Just Pray

I had a conversation with Alias a few months back that has sparked a lot of thought since. I called him while I was home (Cleveland) and he didn't answer... which unfortunately is usually the case. I gave him a couple hours (then out of desperation) and I called again, this time he actually answered! He said that the first time I called he was praying and by the time he finished, it slipped his mind to call him back. At that point, in a somewhat offensive tone I blurted out, "you pray?" and he returned my nastiness by replying, "I Muslim aren't I!"

I try not be judgemental, but when people don't have the same thought process as I do, I tend to think of them as heathens, so it always surprises me when such people have strong religious beliefs.

I went over his house that night a few hours later. He was preparing to go to bed and I was preparing to "coincidentally" fall asleep and he spoke out a checklist the last item being, now I have to pray. At that moment I really started thinking about prayer.

According to some ministers at the IDMR, prayer doesn't change anything. I've always taken that statement with face value. I believe that Yahweh has everything preordained, and my little thoughts are not going to change anything, so why should I pray- has always been my logic. But then after seeing Alias' devotion to his religion, I started to reconsider. The first though that popped into my head is the fact that it's been said that prayer doesn't change anything, yet at the beginning of each and every session we have a prayer. With that being said I consulted my mother about the subject.

She quoted a scripture which I believe to be II Thes. 2:3 (but don't quote me on that, however I am 100% sure it's in one of the Thessalonians) Pray without ceasing. She then went on to explain to simply, prayer does not change anything. But, if you prayer, and you're prayer comes to pass 1, whatever you prayed about must have already been in Yahweh purpose, pattern, and plan and 2 it must have also been in his purpose that you would pray to ask for those things... I just never thought of it that way.

After we had that conversation, I began ATTEMPTING to pray on the daily basis. It is a hard things to implement after years of absence. One night, I was so heavily laden with stress that I spoke to Yahweh out loud and I really felt as if a weight had been lifted off my shoulders.

Right now, I am really worried about a close friend. She just found out she is pregnant. When friends have babies, it always seems like out friendship ends. I guess I am kind of worried about myself too, all I can do is pray. Sometimes all one can do is let go and let Yah! I looked up the definition for pray and it said the following,

to offer devout petition, praise, thanks, etc

It seems most people pray to ask for something. The funny thing is, while prayer does help us to keep our sanity, prayer is all about Him. I don't know where this life is leading me, but I just want to be happy. I want my family to be in good health physically and most importantly spiritually. I want to meet a man who loves me and I him equally, because I am sick of situations like Alias where they mean everything and I nothing. I want to finish school and hopefully post grad as well. Ultimately, I want Yahweh to be pleased with my whole life and who I am. I believe that this all will come to pass, Halleluyah!

"The name shall endure forever. The name shall continue as long as the sun will. Men shall be blessed in him. All nations shall call him blessed. In your name, I pray."

~Beyonce, Jay- Z Pray