A brisk breeze is rustling the old oak’s leaves this morning sending a few brown ballerinas pirouetting down to the ground, dropping acorn bullets on the tin roof next door. The sky is beautifully overcast, a bowl of melted vanilla ice cream swirled with grays and blues. The sun has stayed under her cloud covers practicing her sunset pageant behind a curtain of clouds.

Was thinking while I was sitting in the swing about how many things I take for granted. Actually, we take our life for granted. When we lay our heads down at night we’re not promised tomorrow. We wake and take for granted that we have breath. We take for granted the sun will rise and the stars will be pinned in the sky at night. We take for granted all the blessings that God has given us and forget to thank him in our prayers. Then something slaps us back and makes us realize how short life is and we realize we better get on board with being grateful for each day.

I’ve had prayer on my mind all day today. I know I’m blessed at this stage in my life and I’m mindful every night to give thanks to the Lord. I am a staunch believer in the power of prayer. I’ve seen prayer’s power during life threatening illnesses of two children in our family and I’ve seen and experienced how prayer and faith can lead us through the darkness of the death of a child and the death of a beloved spouse. In today’s world we need to pray for wisdom from the Lord. The world need prayers for love and peace. We need to pray for our children to grow up in a world with respect for each other, regardless of our skin color or beliefs. We have to learn to agree to disagree without the anger of retaliation.

Barbara Johnson wrote, “Hope is praying for rain but faith is bringing an umbrella.” I love that simple thought. Prayer is defined as a solemn request for help or expression of thanks addressed to God. But prayer to me is a conversation with the Lord, verbalizing our needs and our worries, asking for peace. Sometimes just a simple thank you is sufficient to take to God in prayer. “If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough,” Meister Elkhart. Philippians 4:6 says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”

Scripture in Mark tells us “whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” If you don’t have faith in your prayers no need to share them with God. We have to have faith God will answer our prayers. We have to be spiritually strong to understand when our prayers aren’t answered, God has a different plan and he knows best. We say prayers of adoration, expressing our love of God, honoring him with praise. We say prayers of contrition, confessing our sins and asking for forgiveness. We say prayers of thanksgiving for all our blessings. And we say prayers of supplication, asking God for our needs and the needs of others.

Prayer fosters a spiritual connection to God and strengthens our faith. The power of prayer is the power of God. Faithful consistent prayer gives us comfort and hope. God hears our prayers and answers them. We may have to wait for an answer and we may not like the answer we receive but our lives are in his hands and I believe he has a path charted for us. We have to trust in God and accept the outcome of our prayers. God knows us. God sees us. God listens to our prayers. God loves us as a father loves his children.

Give thanks to God each day for your blessings and pray for our children and our country. Prayers are powerful and can truly move a mountain. God listens when we pray. Open your heart to God with daily prayer. “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you,” 1 Peter 5:7.

My three grandchildren say their prayers each night, always thankful for their family and their pets. When they were little I loved to hear their prayers. One night listening to the boys saying their prayers, I heard Alexander say, “I hope Granddaddy had a good day in heaven.” A beautiful memory I tucked away in my heart with tears in my eyes.

“Prayer is a surge of the heart, it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy.” — St. Therese of Lisieux