Prayer is often difficult to balance for me. How often we hear pray for this, that, and the other thing several times every day? By the end of the day I feel like I should have said about four Rosaries and two Masses to cover everything, so what is the balance? How much does God want us to pray and for what things? Today I heard a little analogy. (It didn't say anything about thankfulness, so I added my own thought on it.)
* It goes like this: start with your open hand. Think about what God has placed in it/given you or is trying to give you and thank Him for it—even if it’s not what you want or can understand, it is part of His plan for your happiness, so thank Him for all of it regardless.
* Next, look at your thumb, its closest to you so pray for those whom you are closest to in any way (loved ones and enemies).
* On your pointer/index finger, pray for those who instruct, teach, or heal (teachers, doctors, parents, religious—those who help/heal and point out the way for us in the world; they need strength and support in their call to minister to others).
* On your tallest/middle finger, pray for those who are high in leadership (the president, politicians, Pope; anyone in charge of anything important. They too need guidance and support to courageously lead and guide the rest of the world.)
* On your ring finger, which is also the weakest finger of your hand, pray for those who are weak, sick, in need, or trouble.
* Finally on your pinkie finger, the smallest and the last, pray for yourself. After you have prayed for everyone and everything else, you will have put your own requests into proper perspective and effectively put yourself as the least of all. I hope this helps you simplify and improve your prayer life!
May God Bless You Abundantly for You Efforts! =)
Cool! This would have been neat at the retreat last week....
ReplyDeleteThanks! Yeah it would have, but I think you did great without it =)
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