A PRAYERFUL LIFE

I appreciate the prayerful life of my lolo and lola. Every time we go and visit them in the province, I always notice them devoting themselves to prayer every morning and evening in their "altars". Despite the noise of the kids playing and the sound of the television, these things does not stop them from praying. Amazing that even in their old age, they still do not forget to pray.

I asked my mom about the practice of my lolo and lola and she told me that it is a tradition that they inherited from their parents as well. Because in their practice (as a Roman Catholic) it is a must they every member of the family, whether you are young and old, every morning and evening, everyone should go to the "altar" and pray as a family. This practice is still kept especially by our Roman Catholic relatives. But for me even though I am not a Roman Catholic member, I see the advantage of training each member of the family to pray as one. I agree with the saying that says - "A family that prays together, stays together." In the future, if I were to have my own family, I will also teach my children to pray.

Prayer is very important in our spiritual growth as a christian. Prayer causes us to have deeper relationship to God by opening our joys,pains,sickness,petitions,thanksgiving (and even anything under the sun) to Him. Prayer is simply talking to Abba,Jesus and Holy Spirit. Prayer does not require any format or structure but it I find the acronym A.C.T.S. helpful for me to have a direction when I pray. "A" stands for ADORATION (we recognize God for who He is),"C" stands for CONFESSION (we confess our sins before Him and ask for forgiveness), "T" stands for THANKSGIVING (we take time thanking God for all He has done in our lives) and lastly "S" stands for SUPPLICATION (we lay down our petitions,requests and concerns before God's throne). We could conclude our prayer by saying - "In Jesus' name I pray...Amen!"

I encourage everyone to develop a life of prayer just as Apostle Paul says: 

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." - Philippians 4:6 NIV