Prayer. A Place to Begin.

I’m writing this over Thanksgiving weekend. Yesterday, as we said the blessing over our delicious turkey dinner, I was thinking about how thankful I am for what we DIDN’T get this year:

Earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, tornadoes… we didn’t have any of those; no house fires, dog bites, bee stings… no car accidents, fatal diseases, divorces… at least not in our household. Nothing got re-possessed, no utilities got shut off (for long, anyway!) and nobody threw us into jail nor took us to the funny farm, which is proof positive that the grace of God is at work, as far as I’m concerned!

OK, OK, I did get that ONE mosquito bite last summer… but that was my own fault! I live in Silverlake and I know very well what time the mosquitoes come out en masse for their supper. I had no business being outside at that time, but I went outside anyway, and POOF! There he was. The hungriest mosquito this side of the Cascades! And then, to make matters worse, I swatted him AS he was biting me. ( A DEFINITE “NO,NO”!) Everyone knows you’re supposed to flick them up and off, not squash them down and in as they’re filling you with mosquito stuff. But, yeah, I panicked, and swatted him EXTRA GOOD, loading my poor arm with a double dose of mosquito stuff. The few days of itchiness reminded me to stay inside during mosquito dinner time for the rest of the summer. But compared to what many folks on our planet experienced this year, that was no biggie!

God really is GOOD. Even when He allows us to endure some things to test our faith or build our character, He withholds many, many OTHER trials that He could have sent our way, if He had thought them necessary. I admit, there have been years when I felt devastated and overwhelmed, but thankfully, 2009 wasn’t one of them. (Of course, the year isn’t over yet, as of this writing… but, as my friend Ted would probably say: “So far so good!”)

The important thing is to let trials drive us closer to God for relief and help, instead of away from Him into bitterness and isolation.

Currently, I’m reading a book by Billy Graham called: “Hope for the Troubled Heart”. In it, he says that prayer is a PLACE, and we should STAY in it like Jesus did when He walked on the earth. He was always in close communication with His Father. All of His conversations with men were the results of His conversations with His Father. Jesus prayed without ceasing. We should too.

Prayer is a 2-way conversation, Billy Graham says, and the most important part of praying is LISTENING for God’s answer - and to accept “No” or “Not now” as answers we can trust as much as the “Yes” answers we long to hear.

As the old year slips away and the new one looms ahead, we can get into that PLACE and begin there: in PRAYER.

May the Lord bless you as you endeavor to cooperate with Him, receive all He has for you, and share His love with others. Continue being kind and good. Withhold any pain you could easily inflict upon others, and instead, busy yourself with continual acts of kindness. (After all, it takes just as much time to be kind as it does to be mean!) Since God promises to supply all of YOUR needs through HIS limitless riches in glory, you can afford to be generous to everyone. But while you’re roaming about the countryside being kind and good, don’t forget to watch out for MOSQUITOES! They’re OUT there!!!

Paddy Burrow lives in Silverlake with her husband, Rick, and their THREE pets: Pumpkin, Patches and Gigi. She welcomes comments from her readers and can be reached evenings at 360-274-5231