The Power of Prayer



"Seven days without prayer makes one weak." ~ Allen E. Bartlett

The family I grew up with is a family that prays a lot. No, they are not saints! It's just that I grew up knowing that prayer can sometimes - move mountains. As soon as my kids could speak I taught them how to kneel down and put their palms together and utter a prayer. Just like what my mom did when I was still a child. A prayer when I wake up, a prayer when you have meals, a prayer when you go to school, and a prayer before bedtime. And then studying in an all-girls Catholic school well, you can just imagine how many prayer times we had back then.

When I grew up, prayer has comforted me when I was weak and down. It has made me strong and brave too in the midst of aggression and I have uttered a lot of prayers of thanks for all the blessings that came by in my life. This is another e-mail that I received a few days ago, that I loved reading. I hope you will love it too.

SPECIAL GROCERY LIST

Louise Redden, a poorly dressed lady with a look of defeat on her face, walked into a grocery store. She approached the owner of the store in a most humble manner and asked if he would let her charge a few groceries.

She softly explained that her husband was very ill and unable to work, they had seven children and they needed food.

John Longhouse, the grocer, scoffed at her and requested that she leave his store at once. Visualizing the family needs, she said: "Please, sir! I will bring you the money just as soon as I can." John told her he could not give her credit, since she did not have a charge account at his store.

Standing beside the counter was a customer who overheard the conversation between the two. The customer walked forward and told the grocer that he would stand good for whatever she needed for her family. The grocer said in a very reluctant voice, "Do you have a grocery list?"

Louise replied, "Yes sir." " O.K" he said, "put your grocery list on the scales and whatever your grocery list weighs, I will give you that amount in groceries." Louise, hesitated a moment with a bowed head, then she reached into her purse and took out a piece of paper and scribbled something on it. She then laid the piece of paper on the scale carefully with her head still bowed.

The eyes of the grocer and the customer showed amazement when the scales went down and stayed down. The grocer, staring at the scales, turned slowly to the customer and said begrudgingly, "I can't believe it."

The customer smiled and the grocer started putting the groceries on the other side of the scales. The scale did not balance so he continued to put more and more groceries on them until the scales would hold no more.

The grocer stood there in utter disgust. Finally, he grabbed the piece of paper from the scales and looked at it with greater amazement. It was not a grocery list, it was a prayer, which said:
"Dear Lord, you know my needs and I am leaving this in you hands."

The grocer gave her the groceries that he had gathered and stood in stunned silence. Louise thanked him and left the store. The other customer handed a fifty-dollar bill to the grocer and said;
"It was worth every penny of it. Only God Knows how much a prayer weighs."



"God warms his hands at man's heart when he prays." ~ John Masefield

Comments

Impressionist said…
that was such a nice post lisa
thanx for sharing that story.
And yes, Prayers do help.
its about one's belief. Im sure ur kids will grow up to be really nice person like U! :)

-I
Sophiagurl said…
@@@Impressionist - wow thanks Jeevy =) that was really sweet of yah. Missed talking to you. Have a great weekend!
Sameera Ansari said…
That was so inspiring dear.Thank you so much for this lovely post.

Have a great weekend sweetie!God Bless You and your lovely family always.Hugsss
surjit singh said…
Hi Sophiagurl,
Thanks for sharing a great inspirational post.I fully believe that your respected father is a saint.You are lucky to have born in this noble family.
God bless you all.
this is moving. i can very well feel her faith.
Sophiagurl said…
@@@Sameera - Hi Sami dear, thank you soooooo much for the awards. And I am glad you liked this post.

Hugggggsss back to you. I hope you are doing great. God bless!

@@@Surjit - Oh Surjit, that was sooo sweet of you to like my dad. He likes you too and your noble blog. You are right I am trully blessed to be born to a God-fearing family.

Blessings to you!

@@@Hailey - Hi, I am glad you liked the post. Have a great long weekend. God bless!
Anonymous said…
hi sophiagirl!
thanks for visiting my blog! i love getting your comments. i apologize for all the disorganization of my older entries. i am trying to consolidate them from my older blogs. i have more travel entries to (back)post so in the next week, you'll be able to see notes from some of my other trips. i hope you enjoy the new blog :)
Sophiagurl said…
@@@Adelyn - Hey I am so thrilled that you came to visit. I love your blog it's sooo amazing. Will make the trip back to check out your other travel entries. I love your new place it's fantastic to say the least. =)
Lena said…
that was an inspiring post for sure :)
we are not used to pray in our family, maybe because while my parent were growing up church was kind of forbidden and they never got this habit in believing in someone but themselves.
I dont know if prayers really can help but if people believe they do, there is something behind this, right? :)
Anonymous said…
Hi Sophiagurl :)

To sit down for a moment, leaving behind the world, with God solely in mind, telling him all the problems, seeking His sympathy, who else hear us better than Him?
Thanks for sharing the great story.

Zunnur is still away...
Sophiagurl said…
@@@Lena - Hi Lena dear, thank you for sharing a bit about your family. Well, I guess my country being mostly catholic and growing up with a family that prays a lot - it kinda sticks to you. And yes, they do help a...lot =) I am glad you liked the post =)

@@@Zunnur - hello! lovely to see you visit me despite your busy schedule. I loved the way you depicted and described prayer. Thank you for dropping by.

Missed you! So when are you coming back with your lovely posts? God bless!
Fascinating!

I dont think you should read my recent post on thejoypop.blogspot.com since its totally the other way.

On second thought, probably you should.
wowwww dear..it's such a nice post...so beautiful yet at the same time so meaningful. yes i agree with you...prayers gives us strength, emotional stability abd the belief that something positive is on the way.

thnks for sharing such a great post sophia.

love..huggsss...take care
:) :) :)
Sophiagurl said…
@@@Poison Coated Elixir - Hi Anupama, lovely to see you back. Glad you liked this post. Went over your place and left a comment=) Hope to see you back here.

@@@Preetilata - thank you, I am really glad you liked this one. Yes prayer gives us strength and emotional stability and hope that something positive is on the way...loved that one. Love and huggggs back to yah! =)
Anonymous said…
Hi Sophia,
Thank you very much for the complement. I missed you and blogging very much. I just made another come back, and hoping so much to be consistent this time. I'm very glad to have a friend like you.

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