Prayer and hope—where do they fit into your life?

 Financial disasters, droughts and floods, earthquakes and other natural upheavals encourage many people to pray and seek a hopeful outcome.  Unfortunately it too often takes an extreme situation to bring us to our knees in prayer and hopefulness for our lives.  For we American’s this is a time of year when we think about Thanksgiving.  But as we come to the close of another year, I believe it gives us another reason to reflect on all the ways that we have been blessed during this year. 

For some who are homeless and without a place to call their home due to natural disasters, our hearts and prayers go out to you.  Please let us not forget that even those who lost so much, still have much to be thankful for. 

Many of us have been used to living the status quo, taking our lives for granted and as a result, we ignore the possibility that change is inevitable.  We never know when we will be rudely awakened to the instant alteration of our lives yet life is constantly shifting and we must learn to move with that change or else we will get swept away. 

While this time of year is a perfect reminder to stop for a moment of prayer and thanksgiving, I would like to suggest that each one of us begin to practice a new habit; that is, thanking God daily for all that you have and all that you hope to have tomorrow. 

Prayer and hopefulness is part of my human fiber.  I am always hopeful for a better tomorrow and I pray frequently that God and my angel friends guide my journey and protect me from harm.  When change comes into my life, I pray that I will accept it with grace and positive thinking.  When I am stressed, I ask God to calm me down and help me release my anxiety and doubt and I never go to sleep at night without giving thanks for all that I have. 

I can honestly say that prayer and hope are part of my life, my authentic self and because of it, I actually live free from sickness and dis-ease in my body. Maybe it is time for you to bring prayer and hope into your daily life.  I know you will feel better for it.  Below are some thoughtful quotes that have given me pause and reflection.

“A Desire becomes a Hope when we discover a reason for its expectation, and there is no better reason to expect something than a promise given in the Word of God.”- Rex Rouis

“We tend to use prayer as a last resort, but God wants it to be our first line of defense. We pray when there's nothing else we can do, but God wants us to pray before we do anything at all.

Most of us would prefer, however, to spend our time doing something that will get immediate results. We don't want to wait for God to resolve matters in His good time because His idea of 'good time' is seldom in sync with ours.”  ― Oswald Chambers

“When every hope is gone, 'when helpers fail and comforts flee,' I find that help arrives somehow, from I know not where. Supplication, worship, prayer are no superstition; they are acts more real than the acts of eating, drinking, sitting or walking. It is no exaggeration to say that they alone are real, all else is unreal.” ― Mahatma Gandhi, The Story of My Experiments With Truth

Joan Marie Ambrose

Author, Creative Writer, Motivational Speaker