Monday, November 30, 2009

My dearest God,

Who can read the future? Who can give assurance for the future?

So often I want my prayers to become the stuff of tomorrow. I want my prayers, especially for others, to unfold as a reality in the future. Today I want to see yesterday's prayers unfold because in my mind they will usher in hope, peace and beauty.

Why do I pray? Why do I ask for specifics like healing, unity, love, forgiveness, new vision? I want to change the world scene. I want joy for someone ailing with a broken heart. I want peace for others whose hearts are restless, unsettled and chaotic. I want hope for another whose hope has dissolved with the milk in the cereal bowl. I pray because I want the world changed around me.

I know I cannot change the world, not even events and situations around me. My love, faith, courage and will are not powerful enough to shift someone else's life, sometimes not even my own. Yet, my desire to pray, my care for another's pain, my hope for change coupled with a strong belief that prayer can change things inspires me to pray, believing.

I believe there is an element of possible transformation in my own life as I pray. As I take responsibility and live out of love's possiblities, I open myself to change, to become more caring and loving, more accountable to reach out to my neighbor and my loved one. I give you a silent nod to renew my own faith and trust in you when I pray and in my praying I join forces with all others who are praying to adjust a world filled with ills and ails.

I am the future when I pray today because I partner with you when I utter the name of someone else, including myself. My act of trust somehow spreads faith into the universe and grace has room to grow. The future is the stuff of yesterday infused with timeless power from on high. Why need I worry?

O God,
when my
own hope
runs shallow,
when my
faith grows weary,
when my
trust falters,
and I stumble
due to lack
of courage,
remind me
I have
a significant part
to play
in the future.
My belief
in you,
in your ability
to change things
and your
gracious love
can aid
in making
your loving power
visible in
the world.
Hold my feet
to love's ability
to reveal
your truth,
your grace
and compassion,
I pray.

Love, Andrea