A Weekend Of Prayers

I am a strong believer in the power of prayer. It has played an instrumental role in many facets of my life. Prior to meeting my husband, prayer was a very internal experience. Aside from the ritualistic Catholic prayers we say at Catholic church, it has always been very difficult for me to pray aloud, and at times, it still is.

Matthew and Caroline have a ritual every night, where they spend a few minutes praying to God for a variety of things. Of course, Matthew does all the talking, but I am certain Caroline does a lot of listening and lets it all sink in. I am usually part of this ritual, but on a more peripheral basis. Hopefully someday, I can be more of a "leader" in this respect, but after 28 years of internally praying, it is a bit hard.

In thinking about the "power of prayer," I found a few quotes, which help illustrate what prayer can do and what it means to pray.

• "Only those who see the invisible can attempt the impossible." - Dick Eastman
• "Prayer requires more of the heart than the tongue." - Adam Clarke
• "No one is a firmer believer in the power of prayer than the devil; not that he practices it, but he suffers from it." - Guy H. King
• "The reason why we obtain no more in prayer is because we expect no more. God usually answers us according to our own hearts." - Richard Alleine
• "Do not make prayer a monologue-make it a conversation." - Author unknown
• "God does nothing but by prayer, and everything with it." - John Wesley

I chose to briefly write about prayer tonight because recently I have a lot of people to pray for. This past week/weekend has been filled with happenings that need a great deal of prayer. For one, I attended a funeral on Thursday for a man, Fred Costa, who I met when I worked for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. He was one of our Team in Training participants and an avid marathoner, supporter and volunteer for LLS. He was an overly involved and gracious person. The beginning of this month, he ran his NINTH marathon. The New York City Marathon. This is a marathon that so many people desire to run. At mile 22 (just 4.2 miles short of the finish line) he collapsed as a result of a heart attack. He was rushed to Mt. Sinai Hospital, where he died a few weeks later after never having regained consciousness. He was only 41.

If that wasn't enough, one of my high school classmates and friend's had a child nearly two weeks ago. He and his wife knew that their beautiful little girl was going to have a bit of a struggle upon her entrance into this world, as she was born with a defect in her diaphragm. Unfortunately, their beautiful daughter and first child, Gretchen, died 9 days after she entered this world. 9 days old. Too young to die. I haven't been able to stop thinking about their family.

Just when you think the week couldn't get any worse, one of my oldest and best friend's, Megan, calls to tell me her grandmother is dying. She is 90. Her time has come. It's sad and heartbreaking for my friend and her family.

These three experiences have certainly given me more than enough reasons to pray. I certainly pray for those that have passed away, but I know that they are in a better place, free from all the pains our world entails. More importantly, I pray for those left behind. I pray they find peace through these experiences. I pray they find strength to continue. I pray they will continue to keep their faith. I pray they find solace in knowing their loved one's are free from pain. I pray for their heavy heart's.

I ask you to pray as well. Pray for these families. Pray for your families. Pray for anything. Pray for everything. Just pray. The power of prayer is a beautiful thing. I have seen it's impact firsthand on so many different occasions. Prayer is a blessing. Prayer is our communication link to God. It is the place where pride is abandoned, hope is lifted, and devotion is made. Prayer is the place of admitting our need, of adopting humility, and claiming dependence upon God.