Religion and politics, two of the three topics we don't discuss because things will get heated or awkward or both and then what? However I would like to tell you that I am a big believer in the power of prayer. Of course prayer is different things to different people. Depending on your religion it can mean meditation, contemplation, supplication or hymns. There is empirical evidence which shows that a positive attitude, an uplifted focus on what you want, a release of that desire into the universe is more likely to be realised than a negative, unspoken or hidden one. Prayer can assist with mental and physical health as well. Clay Routledge wrote at length about this topic in the National Review published in April of last year.
Part of the reason I believe in prayer is that my most fervent prayers have been answered. From the times when I was in trouble as a teenager to anaphylaxis and near death as a young adult, to the times I grieved multiple miscarriages and then for my daughters to be born and in good health my prayers have been granted. Since then for almost two decades I have daily prayed for the health and safety of our daughters, one of whom has epilepsy but who is now about two and a half years seizure free. My prayers for them and others have not stopped and probably never will. Prayer increases a sense of hope in my life and hope is a substance in short supply some days.
Don't get me wrong, not all my prayers have been answered. All I know is that the big ones have been. And for that I am truly and perpetually grateful. And that is the other reason I pray: to express thanks for all the blessings in my life which have been so many!
Part of the reason I believe in prayer is that my most fervent prayers have been answered. From the times when I was in trouble as a teenager to anaphylaxis and near death as a young adult, to the times I grieved multiple miscarriages and then for my daughters to be born and in good health my prayers have been granted. Since then for almost two decades I have daily prayed for the health and safety of our daughters, one of whom has epilepsy but who is now about two and a half years seizure free. My prayers for them and others have not stopped and probably never will. Prayer increases a sense of hope in my life and hope is a substance in short supply some days.
Don't get me wrong, not all my prayers have been answered. All I know is that the big ones have been. And for that I am truly and perpetually grateful. And that is the other reason I pray: to express thanks for all the blessings in my life which have been so many!
"Prayer is, at root, simply paying attention to God." Dr. Ralph Martin
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