Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Prayers That Move You

Tonight while reading the book "Beginning to pray"
I came across something very interesting the writer Archbishop Anthony Bloom talks about.He says use prayers that mean and move you and they will be special to God.
Funny he should say this because he and I are on the same tract and that is probably why I have so much difficulty with allot of formal prayer because I'm not at the point in my spiritual life that all these heavy worded prayers mean much to me.
They don't move me so how can they move God inside me.
My favorite prayer is the St. Francis prayer "Lord make me an instrument of your peace."
The reason I like this prayer so much is because doing the type of work I do this plea is very much in my work,my mind and my heart.
You can not be a good nurse if you are not willing to fully abandon your self for the needs of those around you.
I always tease my aides at work,when every I have to keep asking them to do things for me I tell them "just remember its really all about me and the sooner you get that the happier we are all going to be."
They know I'm kidding and we all just work harder has a crew because we really know it is all about everyone else and very little about us.
This work in order to be done properly requires abandonment of ones self.
"Lord make me an instrument of your peace where there is hatred let me sow love,where there is injury,pardon,where there is doubt faith,where there is despair,hope,where there is darkness,light,where there is sadness,joy."
"Oh Devinne master grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to to console,to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love."
"For it is in giving that we receiver,it is pardoning that we are pardoned,and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life."
I can think of no other prayer with deeper meaning to me then this,because this is my life has a nurse and care giver.
And at many points through out my day I probably hit on most of them hoping that God will grant me patience,love and care because I want to treat my patients and their family members as I would want to be treated myself.
This type of work in an 8 or more hour day can be very draining but very wonderful.
It is in dying to self that we are born to eternal life..Amen...

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