Prayer

Every day is an opportunity, even if you are at home and all you can do is pray! Monday was a long day….if you have seen the wild video of me “screaming” after hearing that Thomas qualified for the U.S. Am, then you witnessed firsthand the release of emotion that I had been managing all day.

THE CADDIE stayed home…….

Bill was the caddie Monday, and it looks like Brewer will be the caddie for the Am! I hate it when I am not the caddie…..there is just something about being there and helping out by carrying the bag. It keeps my nerves in check and I guess I feel like I am doing something! When I am not the caddie…..I am more nervous and tense…….! I was doing fine Monday, going about my day….pausing to pray hourly….knowing it was going to be a long day…Thomas had to play 36 holes in the pouring down rain. Wherever I was at the top of the hour…I would stop to pray…I loved it…because whoever I was with….prayed with me.

From Collins and her statistics tutor, Russell; to Sarah Parker (adopted daughter) and her friend who had dropped by to say hello….to a long time friend, Jennifer, who helps me around the house; to our current Miss South Carolina, Lanie Hudson, who is staying at our house this week; to adopted son, Mike (Collins’ boyfriend); to our cousins, Cathy, Haley and Ford, who were in town and met us for dinner; everyone prayed for Thomas.

Even when Brewer called to give me an update on Thomas….we stopped to pray! Most everyone knows by now that I just want to hear when it is all over since I am not physically there. Updates make me more tense when I am not participating…and I like to stay in a state of constant prayer and remain calm…but old “Brew” likes to break the rules……he obviously was following online and called to tell me exactly where Thomas was on his next to the last hole of 36–Thomas had hit a questionable shot…..which could jeopardize his chances…….! I decided not to get too upset with Brew because of the passion and love in his voice that came right through the phone to me about his best friend and brother.

I take you through all this to take you back to the subject of prayer! Why did I spend all day in prayer?

Prayer has become a dominant staple in my life! I love to pray and get alone with God. I love to hear other people pray…..and I love to pray with others. Talking to God has become a consistent way of life for me….I pray continuously…before bluetooth…I used to get these awful stares at red lights…like I was crazy……..but now not so much since technology has become so sophisticated! People think I am talking on my phone in the car but I am actually praying. I have even stepped it up. If people ask me to pray for them, I try to stop wherever I am with them and say, “Let’s pray right now!”

Before I go any further, I would like to share some of my favorite scriptures on prayer…I am warning you now, this could be a very long post. Worth reading to the end, because PRAYER is where it is at!!!!

1 Thessalonians 5:17, “Pray without ceasing.”
James 1:6, “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.”
James 5:16, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has GREAT POWER as it is working.” [emphasis mine]
Philippians 4: 6-7, “Be anxious for nothing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and mind in Christ Jesus.”

Just referencing the above verses……prayer draws us close to a Holy God, the God of the universe…the God who created me/you. The God who knows best for our lives and desires the very best for us….the God who sent His one and only Son to die a horrific death and was raised on the third day so that we could experience His Grace and forgiveness and salvation……WE don’t have to be anyone special with a special title or exist in a special place to pray…we can pray anywhere, at any time and guess what? God hears and is sitting on go!

Prayer protects our hearts and minds–it strengthens, it guides, it brings peace, it guards, it brings healing…..it gives an “abundant life”. I love how Philippians states that prayer gives a “peace that surpasses all comprehension”….there is no truer or real statement in the whole of scripture…..it is indescribable the peace that I receive when I pray…there are no words…the only way I can tell you to feel and receive what I have received is to do it…..pray…pray …pray, all the time without ceasing.

The one thing I have learned and will forever do in the Back 9 is to live God’s Word and, to the best of my ability, do what it says. Why? Because I am just a mere human….and I know, that I know that I know, God knows best. What better way to live a GREAT LIFE….THAN TO READ HIS WORD AND DO WHAT IT SAYS!!!

Prayer is where it is at…it is a starting point of building the most significant relationship that you ever want to have….a relationship with a HOLY GOD who is perfect and has perfect love for me/you and has a perfect plan.

I encourage you….allow prayer to overtake you….make it more of a priority than anything else you do…..above sleep, above eating, above all other relationships… discipline yourself….to pray…after a while….it won’t be like exercising….which makes you glad when it is over….when you discipline yourself to pray…I would bet you will experience what I have experienced…you will open your eyes and you will be shocked. What seemed like a few minutes will have been hours of talking to your Lord and Savior!

PRAYER….IS THE KEY TO LIFE!

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