my advice? when in doubt, pray!

I cannot even begin to express how powerful prayer truly is! I know everyone has their own perspective on prayer, and, rightfully so! Prayer is the most divine experience we can physically and spiritually encounter.

One thing I have always enjoyed about the Art of Prayer, is, the versatility! There is literally no such thing as a ‘wrong’ way to pray. Now, I suppose we could say, a ‘curse’ is the opposite of a prayer. Perhaps, they could simply be considered, ‘bad prayers’; but, nevertheless, there is no ‘wrong’ way to pray!

I remember one time I was at my son’s hockey game and I was chatting with the mother of his teammate, she was in her early 50’s. As we were chatting, she was sharing some of her recent, post-pandemic life changes and struggles with me… In response, I began to encourage her and I told her she may find it helpful to pray. I was totally taken aback when she responded by letting me know she doesn’t pray and she is an atheist.

Now, if you know me, then I’m sure you can already detect, her response didn’t stop me from continuing to stress how PRAYER can literally help her and change her entire life! Of course, I was not pushy about it. I encouraged her to understand that, no matter what/who you ‘believe in’, you can still pray. To pray can simply be to meditate, to relax, to ponder in thought, to express positive affirmations, to have positive hope, to believe in the possibility of a grand outcome, etc. With prayer, we become boundless!

And this, is why…. Prayer will always, always, always be the answer!

Years ago, I was homeless with my son. He was only 3. But, fear of failure never stopped me from my radical belief in God! I always knew He would guide me and provide for me. Once I accepted that God would always be by my side, I ran as far and fast as I could towards the wildest dreams I could even imagine LOL!

Back then, I didn’t have ‘anything’…. No place to live, no source of income, no stability or structure for myself and my son. In my perspective, back then, I had a ton! I relocated from my hometown, to fantasy land! I did it all on my own and, luckily, I was free. Now, I had to learn how to understand and navigate the world. Because to the world, we are a stranger, we have to understand how much consciousness goes into ACTUAL EXISTENCE.

“Everybody dies, but not everybody lives…”

Realistically, from my perspective, life offers you the chance to be either a Leader, or, a follower. While, the best Leader is an excellent follower…. A follower, in their simplicity, either aims to lead, or, simply never cares to lead at all. And, ultimately, if we wish to Lead… We must consult the Greatest Leader…. Some refer to as God, others, Universe; the list goes on.

This is where prayer comes into handy.

Now, ironically enough, my daughter’s first spoken word was, AMEN! LOL! I am so happy to be able to share this story! My son and I prayed for my daughter to come into this world by way of God’s grace and mercy. God knew I had no means to have a child, but, I had the deepest desire and, it was what I needed at that point in my journey. Fast forward to her actually being born into this world, she was warped into a PRAYING Family!

When my son was younger, we would pray aloud together constantly! My daughter heard us praying before she was even born, or, conceived (I like to believe). So, when she was just a baby, growing into a toddler, she was getting to the age where she would sit at her own table and place her hands together for prayer. At the end, we would always say AAAAAMEN! Our enthusiasm combined with her desire to join in… One day, she just burst out and said it! Her brother and I were shocked and amazed!

While experiences like this have their way of making it more than apparent to us, how important and impactful the act of prayer can be…. Are they enough to resonate with us, deep down inside?

Like my daughter, some of my first recollections of prayer stem from my early childhood. When I was younger, my parents weren’t quite the church-goers. My grandmother, however, was a Jehovah’s Witness…. So, although there was not a strong sense of spirituality within my home, or my family…. I was still able to learn of prayer from my grandmother.

As I grew older and began to learn right from wrong, I would find myself feeling convicted by ‘God’s word’. Although I had learned to pray much earlier in life, it wasn’t until I was nearly a teenager that life-principles and the deeper meaning of prayer began making sense to me. Once I reached this milestone, I proudly decided that a little procrastination would surely do the trick.

I felt convicted by God’s word but had no intentions of obeying anytime soon! I told myself, ‘I have a whole life ahead of me, I can commit to God’s will for my life later!’ As hilarious as it may seem, I remember the moment as if it were yesterday. An elder of the church up on stage preaching about the importance of turning our lives over to God’s purpose for us, and, fleeing from sin…. ‘Sin, shmin, who cares?!’, I would say to myself.

Needless to say, not a day goes by that I don’t live eating my own words LOL! Life has its way of humbling us, that is for certain. And, being humbled by life, to be honest, is a choice. I always knew my judgement day would come, no matter how much time I spent running and hiding.

When the Power of Prayer and Purpose came into alignment with my personal values in life…. A magical door was opened to me. Frankly, I prayed for God to bless me with the KEY, even if I hadn’t made it to the right door(s) quite yet. And, He did!

After years of suffering from the bondage of the sins inherited to me, I learned I could free myself! I was indebted to my Creator. Needless to say, this was not a punishment. I would liken it to rescuing a stray animal or, an abandoned plant. I do not owe God, I do not owe the Universe….

I owe everything to myself. It is my duty to recognize the fruits of the Spirit and to harness all of my earthly birthrights. Through prayer, written, read, and spoken aloud, I am able to free my eternal spirit and cleanse my earthly body. I can disconnect from the world’s identity of me, and walk in alignment with my true life’s purpose.

Through prayer, I am able to tap into the highest version of myself. I am able to be in the direct presence of my Maker.