My favourite prayer

 

Article by Myra Guca - Link HERE

My Favorite Prayer

Do you recall the first prayer you were taught as a child?, Have you a favorite?

Like so many children, I expect mine was the standard, "Now I lay me down to sleep ....".

Oh, but that line "....if I should die before I wake" was so unsettling! Akin to boogey-men who hide in little girls' closets. Sweet dreams? I'm thinking.... not.

Rather than confiding my fears, come bedtime I'd take a mental detour. The lips are moving, but no-one's home. Gone fishing; wherever.

Even in my adolescent years -- reciting liturgy, the Apostle's Creed, the Nicene Creed: my mind was somewhere else.... far, far away. No, I'm not particularly proud of this fact, but there it is, in spite of my parents example, their best efforts.

Then along came Malcolm Boyd, the "hippie priest." By this time I was attending my best-friend's church -- one which boasted a large youth fellowship, whose leaders who actually seemed to connect. In retrospect, our group was anything but "hippie." Perhaps we enjoyed the shock value? "Are you running with me, Jesus?"

Thankfully I now enjoy listening "on purpose", going inside prayer consciousness. In his book, The Power to Change Today, Gregory Dickow advises us: "Each morning, choose a silent, peaceful place and talk to God. Greet God as you would a friend. 'Good morning, Lord! I'm looking forward to spending the day with you'."

OK, that "peaceful place" would be my car. Backing out of the driveway ... ensuring the garage door is descending ("Houston, we have lift-off.") ... I greet the empty expanse with my favorite prayer:

The light of God surrounds me;
The love of God enfolds me;
The power of God protects me;
The presence of God watches over me;
Wherever I am .... God is!

...and all is well.

Prayer for Protection
by James Dillet Freeman