Tim Speer's Blog - Posts Tagged "prayer"

One of the themes in my book, Return to Paradise, is learning to follow God's will. This is something I have been working on personally for some time. The writing of this book is one of the times I have chosen to follow what I felt God, through the Holy Spirit, was calling me yo do. In doing so I have been taken in directions I did not expect it to lead, and found my own spiritual life has grown.

Although the specific events and circumstances are greatly different, David, the main character in Return to Paradise, goes through a similar journey as he too learns to follow God's will.

One of the themes in my book, Return to Paradise, is learning to follow God's will. This is something I have been working on personally for some time. The writing of this book is one of the times I have chosen to follow what I felt God, through the Holy Spirit, was calling me yo do. In doing so I have been taken in directions I did not expect it to lead, and found my own spiritual life has grown.

Although the specific events and circumstances are greatly different, David, the main character in Return to Paradise, goes through a similar journey as he too learns to follow God's will.

I have been working on an idea for a new novel. Like I did with my last novel, Return To Paradise, I have been developing it purely in my head - nothing on paper. Yet I have managed to develop some parts of the novel in fairly good detail, including some of the dialogue. The only problem is there is one major piece of the plot that I simply had not been able to put together. I had a general idea of what I wanted, but nothing I thought of for it satisfied me. Then last night, I was at Adoration praying when the idea came to me, and I was at once fully satisfied and at peace with it. And the funny thing is, I wasn't even praying about the novel, I was praying about something that was completely unrelated. Or at least it was completely unrelated. I won't disclose it at this time, but it turns out the subject of my prayer is now the missing piece of my plot.

I have mentioned in my earlier posts that a lot of my inspirations seem to come to me around three in the morning. I have often wondered why the Holy Spirit couldn't pick a more convenient time to inspire me. Last night's inspiration came around seven in the evening. Perhaps I just need to go to Him occasionally.

I went to Adoration this evening, something I probably don't do near often enough. I have found that whenever I'm troubled, or in need of answers for anything, there is nothing like a little "one on one" with Christ to give me the answers I need.

My first plan was to go and pray the Rosary. Another thing I probably don't do often enough. But yet also, another thing that often brings me peace, and answers to any questions I have. However when I got there, I felt the need to just pray and to listen. So I was going to be content with just doing that, and not praying the Rosary. But yet again, my plans were changed, and I felt called to pray the Rosary.

The reason for my trouble today was not personal, it was related to the recent news on Planned Parenthood. In addition to the shocking revelations of the peddling of baby organs, in the latest video, the Planned Parenthood official repeatedly made very casual references to D&E. This is where I have to admit my naivety, as I had no idea what D&E referred to. Upon Googling it, I found that it stood for a method of abortion known as Dilation and Evacuation. Still being naïve, I searched onward to find out exactly what that entailed. I will post a link to the best description I found. It is one of the more disturbing things I have read in a long time. For anyone that tries to characterize abortion as a civilized procedure, I invite you to read it.

So I went into Adoration partly troubled about the news, and further troubled by my new education. I felt compelled to write something about it - to speak out. But I really didn't have a good idea of what to write, or how to go about it. And so I ended up feeling called to pray the Rosary. My first inclination was that, given the news, and the current state of the world, the Sorrowful Mysteries would be the most appropriate. However, I ultimately decided to pray the mysteries of the day which, as it turned out, were the Luminous Mysteries - go figure.

As it turns out, it may be more appropriate than I first felt it was. For those not familiar with praying the Rosary, it involves meditations on five aspects of Jesus' life. There are different sets of prayers, or "Mysteries" that one can say. Each focuses on different aspects of Jesus' life. And, as the Rosary beads form a circle, ultimately, so do the "Mysteries". They all start with the early part of Jesus' life, or in the case of the Luminous Mysteries, his ministry, and end with the later part of his life. Of course, in the end there is the Resurrection, or "re-birth", and hence a circle is formed.

The first Luminous Mystery is the Baptism of Jesus. Now, Jesus, being free of sin, did not need to be Baptized as such. He did this for two reasons. First to serve as an example, and second, to show his obedience to God the Father. And as he did the Heavens opened up and there was a voice saying, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased." Thus Jesus is not just giving us the example of us needing Baptism, perhaps even more important is the fact he is showing the need to be obedient to God, and God's pleasure with us when we do so.

The second Luminous Mystery is the wedding at Cana. This is where Jesus turned the water into wine at the request of his mother, Mary. Thus it serves as the first instance of the intercession of Mary. Yet it also demonstrates something else. Following her request to her son, Mary turned to the servants and said, "Do whatever he tells you." So here again we are reminded of the need for obedience.

The third Luminous Mystery is the Proclamation of the Kingdom of God. Jesus says, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the gospel." Here we have a more direct call to both repentance, and obedience. Yet here too, there is more. Jesus is saying the time is now. God, through Jesus is here on earth, here to claim his Kingdom. All we have belongs to God, and God is the ultimate ruler.

The fourth Luminous Mystery is the Transfiguration. This is where Jesus took Peter, James, and John up on the mountain and was Transfigured as "his face shone like the sun, and his garments became white as light." Jesus had said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." To me, it is not a coincidence that Jesus appears as a light in the Transfiguration. Obviously he is revealing himself in his full Devine glory as the Son of God. However, he is also showing us that he truly is the light, and again, calling us to obedience, calling us to follow him.

