1000 Prayers or a Single Whisper to God?

I have been pondering a conversation I had with my sister a couple of weeks ago. We got onto the discussion of prayer and what does prayer really mean. Do “prayer chains” somehow make God listen and act quicker on whatever subject is being prayed for? Do 100 prayers somehow “trump” a single prayer from a single person? I have actually heard several people talk about this very topic. I have even heard people mock the idea of “prayer chains” and I would be lying if I said I never laughed at the idea that somehow a collection of 25 prayers outweighed a single plea to God. I absolutely have; what can I say? There was a time when I simplified things WAY too much. However, I view this topic very differently now.

I believe that the most important thing we must do is to love one another. God asks this of us time and time again. And I firmly believe that prayer is one of the biggest ways we can show and feel love.
I am NO EXPERT on God…let me repeat this. I AM NOT AN EXPERT ON GOD!!! I am not a pastor, a deacon, a priest, a nun or even an usher. I am simply a spiritual person who has thought about this a lot and for whatever reason feels compelled to write my thoughts down about it.

When I had major surgery several years ago I had the blessing of having many, and I do mean MANY people praying for me. I know I was on several “prayer chains”. Do I really think that the reason I came through that surgery and am the active, pain-free person I am today is because I had hundreds of prayers instead of just one or two that I prayed myself? ABSOLUTELY!!! Do I think this is because God somehow said, “Well, since Deborah is so loved and she has all these people praying I’m gonna do her this one solid.”? ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!

I do believe that God is so big and so complex that he can hear a whisper just as clearly as a thousand screams. However, there is also something to be said about the human spirit; how knowing that I had so many people who loved me or my loved ones enough, that they took a few precious moments out of their day to lift MY name in prayer. That LOVE (prayer,) gave me the comfort and strength (and also gave my loved ones comfort and strength) I needed to deal with the physical, emotional and mental struggles that I would face during my recovery.

I know that when I am praying for someone I love or the loved one of someone I care about I feel connected to that person. God is the great connector. It is through him that we love each other and care for each other and the way we exhibit this is to PRAY for each other!

So while, NO I don’t think that God will somehow act quicker based on the volume of prayers being sent his way, I do think he takes great delight in knowing we love each other and HIM enough to pray for our fellow man. And for that I do believe there is great power in prayer! Prayer gives people comfort when they are hurting, strength when they are feeling weak, clarity when they are lost and LOVE when they need it most.

New Year...New Me?

Wow...what can I say except that 2009 was quite honestly a life changing year for me. It certainly had its up and downs, but all in all it was by far one of the best years I have ever had. So here is a brief look back at my year 2009 (in no particular order): ran my first mile in over 7 years; trained for and completed my first triathlon; lost 50 lbs; trained for and ran my first half marathon; bicycled Horsetooth in CO; went to Hawaii; made new friends; let go of some old "friends"; decided that to forgive is often times better than to be "right"; realized that when life is at a peak moment the valley that may follow seems soooooo much deeper; adversely, I realized that without the valleys the peaks are meaningless; let go of old insecurities; allowed new insecurities to creep in and take hold; learned that ALMOST ALWAYS those insecurities are nothing more than nasty negative forces trying to keep you down; spent too much time on facebook seeking validation; spent too much time on facebook trying to help validate others; began my first blog, only to post the link on facebook to once again feed my overwhelming ego; found out that I do NOT have allergies and that the recurring sinus infections were nothing more than the lack of proper antibiotics; found out that I have asthma; FINALLY realized that feeling guilty for eating pizza, hamburgers, cake, French fries, burritos, tacos, ice cream and the like is absolutely useless and only adds fuel to the fire that is my self-loathing-body-image-issues-that-I-have-had-since-childhood; resolved to the idea that I LOVE FOOD and therefore the only way for me to maintain a healthy weight is to work my ASS OFF; decided to start LOVING my body, as it is the only one God gave me and therefore, I should cherish it even when it is not at peak performance (which it has yet to be); stopped making excuses and started facing the truth...oh, and the old Bible verse, "...the truth will set you free" is in fact true; spent ungodly amounts of money on running shoes and attire; realized that I am absolutely terrible when it comes to wastefulness…I am WAY TOO wasteful; I also realized that no matter how disciplined I can be in some areas of my life I absolutely cannot seem to stay disciplined for longer than about 3 days when it comes to keeping a tidy house, laundry, dishes, etc.; caught my first case of acne; had bangs cut to hide said acne; realized that I bake a mean pumpkin cupcake; I also make a mean praline; realized that spending $150 to have my house cleaned BEFORE having everyone over for Christmas was a HUGE waste of money and that money would have been MUCH better spent AFTER everyone had left; realized that I am actually NOT perfect…one can only imagine what a kick in the gut THAT was; I am flawed; learned that there are things completely beyond my control and all I can do is give it up to the good Lord above (I am still working on putting this into practice…perhaps THAT will be 2010)! I hope everyone had as eventful a year as I did, but if not then perhaps 2010 will be your year of metamorphosis. I went from a caterpillar to a butterfly in 2009…now for 2010 I’m going to FLY!!!