I have been thinking a lot about what things
have worked for me in my life and what things have not. Tonight, I am going to share with you one of
the most amazing and magical tools that I have in my arsenal. When you hear what it is you may think to
yourself “how cliché” or “how stodgy”, but to buffer these sentiments I will
share with you one of my personal experiences.
Do you believe in God? If not, do you believe in some force that is
more powerful than you? What about the
spirit or the energies? Maybe a higher
form of self or the great I AM? What
about reason? Do you believe in reason
enough that you could say you believe in the God of Reason? The purpose for which I ask is that the tool
that I want to share with you tonight is somewhat infeasible if you don’t
believe in anything…. But even at that,
I bet it would still work if you try.
What I am talking about tonight is prayer,
the power of a simple prayer; in this case, a prayer that is repeated every
night for 90 days. First, I will share
a bit of my story and then I will share the prayer.
When I was in my early twenties, I was like the
average young person in America these days.
That’s to say, I was by no means rich.
I didn’t have a career or a place of my own.
To be honest, I had only done a few years of college, but I had not
completed my university studies. I could
have been further ahead at the time, but I had been too busy checking out what
was happening around the good ole US of A.
I had come to a point in my life, however,
where I wanted to get serious and make a future for myself. I wanted to cultivate a profession through
which I could contribute to society and the environment. Maybe I was just growing up but, whatever the
case may be, I was led to make a change in my life.
In this same time period, my aunt and uncle
gave me a book titled the Prayer of Jabez.
They said that they had prayed it for my cousins and it must have worked
because my cousins were going all sort of great places with their lives. So, I got this book and I read it. I prayed the prayer of Jabez every night for
90 days. I may have even prayed it in the
morning too. This is how the prayer
goes:
"Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory,
that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I
may not cause pain." I Chronicles 4:10 NKJV
By praying this I was simply asking God to enlarge my
territory (expand the geographical territory of my life) and be with me as I
go. I am here to say tonight, that if you pray this prayer often and
repeatedly, if you can bring yourself to believe in something when you do, then
strap on your seat belt because you are in for an incredible journey.
|
Corcovado, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil |
I believe that my praying this
prayer in trust has everything to do with my world travels. I saw Mt. Everest and hiked the Isla del Sol
in Bolivia. I prayed at the Tomb of
Apostle John in Turkey and I rung in the New Year dancing the night away in
Prague. I have jumped off the cliffs in
Rio de Janeiro and flown across the coast to reach the ground. I have learned to make my way, on my own,
through any country in the world and I am not afraid.
Of course, I am not stupid either…
there are measures of safety that I follow, but what I am saying is that this
prayer came true. It came true for me
when I did not even really know what I was praying it for. It came true in magical ways, even when I had
no vision for the outcome whatsoever. If
you want your life to change in incredible ways, believe in something and try
prayer, it works!
So, lately I really felt like I
wanted to do something incredible with my life.
I really, really want to live a life where I am able to help people and
make a positive impact on the world around me.
I figured that the most magical way for me to do this is for me to start
another prayer regime, like I did with the prayer of Jabez.
I started this prayer regime on
April 21st, 2012 and I am here to say, folks, that I almost
immediately stumbled onto the most incredible new path for my life. I have met people that are really changing
the world. I have met people that doing
the impossible. I have met people that
are free from limits that the world tries to force on us. I have been made aware of an entirely new
venue through which I can help people.
This venue embraces my childhood dreams, my unceasing flow of creative
ideas, and my relentless workaholism. I
absolutely could not be more excited to see where God ends up taking me on this
prayer. This is how it goes, and goodnight.
A
Prayer for Blessed Service:
Dear God, let your will for me be known.
Use me, oh God, as
your creation.
When a kind word
needs to be spoken, use my voice.
When a load needs
to be lifted, use my back.
When a hug needs to
be given, use my arms.
When a journey
needs to be taken, use my feet.
When a message
needs to be delivered, use my mind.
When a friend needs
to be loved, use my heart.
In all things, in all ways,
use me God, as your instrument of love, faith,
peace and tranquility.
© 2002-2010 by Vicky Thompson