What I Pray For

I pray a lot when I have time, am in the mood, am motivated. I don't look at prayer so much as a "give me this or that," more as "help me do/change/improve/let go of" such and such.

A list came from National of local clusters in each corner of the United States where there is a goal to develop the growth of the Baha'is in teaching work to a certain level by April, which is when we celebrate the set of Holy Days associated with the announcement Baha'u'llah made [to the world] of His station as a messenger of God.

I immediately looked at this list and thought, "This is something I can pray for." I believe in the power of prayer. A few months ago I started praying for my husband and shortly his creativity increased tremendously and he began writing poetry and songs at a tremendous rate. Could be a coincidence. I've had dramatic results many times when I felt strongly about some situation where I didn't feel I could affect the outcome: I'd done what I could. When I prayed about it, a little time would pass, then suddenly the situation would be relieved.

It gives me a feeling of power. Not that I have power over any individual in some insidious way, or that the power comes from me. It doesn't. Where I feel a sense of power is that I can choose to pray about something, whatever I want to, and if God agrees, my prayer will have effect.

This is silly but a few weeks ago I was passing a house that's had a For Sale sign out for many months, and I remembered how frustrating it was to sell my last house. So I said a little prayer for the sellers, a little invocation to God, "O Thou Glory of the Most Glorious," which is sometimes used in times of stress or even a moment of joy. I started saying this invocation every time I passed a house for sale, just because I can, just to be nice to someone I don't even know who they are. I feel it's good for me to be remembering God this way as I drive around.

The really silly thing is that I don't feel the same about rentals as I do about sales. So I decided, after some thought, that I didn't want to say the prayer for rentals. But I can't always tell which type of thing, sale or rental, a sign is advertising until I get close to it. So the prayer is already out of my mind/mouth, then I'm thinking, "oh, it's a rental." Then I worry about if, since I'm praying for the sales, am I obligated somehow to pray for the rentals? I have nothing against them, I just don't relate to their difficulties. Am I being selfish? Am I being petty, playing a game with something supposed to be serious, like prayer?

Am I being silly worrying about these issues?

Yes!