He was worried about his mother on vacation who promised to call when she got to her destination but hadn't called yet. He was worried about a meeting they had at work. I told him go to bed, say a long prayer and ask God to take your burdens from you and let you sleep. I mentioned it to my mother she said the same thing. "Tell him to go to bed and pray."

Prayer will calm you.

A Mother's Prayer

I need your help today.
I want to care
for those you've sent into my life,
to help them develop the special gifts
you've given them.

But I also want to free them
to follow their own paths
and to bring their loving wisdom
to the world.

Help me
to embrace them without clutching,
to support them without suffocating,
to correct them without crushing.

And help me
to live joyfully and playfully, myself,
so they can see your life in me
and find their way to you.
Amen.