PRAYNG & DRIVNG

A Soldier handed me flyer from at&t which said "TXTNG & DRIVNG --- IT CAN WAIT".  I read it several times, and then gave him my alternative version - "PRAYNG & DRIVNG --- IT CANT WAIT".

Now, I'm not advocating more distracted driving, but I would like to talk about prayer from my own perspective as a spiritual leader.

At first glance, prayer may seem all about whining and begging God, "Please heal  this person. . . please help me survive this brigade run..." etc... One could mistakenly thing that God is holding out on us.

When we're faced with very serious problems, many have the practice of asking others to join together in prayer. What's that all about? It seems as if we hope to move God through force: "God, if you don't respond to my prayers, when I will recruit through the email thousands of others to pray."

Do we think these strategies really work? What are we actually doing here? If God is all knowing then why am I telling Him my problems? He already knows them. If God is good, then why am I asking Him to change my situation?

Prayer is an act of connecting to one's spirituality. It allows us to examine ourselves. Perhaps the question shouldn't be "Is God listening to my prayers?" but rather "Am I listening to my prayers? Does what I say impact me? Have I changed?"

For most of our Soldiers the power of prayer is a significant part of their spiritual fitness and resiliency. As leaders, we can insure they have the opportunity to pray, each in his or her own faith tradition, and know that in doing so, the mission, Soldier and Family are better for it.