“Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’ Anything more is from the evil one.” I love the gift of prayer. Truly a gracious gift from God. A grace that permits us sinful unworthy sinners to enter freely and gracefully onto sacred ground, into God’s holy presence, an intimate union with the Lord. Prayer is at the heart of who we are, for we are relationship, a community, a family, a response to God’s great love, the answer to his prayer. I am thankful to God for the many ways He graciously meets us in prayer. He lifts us up and takes us onto holy ground then He brings us into Holy Communion. At times, we need the words from a saint or a poem or sacred scripture to inspire us. At times we need to remain still and silent and simply be and receive what the Lord offers us in response to our prayer. At times we need someone to guide us or lead us into divine intimacy through meditation, contemplative, or reflective prayer. Sometimes we just need the Holy Spirit to speak directly to our hearts through a song, a lyric, an upbeat melody or one that moves us to tears. What a great gift prayer is. So many ways to pray, praise, and acknowledge our needs and cry to God for help and assistance. In moments when we feel nothing is working, I am thankful that we can pray. We are often plagued with situations we cannot control, change, or correct. We experience those difficult days, ever so impatient when nothing seems to go our way. We can’t seem to get a break. These are great opportunities for prayer. God always provides the wisdom, grace, and direction we need. In prayer, we are not in control, God is. Can we truly say that we are in control of any situation or conversation? Can we control the thoughts, responses, or actions of another? Are you able to control your anger, temptation, impatience, desire, or sin? In the end, we have the grace and power of holy baptism to renounce and say no to sin and to believe and say yes to God, His will, His Spirit, His grace. In the end, we have the power and freedom to respond to every situation and conversation. Yes, let us pray for patience for it is a virtuous gift and a great aid to prayer. However, let us pray for the grace to say yes to God and no to all that opposes Him.
