"I believe in prayer," admits Josephine Baker. "It’s the best way we have to draw strength from heaven." Francis Cardinal Spellman suggests, "Pray as if everything depended upon God and work as if everything depended upon man."
No day should be spent without talking with God first. For, as James Montgomery, puts it: "Prayer is the soul’s sincere desire, uttered or unexpressed; the motion of a hidden fire that trembles in the breast."
"Seven days without prayer makes one weak." That’s what Allen Vartlett. But I have known a lot of my friends who don’t know how to pray. Yesterday, while attending a party, the master of ceremony asked my seat mate to lead us in prayer. But he whispered to him that he doesn’t know how.
Jesus Christ Himself showed us how to pray. He even instructed how we need to pray. "This, then, is how you should pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil one" (Matthew 6:9-13).
Yes, prayer is like talking with your loved one. The only difference is that you cannot see that Someone you talk with but He hears you – no matter how simple your prayer is and how low is your voice. "More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of," wrote Alfred Lord Tennyson.
"Prayer is the language of a man burdened with a sense of need," said E.M. Bounds. According to P.J. Wingate, "Give us this day our daily bread" is probably the most perfectly constructed and useful sentence ever set down in the English language. But the trouble with our praying is, "we just do it as a means of last resort," to quote the words of Will Rogers.
Whether you are in good health or in sickness, having success or facing trouble, pray. Many people pray when there is storm but after the storm is over, they forget to pray. "Prayer is not merely an occasional impulse to which we respond when we are in trouble: prayer is a life attitude," Walter A. Mueller urged.
Many people come to God in prayer only when they are in need. British playwright was right when he said, "Most people do not pray; they only beg." And if God won’t answer their demands, they claim God is fake. "Some people think that prayer just means asking for things, and if they fail to receive exactly what they asked for, they think the whole thing is a fraud," observed Gerald Vann.
Why do you think God doesn’t answer your prayer? "What we usually pray to God is not that His will be done, but that He approve ours," Helga Bergold Gross believes. Alan Redpath agrees, "Before we can pray, ‘Lord, Thy Kingdom come,’ we must be willing to pray, ‘My Kingdom go.’"
"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 states.
Dr. Robert Schuller argues that God always answers prayer. God has four options: no, slow, grow, and go. When what you pray is not right, God says, "No." He explains that God resorts to this decision when your idea is not the best or it is absolutely wrong. Another reason: "What you pray may help you but it could create problems for someone else."
If the time is not yet right, God’s answer is: "Slow." Dr. Schuller points out, "What a catastrophe it would be if God answered every prayer at the snap of your fingers. Do you know what would happen? God would become your servant, not your master. Suddenly, God would be working for you instead of you working for God." God’s delays are not God’s denials. God’s timing is always perfect. What you need is patience.
The third answer is: "Grow." Why is this so? "The selfish person has to grow in unselfishness. The cautious person must grow courage. The timid person must grow in confidence. The dominating person must grow in sensitivity. The critical person must grow in tolerance. The negative person must grow in positive attitudes. The pleasure-seeking person must grow in compassion for suffering people."
If your prayer passes those three options, then that’s the time God will say, "Go." The miracle will happen: A hopeless alcoholic is set free. A drug addict finds release. A doubter becomes as a child in his belief. Diseased tissue responds to treatment, and healing begins. As Dr. Schuller puts it: "The door to your dream suddenly swings open and there stands God saying, ‘Go!’"
God answers prayers in His own mysterious ways. In the gallery in St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, the sound of anything said in this circular area bounces back from the hard smooth stone walls. If you put your ear close to the wall, you can hear what is even whispered on the other side of the hall, many meters away.
Some years ago, a poor shoemaker whispered to his young lady that he could not marry her because he could not afford to buy any leather for his work, and his business was ruined. The poor girl wept quietly as she listened to this sad news.
A gentleman on the other side of the gallery, more than 60 meters away, heard the story and the shoemaker’s whispered prayer, and he decided to do something about it.
The gentleman followed the shoemaker out of St. Paul’s and after finding out where he lived, had some leather sent to his shoe shop. Imagine how delighted the young man was! He made good use of the gift, and his business prospered and he was able to marry the girl of his heart.
It was not until a few years later that he learned the name of his unknown friend. It was Prime Minister William Gladstone of Great Britain.
To end this piece, allow me to quote the words of O. Hallesby: "There come times when I have nothing more to tell God. If I were to continue to pray in words, I would have to repeat what I have already said. At such times it is wonderful to say to God, ‘May I be in Thy presence, Lord? I have nothing more to say to Thee, but I do love to be in Thy presence.’"
