Prayer...

[Karin]

Thank you to everyone that has posted regarding prayer and health …does anyone have examples of prayer in relation to other things…domestic violence, unfaithful spouse, religious ignorance…just some examples.

 

[cheddarsox]

Karin,

I am not Catholic. The divine that I believe in is not a being, who will intervene on my behalf. I still pray. Not because I believe that the order of things will be changed in my favor, but because I need to order myself to the way of things. And it helps.

Recognizing the awesomeness of the order of things, even when they are not in my favor, and acknowledging the way of things allows me to deal with things that arise, with humility, wonder and gratitude.

Prayer is good for me, the divine does not need my prayer, but I do!

cheddar

 

[Deacon_Tony560]

Karin:

Thank you to everyone that has posted regarding prayer and health …does anyone have examples of prayer in relation to other things…domestic violence, unfaithful spouse, religious ignorance…just some examples.

Karin, you might like the story of St. Monica, who prayed for her son for 30 years until he finally had a religious conversion. His famous words still echo today, “Late have I loved thee, Lord!”

 

[Grace_and_Glory]

Karin:

Thank you to everyone that has posted regarding prayer and health …does anyone have examples of prayer in relation to other things…domestic violence, unfaithful spouse, religious ignorance…just some examples.

In case you aren’t familiar with the story that Deacon Tony was referring to about St. Monica’s son…her wayward son became St. Augustine.

I can tell you some stories from my own life. Yes, there have been situations I have prayed would change, and in spite of my prayers, things only seem to get worse (then again, I haven’t been praying for 30 years yet). Even so, God always provides what I need, even if he doesn’t give me what I want. For example, my family has had many problems, including divorce, abuse, and bankruptcy. This has been incredibly painful, especially the abusive relationships. I remember praying that the relationships would be healed, and it seemed like they only got worse. Even so, God provided for me. He sent people into my life who greatly helped me, even though they obviously can’t be my parents or replace what I lost. Furthermore, God has brought so much good out of the situation. This is one of those cases when God’s answer to prayer seems to be “no.” That can be hard to deal with, and it can even cause people to lose faith, but I have found that if we are as patient with God as he is with us, we will discover that even his “no’s” are given in order to bring us to a greater “yes.”

I’ve also had many instances in my life where prayer did change things. I had an uncle who was raised Catholic and became an atheist. After years and years of his family’s prayers, he came back into the Church. Prayer has also changed me personally. After years of struggling with flaws of mine to no avail, I began to pray that God would cleanse me of my sin and make it undesirable to me. So far, that has never failed me.

Sorry if this post was too long. I hope it helped. I don’t want to discourage you by sharing about the times when God has said “no,” but I think you’re smart enough to figure out that sometimes the answer is “no” without my telling you. I wanted to show that at least in my experience a relationship with God through prayer makes even the “no’s” bearable.

 

[puzzleannie]

Karin:

My thinking has always been that prayer is a coping mechanism that in combination with other things (therapy etc.) can solve a problem. But I have never viewed prayer alone as a way to solve a problem. Can someone please explain this concept to me… or is it that I am reading posts incorrectly and it is prayer and therapy or whatever else is required in the situation that will help solve a problem???

prayer is neither a coping mechanism, therapy, stress relief, or means for problem solving. Prayer is lifting up the mind and heart to God, offering Him our mind, heart, soul and intellect along with our earthly self and all the problems, joys, blessings inherent in the earthly state. It is an expression of praise and worship to the Almighty, the Creator, of thanksgiving for His gifts, including our continued existence and current state in life, sorrow for our sins and failings, and intercession on behalf of people who have asked us for prayers, and on behalf of ourselves, our families and those close to us who need prayer because they are suffering through sin, illness, grief or other ills. Ultimately prayer is an expression of trust in God, acceptance of His will for us, seeking to know His will and to do it. Prayer is also simply conversation with God and of course during that conversation we mention all that is troubling us.

 

[Arlene]

I think one has to think about what they expect as the result of their praying. Is a prayer only answered if God gives them exactly what they asked for? Sometimes not. Sometimes God gives us what is best for us, or what we really need, even if we don’t think so at the time we are praying.

Sometimes the graces and goodness from a bad situation are only evident long afterwards. And maybe not even in this lifetime.

13 years ago my body went into labor way, way, way too soon. It became obvious that I would give birth that day, and the baby would die. My labor was too far progessed to stop it, and there was no medical intervention that could save a baby that premature.

Did I pray that day? Oh, you better believe it. But you know what? I never prayed for it not to happen. I never prayed for my baby to live.

I prayed for faith, for trust in God and His plan, for submission to His will, for courage to go through what was going to happen. I had my husband get my rosary from my purse and I wore it around my neck all that day and the next until I dressed to go home. I drew strength from another Mother who also watched her son die, who spent her whole life submitting to the will of God.

The priest was called, and Anthony was babtized minutes after he was born. I know he is in Heaven. I know he is waiting for me. I do not fear death. I know I will see him again.

