The Power of Prayer
Life
is all about building relationships – with others, with God and with myself.
Prayer is one such relationship. Prayer is all about relating to God, spending
time with him, being aware of his presence. Prayer is very important in our
lives. We can draw great inspiration from Jesus. If we take a look at Mark 1:
30 – 39 we realize that Jesus was full of zeal to spread the message of the
kingdom of GOD. It would have been a very busy day in the life of Jesus. But
finally Jesus went to a lonely place early in the morning and resorted to
prayer, a conversation with his heavenly Father. Jesus was tired at the end of the day. But by
sharing with his Heavenly Father all his feelings, anxieties and aims Jesus
regains the strength he needs to carry out the mission entrusted to him.
Prayer
is like a mobile charger. When the mobile battery goes down, you plug in the
charger and after some time the mobile begins to work efficiently. In the same
way prayer recharges us and gives us the
energy we need to carry on with our work. This is just one incident in the
life of Jesus. In the Gospel there are many instances where it is mentioned
that Jesus went to a lonely place to pray. Before Jesus chose 12 apostles he
spent the entire night in prayer. God is indeed happy if we consult him before
we begin a new journey or a new task. In Isaiah30: 1 – 18 God reproves the
people of Israel for not consulting him.
Certain
illnesses can be healed only through the power of prayer. The best example for
this is found in Mathew 17: 14 – 21, when a man comes to Jesus because his son
has epilepsy and the apostles could not heal the child. After the man left, the
apostles asked Jesus why they couldn’t heal the boy. To this Jesus replied,
“This can be done only through prayer.” Prayer has the power to overcome
anything.
True
prayer leads to an encounter with God. As we have seen above, Jesus shared
everything with his Father in Heaven. In the same way we can freely share
everything with God. By sharing with him we lighten our burden. When you
encounter God you are no longer the same. Prayer has the ability to transform a
person. It’s true that overnight you won’t see a change in yourself but if you
believe, daily God is making some changes in you. A popular saying goes – Day
by day nothing seems to be changing but when you look behind everything is
different, THAT’S LIFE.
If
one encounters God through prayer, the others around can notice a difference in
the person. For example when Moses came down from the tent of meeting his face
was shining so much that the people had to cover their faces. On Mount Taber
Jesus was transfigured. Just to cite a few examples.
Reflecting
on prayer I remembered an article I had read from a book. Prayer is GUIDANCE – God, U and I DANCE. Prayer
is like a couple dancing together to soft waltz music. God and you cooperate
with each other. He gently nudges you to bring you closer to himself. He leads
you gently into following his steps.
We
as Carmelites are fortunate to spend the 1st hour of our day with
God. He is our creator who has blessed us with yet another beautiful day. In
prayer you will find the peace and consolation you need. You also get the
strength you need to carry out the tasks assigned to you for the day. It will
surely make a difference in your life.
Remember – The phone lines to heaven are currently
free. God is waiting to speak to your heart.
Go speak to him freely.
Sr. Rose of
Infant Jesus (Lyan) O.C.D Novice
Carmel of God the Father, Pune.
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