by Lorraine Mooney
Inspired by introduction of When I’m On My Knees by Anita C. Donihue
Many times in life we want to help someone or some situation. But so many times we physically, and financially, cannot. We often say, “All we can do is pray,” and feel bad that we cannot do more.
We need to get our mindset away from feeling bad about only being able to pray. Prayer is a most powerful tool! It calls for intervention from the most powerful source in the universe: God! God hears our prayers. He always answers them. Maybe not always the way we want Him to, but He will answer. We must remember to listen.
The Bible tells us to pray without ceasing. There is a time for joint and public praying but what God wants most is conversational prayer in private. I have witnessed healing from God after putting people on prayer chains and doctors saying they don’t know how these medical healings took place.
I personally talk and pray privately to God often during the day. I pray for safety as I drive, I pray for friends and family when thoughts of them cross my mind. I find prayer gets me through work. At 73 I thank God I am still able to do my housekeeping job at WCRC. It is physically hard work. I refer to it as an exercise program that pays me to do it! I do the same chores week in and week out and have been for almost fifteen years. It can be very boring making the same bed and cleaning the same bathroom for the umpteenth thousand times. Early on I developed a coping mechanism to fight the boredom: prayer!
As I make beds, I pray the people who last slept in them got home safely and the peace found here will follow them for a long time. I pray the next people to sleep in the bed will get a good night’s sleep and enjoy their stay and feel loved and renewed in their time here. As I clean bathrooms, I am thankful for clean running water and pray that people find the Living Water. Sweeping the patio outside makes me pray for the families of the people whose names are memorialized on the bricks. Cleaning common areas finds me praying for the many meetings and programs that happen here as well as for fellow staff members.
Prayer is a powerful tool!
