Posted on Oct 07, 2008 under prayer |
Do not be conquered by evil but conquer evil with good.
Rom 12:21
If I was looking for a sign to be proactive in righting a wrong, I sure did get one. But it wasn’t a sign that pushed me to action. Instead, it was simply reading God’s word and realizing that my only action should be love.
When faced with evil, and surely that is what my family is facing right now, my first inclination is to resist, to fight back, to conquer. That would be a mistake. It is only by remaining pure and good, by continuing to love, that evil will be overcome. When I stop resisting, I allow God to take over. I allow whatever is, to just be.
The most difficult of meeting evil with good is praying for those who are causing my pain. Tonight I prayed fervently for the one who is hurting my family. I prayed for blessings to be showered upon her. I didn’t qualify that with a “so she will stop hurting us” or anything like that. I simply asked God to bless her. And I meant it.
I wonder what would happen if everyone prayed altogether for God’s blessings to shower those who hurt us. I wonder how quickly we could conquer evil with our united good?
Posted on Sep 27, 2008 under prayer |
I tend to ask “Why me?” whenever bad things happen. When someone hurts me, I’m especially confused. I really do try to be kind to others so I never get it when people are unkind.
Today was a rough day. It’s a personal thing and I’m not comfortable giving details. The person whose actions caused me grief had been very special to me. Although our relationship changed, I’ve tried to be loving and generous. It’s becoming more and more difficult to do that, though, when my heart keeps breaking.
Anyway, I sat here wondering why these things were happening to me and to my family and thought I should pray. I reached for my Rosary and my daughter commented about it. The next thing I knew my daughter, her friend and I were all saying the Rosary. We prayed for the person who was causing so much emotional turmoil for my family.
That’s when I realized that if not for the hard times, I might get lazy about praying. It seems when I start pushing God to the back burner, He yanks on my chain and yells at me to pay attention.
Maybe that’s the answer to “Why me?”
Posted on Jul 10, 2008 under prayer |
Sometimes it just doesn’t seem like those two tiny words are enough. When God’s hand in your life is so apparent that it takes your breath away, “Thank you” just doesn’t seem to cut it.
Today I will be out and about. I’m not one to stand around preaching to total strangers, but I do believe that my actions can be a prayer and a testament to God’s loving power. Today especially, I will dedicate my every action, every word, to God. This day will be my prayer of thanksgiving to God for answering my prayer and for always taking care of me.
Thank you for giving me this morning. Thank you for giving me today.
Posted on Mar 04, 2008 under prayer |
For those who have read this blog daily and enjoyed it, I apologize for taking this extended break from it. It all started with a nasty flu that ran through my family and ended with procrastination and depression.
I’m going to make an effort to get back to this blog because it had been such a joy every day to write here and to ponder the Lord’s words. I ask that anyone reading this please say a prayer for me that I am able to refocus my efforts. I know that prayer can pull me through this slump and get me back on track. After all, anytime I fail, God pulls me through. I know He will this time as well.
Thank you all.
Posted on Jan 28, 2008 under prayer |
Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord, O my soul. I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
Psalm 146 1-2
Of course, we Christians will agree that we should praise God every day. Most of us believe that we do. I wonder, though, how much of our time each day is spent praising Him compared to how much time we spend asking for something.
If I’m going to be honest here, I have to admit that I give praise for less than a minute each day but I ask God’s help, blessings or favors constantly, all day long. There’s nothing wrong with asking for God’s guidance in life; in fact he loves that we rely on him. He loves, too, that we give him honor, praise and credit for all that we are and all that we have. Our praise should be, at the very least, equal to our prayers of thanksgiving and prayers requesting blessings.
Today, I’m praising God throughout the day. Every time I get the urge to ask Him for something, I’m going to make a point of praising Him instead. I want to get into the habit of praising Him more than asking.
Will you join me? Today, don’t ask, just praise Him.