Good came from this. It made me very strongly pro life. He was so premature that he could have been legally aborted. To hold him in my arms, to see his perfectly formed body, to buy the tiniest casket and bury him in the family plot, to pick out a headstone that honors him, and to know that others his same size are thrown out with the garbage is something I have to speak out against.

In helping myself grieve I have done outreach to countless faceless women, on message boards, and over the phone. Hopefully I have helped them grieve too. I helped start infant and pregnancy loss support groups twice in two cities that have helped grieving moms find solace.

I have been blessed with two daughters since. I know what a gift and blessing they are, and I do not take that gift lightly.

My faith was tested in the darkest of nights. I came out stronger for it. It was blind trust at the time. But I knew that if Christ himself submitted to the will of the Father, than so could I.

I believe that everything happens for a reason. Things that happen to us in our life, good or bad, change the course of our lives. Where I am now is a result of the things that happened along the way to get me here. At the time, they were things I would have preferred not to happen. But here I am now. And I’m pretty thankful to be here.

So I am praying to God to thank Him for His graces, for His blessings, for the way He has worked in my life.

Arlene

 

[irelandsgirl]

I truly believe in the power of prayer. However, it is important for one not to get disheartened or annoyed with God/Our Lady or whoever you are praying to, if the exact outcome does not occur. Often we do not get exactly what we are looking for, but a solution always does come, or so I have found, sometimes you just have to look for it. Sometimes a different solution is given, because it’s God’s will and there is always a lesson in it!

 

[diarmaid2002]

I agree I pray and hand my problem over to God,and sure enough he deals with it.

 

[BlestOne]

Karin,
My life is a testament to prayer in so many ways.

1. I was what is called a “blue baby” when I was born. That means my doctors could not get me to breathe in the normal span of time. They were ready to pronounce me dead when I started to breathe. I know my father was praying (can’t vouch for mom) for my life. Everyone thought I would be mentally handicapped, surprize…I was a gifted student.
2. When I was 18 I wanted to die. I went out driving in a snowstorm like an idiot. I drove fast on long winding roads hoping to lose control and crash. I almost succeeded to. But it was another car I almost hit. It occurred to me that I didn’t want innocent people to die. I stopped the car and prayed by the side of the road for the will to live and for forgiveness for what I had almost done. On the way home I missed my turn, instead I took another road that led right by our local fire dept. As I was approaching the fire dept the sirens went off and as usual, I stopped in to see if I could help. (I used to volunteer there until I moved out of district) I worked the radios during the call. There was a terrible accident just where I would have been at that time if I had not missed my turn. The accident was so bad that grown men were crying and their voices were cracking over the radio. It really shook me up.
3. I was told I couldn’t have children, I wanted children desperately! I prayed and prayed that the doctor was wrong, that God would bless me with children. My first one was such an incredible child too, so I prayed for more. When I was expecting my second and third children (twins) I went into preterm labor and was confined to bed for 6 months. I lost one of those babies during that difficult time. Like the other poster, I prayed for God’s will and the strength to accept it. My surviving child is one of the most loving children I have seen. He makes me laugh when I am down, he is truly a blessing! His capacity for love is immeasurable. I had another child after him, a daughter (not bad 4 children when I wasn’t supposed to be able to have any) she is the most spiritual child. Even our pastor will look at her and say “there is something really special about your daughter” of course I know that it is her gift from God, understanding…even as a toddler she understood things like an adult.
4. When my ex left me and the children he took every bit of money. I was working so hard and the kids were spending long hours with the babysitter that I didn’t really like. I prayed to God to help me find another way because I didn’t like the babysitter or the care she was giving my children. I was thinking, a new babysitter or a new job…nope! Six months later I was laid off my job. I had the best summer with my kids. By this time my children and I had gotten in the habit of praying together. There were nights when I fed them condensed soup without any water and called it stew. We prayed and thanked God for meeting our needs. It used to be a big joke with the kids when bills came in that the money would appear out of nowhere to pay the bill. It was amazing! Truthfully I wouldn’t have made it if not for faith and prayer.

I could go on and on…but my most memorable prayer experience had to be the day of my divorce. After a long hard day, there was a penance service that night at my church. A friend popped in out of nowhere and volunteered to watch the kids so I could go. I entered the church filled with anger. That night I confessed my anger over my ex. Immediately after I confessed and prayed that God would help heal me and ease my anger…I felt so lighthearted. I was happy, like I hadn’t been in years. When I was leaving, one of our dear nuns stopped me and I told her how amazing I felt. I was so so angry 5 minutes before. And now…Happy, calm…renewed!!! She smiled at me and hugged me and I knew everything would be alright after that.

 

[Karin]

**Blestone, Marie, Arlene,puzzleannie, Grace and Glory,Deacon Tony560 **& everyone else that has helped with this topic…I thank you all for the wonderful insights as to the role that prayer has in your lives!