Prayer Changes People

It's been awhile. I've been busy. That's what I'm saying to cyberspace right now as I come back to it after an absence.

And it reminds me of what we, as people, often say to God when we pray. "Dear God. Hi. I'm sorry I haven't kept in touch."

The subject of prayer, and its uses, has been much on my mind lately. I wrote in my last entry, over 10 days ago, that I had a final break in a friendship. I was the one that said I needed to step back.

And I've been grieving the loss of that relationship all these days. It's gotten better each day. But there are moments where I am nearly overwhelmed with remorse for breaking it off. Absolutely overtaken with anger and sadness about the entire situation.

During a few of those periods, I've called a friend. Or a friend has called me at just the right time to see how I am. In one of those calls last week I said to my friend Chris, "How long does this have to last? What can I do to just get over this?"

And she said, "The only thing I know to say is to pray. Tell it all to God. Just the telling of it will make it seem better."

Of course! And it does. It did. And it will again.

Why is it that we need to be reminded to pray? It's free. It's easy. It's always there. It's a tool we rarely remember to pick up. It's like being a millionaire and forgetting we can afford the better brand of peanut butter. We don't have to scrimp and save, and cast about for alternatives. We have the most powerful method of problem-resolution right there in front of us.

Last year, I was agonizing over another relationship and I told my friend Lis that I was concerned about the fact that it was taking over my thoughts. It was obsessive. I could think of little else. I cried out to her, "What can I do?"

And she also pointed me to God. "Substitute the thoughts with a prayer. If you can't think of what to pray for, pray this: "This is what I am, except Thou aid me."

It became a mantra. And it opened up for me a whole new prayer life...a continual conversation with God that I had not had before.

And of course it faded away. As life got easier to deal with, I said the prayer less.

And this time it was Chris that pointed me back to God. It's a good thing that God has all these guides here with us to get us back onto the right path.