It all starts with "Now I lay me down to sleep." It progresses to "Bless this food we are about to receive," and a final daily prayer, “Thank you for all you have blessed me with today."
I call these the easy prayers as they cover most everything that happens in a day when we are young. "Oh the good old days!"
As you mature, your daily ritual becomes more complicated. Daily routines become disrupted with life's complications. Yes, the teen years! Almost every day is an adventure in confusion and bewilderment!! Your world becomes more complicated and the "good old days" of childhood are disappearing and prayers are changing.
Sometimes you don't even know what you are praying. For instance, you think, I wish that girl would like me. Wait, did I just say a wish... is a wish a prayer? Or was I really praying?
Here's my take on that: No one heard except God, so he is the only One who can help you. And as I think back, he has helped me countless times. And no matter what the results were, they turned out to be the decisions that were best suited to me. I call it, "Divine Intervention.
Through all the ups and downs, God was always with us showing his love and compassion.
That brings us to the adult stage of our life. We thought the teen years were tough. Dating has turned to marriage and marriage has brought children, then grandchildren. These seem to be the years that even more prayer occurs. The good times, the uncertain times... the “what the heck was I thinking" times, they all seem to run together.
The common denominator in all our adult lives is Jesus was with us, either walking, pushing, carrying, but always guiding us through his grace and love. But that's not the end of the story.
For those that are in an "end of life" situation, which we will all face someday, there are still choices. Yes, more choices if you haven't already made yours.
Here is the choice: Heaven or not?
We have made our choice and we pray others will join us. It isn't a choice you actually touch, but a choice made by faith. We choose Jesus, God and heaven. That's where we will be. We pray you will join us!
For by grace we are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. Ephesians 2:8