For many months now, around 7 AM each morning during the week, I send a motivational saying to my daughter and granddaughter. It all started when my first-born daughter mentioned to me that a particular day was likely going to be challenging one for my granddaughter who is a high school freshman. (Can’t we just remember those days??) I can’t recall the exact scenario of that day, but in typical “Nana can fix anything mode” I searched Pinterest to find just the right, cheerful saying to share with them. It apparently helped in some way, as I received a loving thank you in return. I have kept up the tradition for months now. Some mornings I’m 100% sure what to send, and other mornings the saying may be more for me to see and internalize than it may be for them.
A few days ago, I ran across one quote that I know held special meaning, more for my daughter than granddaughter that day. My daughter has been a runner for some time now, but has taken it to the next level. No, she’s not a marathoner, or extreme athlete, but what she is, is an extreme Prayer Warrior while she runs. She will often let people know a run is about to take place and they will send her their prayer requests for that time. She’s been doing it so long now though, they often send her their requests and she will keep them on small note cards until the next run happens. That is quite special, if you do ask me.
But let’s get back to that special quote. It says:
“I strongly suspect that if we saw all the difference even the tiniest of our prayers make
and all the people those little prayers were destined to affect
and all the consequences of those prayers down through the centuries
we would be so paralyzed with awe at the power of prayer
that we would be unable to get up off our knees for the rest of our lives”.
-Peter Kreeft^
Stop and read that again. Have you ever dared to think of prayer in that way? If you are like most of us, I imagine we have prayed various different types of prayers. Prayers that range from the quick “help me Lord” type to ones that are well thought out with heartfelt emotion attached. However, I believe it is not special words or the way in which we say them. It also isn’t based on if we are driving, doing chores, have our eyes closed or open, if we are alone or with others, or even if we are standing up, sitting down, lying down or on our knees. I believe that, because I also believe the power of prayer comes from the One who is listening to us. It’s our way of talking to God and communicating with Him. Perhaps it’s because we struggle to consider the real power of God based on our own limitations? It’s also why it can be hard to truly believe in miracles, yet aren’t they evident to us in many ways, every day?
Undoubtedly we all can share a story about the power of prayer which is wonderful. I would love to hear your stories (as I know others would to). It helps to keep our faith high and our belief going. Can we though, even try to fathom prayer as Professor Kreeft describes it? If so, it means we can believe God is truly hearing everyone’s requests and answering them, according to His perfect will and timing, much more frequently and much more often than we’ve ever considered. How can believing as Professor Kreeft does challenge us to change our own prayer lives? Wouldn’t it be exciting to be “paralyzed with awe at the power of prayer“? Imagine it… go ahead!
Philippians 4:6-7 says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Of course, today I’m going to share with you the incredible song, “The Prayer“, written by David Foster and Carole Bayer Sager. This version sung by Celine Dion and Josh Groban. The video shares a cute story about Josh’s first time singing with Celine.
P.S.- one of the quotes on the video feedback caught my eye… it says “My 10 year old just said, Mom, that must be what Jesus sounded like when He sang”. Priceless!
^The quote above was written by Peter Kreeft. I don’t know him, but I wanted to after reading his quote. When I looked at his website, I was even more intrigued with him as it says… Peter Kreeft, Ph.D., is a professor of philosophy at Boston College. He loves his five grandchildren, four children, one wife, one cat, and one God. He no longer accepts email communication because of the large volume he was receiving. The best way to reach him is through snail mail (his preferred method of communication) at the college. Gotta love that guy! He has written 75 books, shares numerous audio recordings and DVDs of his lectures. I’m going to need to check them out and I encourage you to as well.