My Prayer...

My grandmother taught me how to pray. I spent every weekend and summer at her house. She would tell me to get down on my knees, even if I was tired. I slept on a cot at the foot of her bed so she was able to monitor whether or not I prayed. One night I prayed while she was on a trip to the bathroom, so when she returned I was in bed. She said, "Get up & say your prayers." I replied, "I already did." She replied, "I didn't see you." So back on the floor I went.

On another night, I didn't see her say her prayers. Generally, she would say hers on her knees as well, but if her knees were bothering her she would say her prayers while lying in her bed with her hands folded across her chest. This night, I didn't witness either occur. I said, "mama, I didn't see you say your prayers." "But, I did," she said. Without missing a beat I said, "I didn't see you say them." She returned, "You didn't have to see me, the Lord heard me! Now go to sleep."

I remember speaking to her over the phone on an occasion while I was away in college & she asked if I was still praying & I told her that I was, but I didn't always get on my knees every night because the floor was dirty in my dormitory. She told me to always pray on my knees, unless I'm physically unable. From that day on I've prayed on my knees.

My grandmother has always been strong & faithful even when there was no evidence she should be. A few months before she passed, I was in the middle of a financial storm. I called her in tears & I remember telling her how unhappy I was with the direction my life had taken. I was pinned in by debt & I couldn't figure out how to get this writing thing to work. She had just had surgery which left her as an amputee, and in a great deal of pain. She softly whispered, "Only God can change it. Keep praying. Tell Him what you need." I sobbed & hung up because I felt foolish whining about "things" when she had suffered more & still believed...

I pray every night, on my knees before I sleep because of Thelma Viola Holly. Here's a piece of my prayer: Thank You for carrying me through this day. I'm grateful for strength, health, the ability to reason, make sound decisions & judgment. Protect me from evil, harm, sickness, disease, disaster and tragedy. Thank You for my gifts. Thank You for using my life to uplift Your name. Use my gifts to inspire, encourage, uplift & empower people everywhere. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen...