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The following pages are taken from the Good Shepherd Community resources. They may be copied for personal use providing they are credited to bopth the Good Shepherd Community and the Province and Jurisdiction for On Call Ministry, and printed in full and not ammended or changed in any way. For other use, please contact Rev. Fr. Ian Walton. Unless otherwise stated, articles have been produced by Fr. Ian. To find out more about the Community, click left on 'the community page'.
Prayer in natural and God wants us to talk to Him. Why do we pray? I do not know except to say it is a natural response to circumstances which is truly amazing. Even those who would say they do not believe in God admit that there are times when they cannot help themselves and go against all their reason and pray. It is a truly remarkable feature of our existence and comes from deep within us, beyond our consciousness. Perhaps we were created with the need to pray and perhaps within that we have the natural ability to pray. For many of us it is part of our Christian background. We have been exposed to prayer but I wonder whether we really understand the power and responsibility in love we have because of prayer. We pray because we have concerns, fears, worries and problems. We pray because we feel we can offer or do nothing else in the circumstances. We then resign ourselves to whatever life throws at us. Is this what prayer is about, a last ditch effort to delay the inevitable? I won't attempt to answer that question. I'd really like you to find out the answer for your self. We each have to work this out for ourselves otherwise it has no real value. Let me help you on the way though by giving you an example I hope you are not over familiar with in real life. If you have a toothache you can take pain killers but somewhere down the line you will have to see the dentist if you want the problem resolved. You will have to talk to the dentist about the problem because there is nothing left to do. The dentist cannot do anything until you commit yourself to him. You may have to wait, you may get an immediate appointment , but you will be seen and the dentist will assess the situation and do what he or she can do. It may hurt for a while but it will bring healing even though there is an emotional and probably financial cost to bear for a while. You may even realise that if you had spoken to the dentist a little earlier that the problem wouldn't have been so difficult to deal with. How does that relate to prayer? In prayer you begin by accepting that there is a problem or worry that needs dealing with. You talk to God and explain the situation. You give over the problem to God and wait for an answer. Then God acts on the problem and you wait for the healing process to begin. Some time later you find healing has taken place and if you remember you can say your thank you in whatever way you think is appropriate. Unlike the dentist, unless you have a very special dentist, God has a deep and lasting love for you and this goes much further than whatever you think about yourself. Some people say or think that they are not very nice people and they feel embarrassed about approaching God. Let me tell you that God loves you more than any other creation. He is waiting for you to talk to Him. He wants nothing more than for you to talk to Him, to share your worries, fears, hurts and concerns with Him. He loves you more than anything you could have done or not done , more than anything you could have said or not said. What is more, regarding prayer, the time and method is unimportant. He has so much love for you He will do everything He can to help you. All you have to do is to start talking to Him, regardless of whatever sort of person you think you are. No one is barred from talking to God. Wow, that is a big thought. How do you talk to God? Just do it. There are lots of ways and no one way is better than any other. It may feel peculiar but just do it. I pray a lot when driving on my own and the different places on my journey to work reminds me about the different people I pray for on a regular basis. I just talk, it is as if God is sat in the seat beside me, and I tell God everything because I trust Him and trust in His love for me. I pray at work, quietly so as not to upset other people, when problems arise. I pray at church. I pray with others and support their prayers as I feel led. I pray as I rest and just think about the day, things I have said, things I have done, things that have happened, people I have met. I ask for big things and small things. I try to remember that everything that happens in my life matters to God. There is nothing that I cannot ask for. I do not worry about the things I pray for God answers all prayers in some way. I know God's love is greater than anything I can imagine and He acts out of that love. I know that I can pray and then forget about it because it is being dealt with. He knows what I am going to say and that means if I can't get the words out I don't have to worry because He knows, He feels, He understands my prayer. Prayers can be feelings and emotions that cannot be put into words and are given to God in trust. Prayers can be as short as the urgency of a situation demands. They can be long, poetic and beautiful. They can be stumbling, disjointed, half formed and with long pauses inbetween the words, phrases and sentences. There is no right way or wrong way. There is no better way or worse way. It begins with talking to God, however silly that may seem. Once you utter a single word of prayer you have connected with God and God will not break that trust you have shown by saying that first word. He is patient and will wait longer than you can imagine for you to share the things that happen in your life. He will listen whenever you speak. He will act because He loves you more than anything else. All He asks is for you to try. Trust your deeper instincts and go for it. Be ready to be suprised about how far God will go for you..
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