Caitlin Plefka ... On Prayer
My granddaughter Caitlin is a member of a church sponsored group of teens. The pastor asked them to write their thoughts on a subject for a Relevant Radio broadcast. But when they did, he edited them and asked them to read the edited copy. His changes may not have changed the message, I don't know, ... but they were no longer the work of the teens.
Caitlin said, "Both Father Peter and the representative from Relevant Radio gave me positive feedback on the reading of my essay. Although I did not use his version, I took into account the suggestions he made and I believe that he was pleased with the outcome".
My response ... "Bravo Caitlin for your thoughts on prayer. They are concise and 100% on target. ... Bravo Caitlin for keeping to your principals and speaking your thoughts and not the words of someone else. ... You are a credit to your family ... but mostly to yourself. I am proud to know you and to be able to claim credit for the part I have played in your ancestry." This is what Caitlin wrote:
"How often do you pray? Do you make prayer one of
the priorities in your life? In the busy, day-to-day lives of teenagers, prayer
can be crowded out. Sometimes it is overlooked. Sometimes it is pushed aside for
studying, friends, and other things. Sometimes it is simply forgotten.
Do you think one of the obstacles when praying is the fact that many teens don’t
know how to pray? Other than mechanically reciting memorized prayers, like the
Our Father or Hail Mary, it can be hard to find the right words when praying.
But prayers don’t have to be long or well versed; you only need to reply to the
presence of God as if you were conversing with a friend. There are always
opportunities to add prayer to our busy lives. Thank God when good things
happen. When troubled, ask God for help. And during those rare, quiet moments to
yourself, praise God.
It’s important to make sure you don’t just pray to ask, but also pray to thank.
Pray regularly because the more you pray, the easier it becomes and the more
your relationship with God will grow. Praying can be so easy; you can do it
anytime, anywhere. God never forgets us; can we say the same?"
Yes Caitlin, I agree. The formal prayers have their place in the public prayer of the Church and many find them helpful. But I have found informal prayer to be my way of communicating with God. That is why he and I have a cup of coffee together each morning to talk things over. Your grandma joins with us and sometimes others join in. It is amazing that when I tell them what I have written for these web pages, I am inspired to change things as I did this morning, leaving some things out or adding a more kindly thought. It sets the tone for the day and I can not envision starting my day without these visits.
During the day I find myself taking a moment or two when I feel the warmth of the sun, hear the song of the birds, see the beauty of the garden and the sky, or hear the chatter and laughter of children playing nearby, to say a "Thank you God" for all the gifts of life and bringing me to this point in life where I have the time and inclination to visit with Him. He and I have developed a great relationship.
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