That brings us to the fifth, and final Luminous Mystery, the institution of the Eucharist. Here we come full circle. Through Baptism, we are given new life in Christ. Through his death and resurrection, we are again given new life. Jesus had said, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst." Through the Eucharist, Jesus sustains us and gives us life.

So how does this tie back in to the abortion issue. The Luminous Mysteries start and end with our spiritual re-birth. First through Baptism, and then through the Eucharist. The Luminous Mysteries remind us of the spiritual life and sustenance we receive through Christ. They also call us to obedience, obedience to God's will for our life, and for the world. Jesus said, "I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly." Here Jesus is talking about our "spiritual life". However, our physical life is important as well. When we kill an unborn baby, we are destroying life.

Unlike some, I do not feel sorry for the baby. On one hand they are deprived of their life here on earth. But on the other hand, they gain a straight pass to Heaven. All of the glory and joy of Heaven, without any of the worries and pain that we go through here on earth. It's like getting the Monopoly card that says "Advance to Go and collect $200"; and you get to do this without going through the booby traps of properties owned by the other players. Only in this case, it's an infinitely better deal. I do feel sorry for those of us here though. By letting a physical life be destroyed, we are losing a piece of our spiritual life. Instead of following God's plan, and being obedient to him, we are following our own plans and desires. Each time an innocent life is lost, a little piece of our soul is lost as well.

For those of you brave enough, here is the link I mentioned earlier:

http://www.priestsforlife.org/resourc...

Like a lot of women, my wife loves inspirational love stories. You know, those movies us guys call "chick flicks". Not always, but quite often, these movies have a man who ignores either his wife, or his children, or both. We all sit there thinking "what a heel this guy is".

Hopefully we aren't like that. I personally tell my wife I love her, not just every day, but multiple times a day. And I don't just tell her, I try to show her. I try to make her understand that she Is the most important thing on this side of heaven to me. And I have also tried to do the same with my children. Granted, I'm not always perfect, but I do try.

But do we do the same when it comes to Jesus? Sure we say we love Jesus, but do we show that love? Or do we think to ourselves "an hour a week should be enough". And I'll be there (for that game, that recital etc.). But then often, when the time comes, something else comes up. Or we're just too busy, or too tired, or too whatever.

But wait, you say. We do talk to God. We say A prayer every day. And many of us do. We ask him to do this for us (wash the car, take out the trash, iron my shirt etc.), or to help us with that (help me with the dishes, help me with the kids etc.), and just maybe, we say thanks every now and then. And all too often, our prayers come out not like a conversation, but a short text message. If this is all we do, we really aren't any different than the "heel" in that chick flick we just watched.

We are called to love God with all our heart, all of our mind, and all of our soul. That's a lot. And if we really love God, we should want to be with him. And not for just an hour a week, but every day, as much as we can. We should want to talk to him as often as possible. And not to just to ask him for things, but to thank him, and maybe even ask him what he would like us to be doing. That, of course, means we should also listen to him. And spending time with Christ should be our number one priority.

Like a lot of people, I sometimes find myself too eager to jump into an argument. And when I do, suddenly winning that argument becomes the most important thing. But do we really ever win? And if the argument happens to be about faith, or God, is it the argument, or the soul that we should really want to win.

The other week I saw the movie "War Room", and it was a powerful reminder that the best way to win an argument is through prayer. And how ironic is it that it took this movie to remind me of that. For even my own novel, "Return To Paradise", has the power of prayer as a main theme. It is through prayer that the town of Spring River receives help in a time of crisis. And it is through prayer that David, the main character, is able to help.

Prayer is the most powerful weapon we have. And, in the end, sincere and heartfelt prayer is more powerful than the best of arguments. So from now on, I will try to jump into prayer a little more often, and jump into arguments a little less.

Not According To Plan

Last Saturday was the day of my mom's funeral. It would also turn out to be the first time in over a dozen years that our entire family, consisting of my brother and sisters, our children, and now a growing group of grandchildren, had gotten together. As luck would have it, last Wednesday I came down with a viral infection.  Since that time, I  have fought through various phases, and combinations, of a sore throat, coughs, runny noses, and fevers. You all know what I'm talking about. From last Thursday through this Tuesday, I was barely able to talk, sometimes even having to whisper.

 

Heal Thyself

When the symptoms started, I of course did everything I could to treat them. Sinus medicine, nose drops, neti pot, and extra rest. And, probably most importantly, I prayed, as did my wife.

 

God's Healing

So how did Saturday day go? Saturday I woke up feeling absolutely fine. No sore throat, cough, runny nose, or even a hoarse voice. We left the motel at about nine in the morning to go to a graveside service in twenty degree weather. After that a quick lunch, followed by a memorial service at the church. After that we had a family gathering at one of my nieces house, where we stayed until about seven in the evening. And I made it through all of this without any signs of my viral infection.

 

At Midnight, You Turn Back Into A Pumpkin

All of this lasted until we were on our way back to the motel, and decided to stop at a McDonald's. At the drive through, I suddenly found myself so hoarse, that I had to have my son give the order. And since that time, I have still fought through various symptoms. And even today, I still have a  cough. However, for one day, the day I really needed it, I was perfectly well. And I  believe that this truly was an answer to prayer.