Does your prayer have a prayer? How Lupe taught me to pray.For three years of my life, I had the great privilege of having a good friend named Lupe. Lupe was a young mother. She was a wonderful, faith-filled, powerful woman with a great sense of humor Noun 1. sense of humor - the trait of appreciating (and being able to express) the humorous; "she didn't appreciate my humor"; "you can't survive in the army without a sense of humor" sense of humour, humor, humour . I knew Lupe in the final three years of her life, as she died a slow, painful death of a progressive, debilitating de·bil·i·tat·ing adj. Causing a loss of strength or energy. Debilitating Weakening, or reducing the strength of. Mentioned in: Stress Reduction disease. In those years, she taught me the greatest lessons I ever learned about prayer. Early in our friendship, Lupe was angry with God. She said, "God doesn't listen to my prayers. I've prayed and begged God for my health. I've prayed the rosary rosary [rose garden], prayer of Roman Catholics, in which beads are used as counters. The term, applied also to the beads, is extended to Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist prayers that use beads. ; I've prayed to the saints; my friends have prayed for me. And I'm not getting better. I promised God that I would be the best wife and mother in the world if only I could be healthy again. Instead, my husband left me alone with four little children when I got sick. Now I can barely take care of them. "I get even more angry," she went on, "when I hear other people talk about how God has answered their prayers. Why not mine? No one prayed more than me." Few of us have known the depth of suffering that Lupe went through in her last years. Many of us, though, can recognize some of her feelings. We have prayed for friends, for family, for ourselves, and we have felt that God has not heard, or that God has not cared. When we hear someone else credit their good fortune to prayer, we can't help but wonder: Do they have more faith than we do? Do they know some special way to pray that we don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. ? Does God like them better? Despite her anger and her disappointment, Lupe kept praying. Toward the end, she told me some very different things about prayer. She told me that her prayers were now much more for her children than for herself. She even prayed in gratitude Gratitude agrimony traditional symbol for gratitude. [Flower Symbolism: Flora Symbolica, 172] Androcles because he had once extracted a thorn from its paw, the lion refrained from attacking Androcles in the arena. [Rom. Lit. "that God has let me hang on long enough to be sure that my children learned what I could teach them about life and about right and wrong." (Her children have grown into delightful young people.) She prayed for her ex-husband: "It is sad that he didn't think he could handle the pain and felt he had to leave. I ask God to help him grow up, to be a man, and to be there for his children when they need him." (A few months before Lupe died, she needed to go to a nursing home. Her ex-husband took the children into his home and cared for them faithfully.) The last time I spoke with her, Lupe said to me, "I still don't understand why this happened. But God helped me do what I had to do. I am so thankful thank·ful adj. 1. Aware and appreciative of a benefit; grateful. 2. Expressive of gratitude: a thankful smile. ." I find four lessons that Lupe taught me about prayer. 1. Be honest. Lupe always spoke to God in complete sincerity. When she was angry, she told God she was angry. When she was desperate, she prayed in desperation. There is no sense in just telling God what you think God wants to hear. God knows what is in your heart. When you pray, you are not trying to flatter God. Prayer is a matter of opening your heart to God, that God might fill you with the Spirit. If you feel something, express it to God. If you want or need something, ask. If we are honest and sincere with God, God can change us. In the end, that is the goal of prayer--to be open to God so that God can transform us into the people God wants us to become. 2. You can't change God's mind. The purpose of prayer is not to convince God to do things your way. Too many times we approach God as though we think God has made a terrible mistake and needs to be corrected. Worse yet, we act as though there is some secret prayer formula we can follow that will force God to do what we want. Jesus admonished his followers followers see dairy herd. to trust God. While it is important to be open and honest with God, we need always to remember that God is in charge. We need to be very careful not to credit our prayers for good things that happen to us. If we have known goodness, it is because God is good--not because of anything we have done. If we credit our good fortune to our prayers, we have claimed credit for ourselves that belongs to God. Prayer can help us to recognize and to receive God's goodness and grace, but our prayers are not the reason for God's goodness. If I credit my good fortune to my faith or to my prayers, I imply that those who suffer misfortune are not faithful and not prayerful prayer·ful adj. 1. Inclined or given to praying frequently; devout. 2. Typical or indicative of prayer, as a mannerism, gesture, or facial expression. . That is simply contrary to our Christian faith. 3. Listen. Prayer is a dialogue. After we have shared all that we are with God, we need to listen. God's response may not be exactly what we were expecting. Ours is a God of surprises. 4. You might be the answer to your prayers. I once heard a theologian the·o·lo·gi·an n. One who is learned in theology. theologian Noun a person versed in the study of theology Noun 1. speaking to a group of students. A student asked, "Do you believe in angels?" The theologian paused for a moment and answered, "I think you can only believe in angels if you believe you might be one." Lupe's prayer, her honesty with God, and her willingness to listen in trust for God's answer was an invitation for God to use her as an angel on this earth. She allowed God to make her a messenger of grace and strength for her children, her husband, and others like me who had the good fortune of being part of her life. You can order this article as a parish handout titled "Does God answer our prayers?" (cp-921) It is one of 33 titles in Claretian Publications' popular new parish handout series IN GOOD FAITH--Available in both English and bilingual bi·lin·gual adj. 1. a. Using or able to use two languages, especially with equal or nearly equal fluency. b. versions-- Other In God Faith titles include: * What's in the Bible and how should we read it? (by Alice Camille)--cp-919 * Why is there evil and suffering? (by Alice Camille)--cp-922 * The papacy papacy (pā`pəsē), office of the pope, head of the Roman Catholic Church. He is pope by reason of being bishop of Rome and thus, according to Roman Catholic belief, successor in the see of Rome (the Holy See) to its first bishop, St. Peter. : rock of the church (by Robert McClory Robert McClory (January 31, 1908–July 24, 1988) was a U.S. Representative from Illinois. Born in Riverside, Illinois, McClory attended the public schools, L'Institut Sillig, Vevey, Switzerland from 1925 to 1926, and Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire from 1926 )--cp-933 * Authority: Who's to say in the church? (by Jim Dinn)--cp-916 * How to protect our children from sexual abuse (by Dolores Dolores (or Delores) was a common given name (until the 1960s in the USA); it is cognate with the English word "dolorous" (meaning sorrowful) and equivalent in meaning. Curran)--cp-932 * Forgiveness Forgiveness Angelica, Suor is forgiven by the Virgin Mary for ill-considered suicide. [Ital. Opera: Puccini, Suor Angelica, Westerman, 364] Bishop of Digne : We're covered (by Alice Camille)--cp-929 * Five questions about being Catholic (by R. Scott Appleby)--cp-903 * Praying the Mass (by Bishop Kenneth Untener)--cp-923 RATES 10-99 50 cents each 100-499 40 cents each 500+ 30 cents each Shipping and handling: $5 per order To order any of these, or for a complete list of In Good Faith titles, call Claretian Publications at 1.800.328.6515 By DAVID David, in the Bible David, d. c.970 B.C., king of ancient Israel (c.1010–970 B.C.), successor of Saul. The Book of First Samuel introduces him as the youngest of eight sons who is anointed king by Samuel to replace Saul, who had been deemed a failure. LINERS liners, n the liquid material applied to teeth to protect them within a cavity preparation, to seal carious tissues, or to release beneficial chemicals such as fluoride. , a lead organizer of WISDOM, a congregation-based justice organization in Milwaukee. |
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