Our Father, which art in heaven hallowed be thine name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done…I was taught to say those words at an early age. In fact it is often one of the first spiritual things taught. I remember kneeling as a young child when my parents prayed and looking around at my surroundings. I later learned that it was wrong to be looking and i was supposed to have my eyes closed. As I grew a little older…I wondered why mother took so long and how my knees seemed to get tired. Even as a preteen at church…I have to admit with shame—that during one feast day in my uncle’s basement— every member had to pray and I fell asleep and someone had to wake me. I am happy to say I no longer engage in such bad behavior. Later I learned to pray when I was scared, when I needed help, and even before I made a major decision. I recalled hearing at church that prayer was the most solemn thing we did because we were directly communicating with God. I have the recollection of when I realized that when we are praying to God the Father. Though my mother’s class on the subject was very straightforward I had never understood that before or comprehended what that meant. That realization made me a little nervous. I have to confess I felt then and in many ways still feel that I know very little about God the Father. I know that he controls time and that he is so holy that if he looked upon this earth it would be destroyed. I recall being taught that fire flows from his throne; unlike water that flows from Christ’s throne. However he did send Christ to die for us…for me because he loved his children so much. Jesus came to earth to show us what it means to live for God. He showed us how to govern our thoughts, emotions, words and actions in multiple ways. He showed us by example; how we should conduct ourselves before God the Father. He revered his Father (and so must we). Christ yielded to his Father without question or protest (and so must we). He also communicated with him often; before every vital decision (and so must we). This communication is prayer. Not only did he prove by example the importance of prayer but he told us directly that we had to pray to God to obtain the things that we needed. Luke 11: 9-13. (It is God the Father who sends his Holy Spirit and Mother Wisdom to us.) Jesus also said that certain afflictions could not be removed without fasting and prayer. Matthew 17: 18-21. Within his word it also states that if you are devoted to God and pray with great trust in the Lord that your prayers have significant benefits. James 5: 16. Christ warned us against making a show or using vain repetitions. He told us that if we waver we cannot expect anything from God. We were notified that sinful behavior can hinder our prayers. I Peter 3: 7. This information is important because amazing results have occurred due to prayer; fire has fallen from heaven, enemies were destroyed, evil spirits were forced out of the humans they held hostage, the sun has moved back in the sky and secrets of the end were revealed. This was through the direct communication to God the Father. A communication so powerful that if you do it honestly, consistently, and with your whole being you will receives answers. Not only about spiritual but also common things as well. It is important to ask God what school you should go to or when to leave your job or if it is better to stay. Why? He knows all and sees all. He also for knew you so he knows what is best for you. Now it does not mean you will get the answer that day. It does not mean you will get what you want or what you think you need but our Father always gives us what we need.
Now prayer is intimate. There are things that I speak about in prayer that I don’t speak to anyone about except my heavenly Father. Yet that is the part of the point of prayer; it helps build our personal relationship with God. Every child needs their parent and we are no different. That intimacy we have with our Father strengthens our spirit so that we are able to survive things that would break the spirit of anyone else. It enables us to have success when many could not subsist under the same conditions. There are examples of these facts in the lives of the saints. I wanted to review over the prayers of two in particular; Sara and Tobit. Now these were children of God that lived when the first 10 tribes of Israel were removed. Tobit was a righteous man that obeyed God in spite of numerous threats and obstacles. It did not mean that his life was easy because it wasn’t. He had his possessions removed and was brought to poverty for simply burying the dead. Yet he continued to obey God and did alms. During a period of time he blinded by whiteness caused from bird dung. Now sight is an importance sense. He could no longer work and his household was brought significant poverty because of it. I am sure he was ashamed and dejected; a man who could not support his family; who could not be leaned upon but had to lean on someone else. It weighed on him like an invisible lead chain that weighed nearly a thousand pounds. Whenever I read Tobit 3: 1-7 I think of how much pain he was in; I can only say I may know a little of what he felt. A few years ago I had gain somewhat of an affliction. During one of the most inconvenient times for it to occur I lost a significant amount of cognition, memory, quite frankly intelligence. This occurred during my rotations…my last year in pharmacy school. I remember staring at the desk top and I could not put a sentence together. I remember forgetting the dose for atrovent when a medical resident asked me. This is a dose I should never forget because I had administered to patients of all ages and sizes as a respiratory therapist. My sister would talk to me and I could not remember what she said a minute later. I had pain that could not be treated by normal pain medications. I had other symptoms that I don’t want to discuss but let’s say I know what it is like to have a burden that you wish would just go away. I suppose that is why I can relate slightly too how Sara felt. I am sure she looked normal from the outside but she had this heavy invisible weight. She did not know why all 7 of the men she had been married to died before she could be named after them. She just wanted God to remove her reproach and take pity upon her. However there is hope. God sent the angle Raphael to assist Tobias (Tobit’s son) in binding the evil spirit that tormented Sara and helped heal his father, Tobit. What I can say is my condition has forced me to rely upon God in a way I had not before. It opened my eyes to many infallible truths: that all gifts come from God. This can be physical beauty, agility, social ease and even intelligence. He can restore that which was removed because he created it. Now things have gotten better with assistance I am able to write again, I can read and comprehend. I can eat (sometimes a little too much) again. My memory is much better (though Liz may say I need to work on that). I know that one day I will completely healed and until then I will still say blessed be the name of the Lord.