What does prayer mean to you? At first I thought it was just reciting The Our Father or praying the rosary. But over the years, I have learned that prayer is so much more. I learned that prayer is just like talking to your best friend.
When I was younger I have great memories of visiting my Aunt Nita’s house. We loved to go there and see our cousins, play outside or have family dinners. But when we went to Aunt Nita’s house on Wednesday that was prayer night. I enjoyed being raised Catholic and appreciated attending private school for twelve years. That foundation grounded me from a young age. I noticed how prayer time at Aunt Nita’s was different from how we prayed in church. I was glad that my mother exposed us to different churches and I had a chance to see how other people praised and worshiped God.
Wednesday night prayer meant we would sing songs, listen to scriptures and then my Aunt Nita would pray. In our family the women are true prayer warriors. They know how to stand in agreement as people would say their prayer requests or intentions. It was a very moving experience. At the end we would all go around the circle and recite a scripture. My sister and I never knew what to say. My mom would just tell us to say “Jesus wept”. So when it was my turn I said “Jesus wept”. After going to prayer night I was tired of saying Jesus wept. So I decided to look in the bible to find a verse I could recite. The scripture I found was the prayers of the righteous availeth much. I couldn’t wait for the pray night. When it was my turn to say the scripture I was so excited. But when it was my turn I just said, “Jesus wept”.
Whenever I was at a low point, sick or felt lost. I would always call on my mother, Aunt Nita or Aunt Theresa(ReRe) to pray with me. After they prayed with me. I always felt better and stronger. One day I called my mom to pray with me and she wasn’t home. I felt so helpless. When she returned my call, she asked why I sounded so upset. I told her that I needed her to pray with me. She politely told me that I needed to learn how to pray for myself. She told me I needed to go into my prayer closest and talk to God. I admit my feelings were hurt. I went in the closet and called her back. First, she told me get out of the closet! You see your prayer closet can be anyplace that you can find serenity to talk with God. So, I found my prayer closet and my prayer journey began.
It is very important for me that my children see and hear me pray. If I am driving and I feel led to pray and take a minute to say thank you Lord. I pull over and do just that. I am not a saint. I struggle everyday. But I have learned how to pray over my children. I pray before I walk into work, leave home, before my children get on the bus, and while I am at work. I am cautious when people say let me pray for you. Because I am not sure who they are praying to and if they truly have my best interest at heart.
Prayer is powerful. Pray and believe that God will answer your prayers. You have to practice patience and that does get easier over time. Start your prayer journey today. Your prayer doesn’t have to be long just pray and believe.
Prayer=no worries.
~Brooke
A Woman's Work - Brooke Basically Blogging 