PRAYER – TRY IT

Prayer – Try It

by Jan Cox

This has been a different type of week for me. My 94-year-old dear Mother passed away a week ago Thursday. This meant a trip back from Arizona to Canada to deal with her affairs, plan a celebration service and meet with family and friends.

An emotional time, but these words from Scripture kept me going.

“Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. (Romans 12:11-12 NLT)”

I believe that prayer is the only way to live my life well. God answers prayers. He is with us through all types of trouble.

Besides caring me through the planning and the service, He gave me comfort, hope and a strength that can only come from God.

I don’t speak in public often but every time I have been asked to speak in front of God’s people – I can and I do – with an amazing sense of peace and power. So, you see, that peace and power has to be from God.

And another thing – a miracle.

My husband had left his passport in his coat in the church. And somehow, by God’s grace I located the minister of the church (we were in a different city than my home church and renting the facility) and the minister kindly opened the church late at night for me to get my husband’s passport.

To complicate the matter more, I am staying ½ hours away from the city in which we held the service and since my husband was returning early the next morning to Arizona he went to Toronto (1 and ½ hours away from me). We each had long drives to accomplish this job of getting his passport. Thanks to a wonderful son and son-in-law we did it.

Prayer is our conversation with God – how we talk and how we listen. If you haven’t tried it – do. You will never know until you try.

I want to give a public thank you to my parents who gave my sister and I such shining examples of how to live our lives.

“Prayer is the most powerful tool we have as Christians, and the least used. Prayer changes things, try it!!” Tim Aduddell from Okla who is now working in Iraq/Dubai.

My Gratitude List for this week … counting to 1000 – I have reached 994.

  • Great flight home to Canada – on time
  • Strength to do what needed to be done for the Celebration of Life for my Mother
  • Loving sister who kept me going
  • Loving kids
  • Good sleeps
  • Caring funeral home director and his assistant
  • Movers available for moving things out of my Mom’s apartment
  • Looking through pictures
  • Reading Dad’s letters to mom (64 years ago)
  • Caring minister who travelled 1 and 1/2 hours to officiate at the service
  • Family’s  and friends’ love
  • Wonderful celebration of a life well-lived
  • Strength and calm to speak (which can only come from God)
  • My hubby’s memories spoken in love
  • My daughter’s courage to speak about her Grandma through her tears
  • Words of love from my son and my niece
  • Quiet thoughts from my other daughter and other niece
  • Emails of condolences – so many!
  • Wayne leaving his passport at the church; remembering late at night; the hunt to get it; the miracle of locating the minister; getting him to plane on time with passport
  • The day after – time to pray, reflect and REST
  • Remembering all my wonderful children and grandchildren and how I am so proud of them
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