Prayer

Dearest Ones,

C. S. Lewis, an atheist until he was 30 years old, once wrote: "Every square inch of this world is either claimed by Christ or Satan. There is no neutral ground." The greatest trouble we have is recognizing Satan because he appears as an "angel of light." Evil is always disguised as good so that makes it hard to recognize. That's why we need to test for evil spirits with prayer. I see this as the greatest challenge of being a Christian - recognizing evil for what it is. Even when we get "pop ups" on the internet, we need to pray because the devil is so subtle and gets into everything, even the internet! I test these pop ups by making the sign of the cross over them. Through his writings, Lewis probably influenced more people to become Christian than any other person in the 20th century. Strange as it may seem, Lewis himself became a Christian through reading children's books - through fairy tales. He saw the good and the bad characters as the good and evil present in this world - Christ and Satan. Children are not complicated - they have faith and trust that what they are taught is true. Lewis came to realize what Jesus meant when he said, "Unless you become like little children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven." He wrote many children's books - the most famous was "Narnia," which became a favorite movie. Jesus came that we may enjoy life, "I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance." -John 10:10. The minute everything gets complicated, there goes our joy. We need to learn to pray about everything and not stress out over anything. Often we can't change the events in our lives, but we can change our approach to them. We can change a whole situation just by changing the way we think about it, how we talk about it, and by deciding to have a different attitude towards it. Too many times we spin our wheels trying to do something about things we can't do anything about. We try to change people and circumstances, so we can be happy. Anyone can pray, but it is one thing to pray when you feel like it, and another to make it as much a part of you as breathing. "Pray without ceasing," the Bible tells us. Although this seems impossible, there must be a way to do this. No prayer is ever wasted and every prayer is answered in some way. James 5:16 says, "The heartfelt prayer of a good man makes tremendous power available!" Do you have a dreaded deadline to meet? Is there another check-up with your doctor you fear? Are there situations weighing you down? Pray and think about how God has come through for you in the past. Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank Him for all He has done. If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your heart and mind as you live for Jesus Chriat. When you are out of gas, you stop and fill up, if you are out of solutions to your problems, why not go for help? Jesus promised, "Ask and you will receive, seek and you shall find."As Christians, we have the promises of the Word of God in the Bible. We can know for sure we are on the right path to heaven. If we are blessed with faith, we must pass it on to others. Parents pass along this heritage to their children by their example and words. This world may be full of lies, temptations and reasons to doubt our faith, but this is nothing new. The Prophet Isaiah said the same thing hundreds of years ago, "all the tables are full of vomit and filthiness, so that there is no place clean." (Isaiah 28:8) In those days of old, it was hard to find out the truth, just as it is now, so mothers and fathers were asked to teach their children the truth from the time they were very tiny. They taught them to hate the sin, but love the sinner - to bless those who persecute you and pray for your enemies. My heart is overflowing with gratitude as I think of the example of love and sacrifice shown by my beloved parents in order to make sure the faith was passed on to me. If children are taught the truths of the Holy Bible today and what a glorious thing it is to follow Christ as a Christian, then they don't need to be politically correct; only then will we see a real change in this great country that will last forever. "God will keep in perfect peace all those who trust in Him." (Isaiah 13)

Sister Francelle