Reflection for May

Never give up!

Praying is a regular and important part of life for many people. Of course, we are not guaranteed that our prayers will be answered, but we should never give up.  If, as many do, we are praying for global issues like peace or justice it is very difficult to judge if our prayers are having any effect. When we pray for something closer to home, a sick relative or a strained relationship it is much easier to notice any changes that occur as we pray.

Belief in God and in His love for us is at the start of any prayer to Him. The prayer does not have to be long or elaborate, ‘God help us’ can be quite enough at very difficult times. God knows very well what we need. Many times however we do not know what we ourselves might need, if we are unhappy, depressed or lonely we need to pray not against what is bad, but for what is good, for something good to happen.

Some people find it a good and helpful idea to write down their prayers, just a simple sentence or two. It is possible to think upon what might need to happen for the prayer to be answered, in particular what might need to be done to help bring the prayer about, especially praying to God for wisdom and for new insights or ways of praying or actions to take.

Never give up. Hopefully, simply by praying regularly we can come to know God more deeply, and discover how to share the love He has for us with others. We will surely learn more about ourselves, about God and about the world as a result of persistently praying.