prayer

Work and pray, live on hay,You'll get pie in the sky when you die.-Joe Hill, The Preacher and the Slave

I beg you, help me, in angelic charity,Pray my efforts will reflect your mastery!

As I continued to pray raggedly, prayer ceased to be an awkward and self-conscious act. It became a daily need to which I looked forward. If, for any reason, I were deprived of it, I was distressed as if I had been deprived of some life necessity, like water. I cannot say I changed. There tore through me a transformation with the force of a river, which, dammed up and diverted for a lifetime, bursts its way back to its true channel. I became what I was. I ceased to be what I was not.

Art and prayer are the only decent ejaculations of the soul.

And this,' Ivan said to the children gathered around, 'is who we are, and this is what we do. Our family serves the Lord--no matter what comes--and when He answers our prayers, no matter how he answers them--we give him praise.

This prayer in praise of Lord Vishnu be,His incarnations graced earth constantly. शानता_र _शयन त_ना सरश विशवाधार _नसदश _रण शत___ल___नत _लनत _तरधतन वन_ विषण ततहर सर_ल__ाथI bow to Vishnu, Master of Universe unquestionably,Who rests on great serpent bed, peaceful perpetually,From His navel sprouts Lotus of Creative Power surely,He the Supreme Lord of cosmos undeniably does be.- 146 - He supports the entire universe and all-pervading be,He dark as clouds with beautiful Lakshmi form glowingly,He the lotus-eyed, whom yogis see by meditation only,He destroyer of `Samsar_ fear _ the Lord of all `loks_ be.- 147 -

We give to God of our strength, not our weakness. But we also say: __a lifneh mi ata omed___now before whom you stand. We know what we are in the face of that. We see the full picture__od and ourselves. We cannot see ourselves as more than we are because we see how much greater is the reality. But we must not lessen our value in our own eyes either, because we are a necessary part of this reality. It is no small thing that we are able to __tand_ and to address that reality.It would be good if we could approach life the way we approach prayer, knowing before whom we stand.

Just five minutes, God, I chant like some hostage negotiator on the brink of a resolution. Five minutes alone. Please, please. Please.

A little of God will not move the hand of God.

Whenever you can__ balance what you see with what you believe you have conflict.

God's fundamental goal for believers is not to protect us from harm or suffering, to make us comfortable, or to benefit from our service. You can biblically sum up God's primary aim for your whole life in one uncomfortable word: change. Ironic as it may sound, change is the one constant that God purposes for every believer, regardless of circumstances - whether you are in ministry or in a secular job, married or single, healthy or handicapped, chronically ill or terminally diseased. God's immediate and ongoing purpose for every Christian in time and on earth is to change us, to make us like Himself, to conform us to the image of His Son.

For many of us prayer means nothing more than speaking with God. And since it usually seems to be a quite one-sided affair, prayer simply means talking to God. This idea is enough to create great frustrations. If I present a problem, I expect a solution; if I formulate a question, I expect an answer; if I ask for guidance, I expect a response. And when it seems, increasingly, that I am talking into the dark, it is not so strange that I soon begin to suspect that my dialogue with God is in fact a monologue. Then I may begin to ask myself: To whom am I really speaking, God or myself?

You need God's direction before you can prosper in anything you do. However, it takes your choices to begin; it takes your passion to stay on; it also takes your integrity to finish it well!

An orchestra of temple bells and chanting erupted suddenly like a pleasing drizzle.

A prayer from Shri Vishwanatha SuprabhataMorning Salutations to Shivaतवम_ तता तता तवम_, तवम_ त___ स तवम_ ।त_ विदत दरविण तवम_, तवम_ सर_ त द द tvameva mata cha pita tvameva,tvameva bandhush-cha sakha tvamevatvameva vidya dravinam tvamevatvameva sarvam mama deva devaYou my mother and father be,You are kin and friend to me;You my knowledge, wealth be,God of gods! You my all do be.

People__ love for us may change, depending on what we do or don__ do to please them. But God__ does not__t__ everlasting.

Good morning, God. Another beautiful day. I'm still here, and so is the sun. Thank you. Right, now let's get down to business.

I believe a boy can have anything in life that he wants once he starts working for it. The main thing is not to give up. It makes no difference how tough things get, just bow your back, keep working, and put your heart and soul into it. As you go along your way, live a good clean life, don't hurt anyone or anything, and always be honest. It doesn't hurt to pray a little, too. If you do all those things-someday you'll have your pony and gun. You'll get help when you least expect it.