Spirituality Guide

Once in a while, it is good to look back at the folly of yesteryears and be amazed at the grip it still holds on you, despite the distance that gulfed thru time.

I was in Grade 4 when I crossed path with a girl who later on become a dear friend. It was a ‘bond’ at first sight. It was so easy to tell that she had the makings of a best friend. We looked alike, talked alike even dressed alike. And what’s more we think alike! Or so, I thought.

I remember distinctly a discussion we had about things in general. The one thing that stood out in my mind was when I asked her how she coped with bothersome things, she simply said, “I pray.”

My brows furrowed. For a while, I was speechless. She what? I asked myself repeatedly - with disbelief. She prayed? My young mind could not fathom then how prayers could solve problems.

I mean seriously - I act, I decide, I plan, I overcome, etc. These are the most obvious courses of action when faced with problems. Right?

But pray? Where’s the fun in praying? It’s the antithesis of action.
How can being passive like praying solve problems?

These questions and more somehow served as the impetus that marked the beginning of probably the longest and most arduous journey of my life - to learn to pray!

Yup! To pray- as simple as that. But the journey thru the years made me realized that prayer is anything but simple. It’s one of intricacies of human nature - easily said but difficult to assimilate. To some, it is just a perfunctory endeavor. To others, it is a way of life.

My journey progressed from uttering mere formula prayers to formulating own prayers to finally praying from the heart. The most difficult part in praying I discovered is not in learning to pray sincerely. It is in the waiting for an answer to the prayer.

Patience is not exactly one of my strong points. I found it hard to remain still and listen to God’s little voice sometimes. And occasionally, when I finally hear His voice, I struggled against it. But in the end, I realized that His will is always perfect. That no matter how hurt and uncooperative I was at the beginning, everything always turned out for the best if I put everything in His hands in the first place.

Prayer is not just communicating to God. It is more like God communicating to us. How we act on the wisdom He entrusted to us will spell the difference between mere prayer and praying from the heart.