प्राय तो गोद. रो तो शोरे!

PRAY to God. ROW to SHORE

　

I don’t know how many people I have talked to over the years who have claimed "I’ve prayed about it but nothing happened". Funny how it works.

I can relate to the title saying; for many years, when things got desperate, I would pray to a god I learned about in Sunday school. Prayer was in the form of a plea and oft times followed the pattern "If you get me out of this spot this time I’ll never do it again" or "Please give me/let me have…….". Strange, the results I got were not great.

The sign in the antique store showed a fisherman in a rowboat being tossed about in a storm. The message was clear: the fisherman may have great faith, but now was not the time to put away the oars and kneel in prayer - it was time to pray and row!
Sometimes we find ourselves in a storm of trouble, a sea of problems, and we want God to get us out. We may even pray, "God, get me out of this mess." But like the man in the rowboat, the way out is not just by praying to God. The way out is to pray, ask for help, and take action - do something to help ourselves.

For years I did not understand the simple message. I always believed that there was something greater than me in this world and I certainly believed this something was capable of miracles. What I forgot was that action was MY responsibility and God helps those who help themselves. In my case, helping me was fully admitting I has a problem, accepting it and taking the action I needed to not only get help, but to do the things I was taught I needed to do.

Today I ask simply each day for the knowledge of what my Higher Power’s will is and for the courage to carry it out. Then it is up to me to row to shore! (www.hopeserenity.ca).