Wednesday, October 3, 2012

31 days of prayer 3

Day 3

  Prayer cannot bring water to parched fields, nor mend a broken bridge, nor rebuild a ruined city; but  prayer can water an arid soul, mend a broken heart, and rebuild a weakened will. 
It's not what I'd call a traditional prayer, however, it really spoke to me. Especially the part about the weakened will. When I quit smoking (almost 2 years ago!) I prayed every time the urge or craving to smoke a cigarette came over me. Sometimes the only words I could think of were "Lord, please help me".  I'd sit real quietly and concentrate on just those few words...Lord, please help me. I drank a lot of water and I prayed almost constantly. It took about 2 weeks for the intense craving to lessen. I felt calmed by the fact that He was helping me through the withdrawals. Once I was through the toughest part, I noticed that I  still felt calm. Calmer than I had felt and been my whole life. I can only attribute that feeling of calmness to prayer. Either that or the fact that the nicotine had finally gotten out of my system. Either way, I liked the way it made me feel.  Even now, when I am feeling overwhelmed or stressed,  I realize that all I have to say to myself is "Lord, please help me" and the calmness comes right back. It's a small prayer but sometimes small is all you need.

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