For comments, write me at henrytacio@gmail.com
No day should be spent without talking with God first. For, as James Montgomery, puts it: "Prayer is the soul’s sincere desire, uttered or unexpressed; the motion of a hidden fire that trembles in the breast."
"Seven days without prayer makes one weak." That’s what Allen Vartlett. But I have known a lot of my friends who don’t know how to pray. Yesterday, while attending a party, the master of ceremony asked my seat mate to lead us in prayer. But he whispered to him that he doesn’t know how.
Jesus Christ Himself showed us how to pray. He even instructed how we need to pray. "This, then, is how you should pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil one" (Matthew 6:9-13).
Yes, prayer is like talking with your loved one. The only difference is that you cannot see that Someone you talk with but He hears you – no matter how simple your prayer is and how low is your voice. "More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of," wrote Alfred Lord Tennyson.
"Prayer is the language of a man burdened with a sense of need," said E.M. Bounds. According to P.J. Wingate, "Give us this day our daily bread" is probably the most perfectly constructed and useful sentence ever set down in the English language. But the trouble with our praying is, "we just do it as a means of last resort," to quote the words of Will Rogers.
Whether you are in good health or in sickness, having success or facing trouble, pray. Many people pray when there is storm but after the storm is over, they forget to pray. "Prayer is not merely an occasional impulse to which we respond when we are in trouble: prayer is a life attitude," Walter A. Mueller urged.
Many people come to God in prayer only when they are in need. British playwright was right when he said, "Most people do not pray; they only beg." And if God won’t answer their demands, they claim God is fake. "Some people think that prayer just means asking for things, and if they fail to receive exactly what they asked for, they think the whole thing is a fraud," observed Gerald Vann.
Why do you think God doesn’t answer your prayer? "What we usually pray to God is not that His will be done, but that He approve ours," Helga Bergold Gross believes. Alan Redpath agrees, "Before we can pray, ‘Lord, Thy Kingdom come,’ we must be willing to pray, ‘My Kingdom go.’"
"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 states.
Dr. Robert Schuller argues that God always answers prayer. God has four options: no, slow, grow, and go. When what you pray is not right, God says, "No." He explains that God resorts to this decision when your idea is not the best or it is absolutely wrong. Another reason: "What you pray may help you but it could create problems for someone else."
If the time is not yet right, God’s answer is: "Slow." Dr. Schuller points out, "What a catastrophe it would be if God answered every prayer at the snap of your fingers. Do you know what would happen? God would become your servant, not your master. Suddenly, God would be working for you instead of you working for God." God’s delays are not God’s denials. God’s timing is always perfect. What you need is patience.
The third answer is: "Grow." Why is this so? "The selfish person has to grow in unselfishness. The cautious person must grow courage. The timid person must grow in confidence. The dominating person must grow in sensitivity. The critical person must grow in tolerance. The negative person must grow in positive attitudes. The pleasure-seeking person must grow in compassion for suffering people."
If your prayer passes those three options, then that’s the time God will say, "Go." The miracle will happen: A hopeless alcoholic is set free. A drug addict finds release. A doubter becomes as a child in his belief. Diseased tissue responds to treatment, and healing begins. As Dr. Schuller puts it: "The door to your dream suddenly swings open and there stands God saying, ‘Go!’"
God answers prayers in His own mysterious ways. In the gallery in St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, the sound of anything said in this circular area bounces back from the hard smooth stone walls. If you put your ear close to the wall, you can hear what is even whispered on the other side of the hall, many meters away.
Some years ago, a poor shoemaker whispered to his young lady that he could not marry her because he could not afford to buy any leather for his work, and his business was ruined. The poor girl wept quietly as she listened to this sad news.
A gentleman on the other side of the gallery, more than 60 meters away, heard the story and the shoemaker’s whispered prayer, and he decided to do something about it.
The gentleman followed the shoemaker out of St. Paul’s and after finding out where he lived, had some leather sent to his shoe shop. Imagine how delighted the young man was! He made good use of the gift, and his business prospered and he was able to marry the girl of his heart.
It was not until a few years later that he learned the name of his unknown friend. It was Prime Minister William Gladstone of Great Britain.
To end this piece, allow me to quote the words of O. Hallesby: "There come times when I have nothing more to tell God. If I were to continue to pray in words, I would have to repeat what I have already said. At such times it is wonderful to say to God, ‘May I be in Thy presence, Lord? I have nothing more to say to Thee, but I do love to be in Thy presence.’"
For comments, write me at henrytacio@gmail.com
