Caron's Prayer

Already the submissions are pouring in. Here's Caron's spark on prayer:

What is prayer to me? Prayer is so many things, I feel intimidated by the question! Not being in a very philosophical mood right now means I am leaning toward a bullet-point list.

Prayer is a time of refreshment: I can always tell the quality of my prayer time by the depth of my refreshment. No matter how painful the prayer, I feel relieved when I am finished pouring everything out to the Lord.

Prayer is my greatest comfort: One of my best prayer experiences ever was a short period of time when I was exhausted by grief as my dear one lay dying. I was incapable of prayer at times and I relied on the Holy Spirit to tell God what I needed to tell Him. I remember one moment in particular that to this day I can only explain by saying I felt Jesus touch me. While I don’t want that kind of grief again, I would love to have that feeling every day, every moment of every day.

Prayer is my hot line: How exciting to have someone who WANTS to hear it all! There is nothing I can hide, so I can say things to the Lord I cannot or dare not say to anyone on earth. He knows it all! How liberating to say the words out loud – to let loose with the joy, the heart ache, the deepest fears, the worst guilt!

Prayer is my gratitude check: When I am grumbling or when I feel no one appreciates me, I stop myself and tell God how grateful I am that he sent his son to die on the cross for me. I tell Jesus how grateful I am that he gave his life for mine. This readjusts my attitude in short order.

Prayer is my humility monitor: What am I praying for? Didn’t I just pray for someone else’s marriage? Praise God when mine is going OK. Didn’t I just pray for someone’s cancer treatment? Praise God that we’re in good health.