Coincidence? I Think Not

Suspicious Occurrences After Prayer

Original image credit to Volodymyr Hryshchenko

My Dear Lovelians and Lifers,

Recently, I rededicated time every evening to prayer with…interesting results. Prayer is one of those activities I say is effective because it comes with the Christianity package. By “effective,” I mean has the ability to change people and circumstances for the better. I talk to Papa God on a regular basis, but I cannot help but feel like I am missing out. There is a whole other side to prayer that affects more than just my own character and behavior. I have glimpsed this other side on multiple occasions, mostly from a witness standpoint as others celebrate and share their experiences with it, but as for me, I contented myself with simple conversation. While I have grown considerably because of this, I know there is more to prayer, and now I am starting to want it.

Think of it like this. How do friendships begin? With conversation. But friendship is a balance of talking and doing, right? Talking connects; action builds. One without the other does not a best friend make. Come to find out, prayer is no different. But how does one do prayer other than casual conversation? Sounds complicated. Or cringy religious. Let us be honest, sometimes, people do make a scene out of it, so I understand the hesitation. But really, all it does is take conversation to the next level. I have two examples followed by two suspiciously timed occurrences.

First off, to begin reintroducing this deeper level I am speaking of, I followed the structure of The Lord’s Prayer model I referenced in my last letter, but I did not just say the words exactly as written; I used language I speak on a regular basis and substituted Jesus’ human needs and requests for ones more specific to myself. Remember, the purpose of prayer is connection. God may be the CEO of the universe, but He still loves to connect and interact with His creation. Otherwise, why would Jesus give us an outline at all? And an incredibly simple and easy to follow one at that. It is also important to remember that prayer is not a magic spell where desired results will only occur after chanting a specific set of words. This is why I adhere to Jesus’ model as closely as possible but change them to fit my own life. Granted, I recognize people sometimes speak the Lord’s Prayer word for word as a show of reverence, but this is entirely different from what I am speaking of. Just check your intentions is all I suggest.

I melded this practice of prayer into my evening routine for a couple weeks, and nothing too drastic happened; however, I will say I began to notice His presence more often throughout my day. For me, just knowing He is here; Papa is here brings me immense joy and peace on a relatively consistent basis. Feeling Him near is a beautiful gift that swells my heart even more.

The first occurrence happened on a Sunday, also called Sabbath or the Lord’s Day. Yes, I am aware this day does not have to be Sunday, but it is for me. Just a little background, one of God’s commands is to set aside one day a week in order to rest, from work, the worries of daily life, the whole nine yards. This is a command, mind you, not a suggestion. Interesting… I am sure several intentions lay behind it, but for me, taking one day a week to put aside problem solving, worrying about making ends meet, and taking the actions I need to achieve my goals reminds me who is truly providing for my needs. My future is already established. I can let go.

But life does not always make this easy. Here I am, doing my best to honor this command, when life grabbed my face and forced me to look it in the eye. A few text messages later, I was worrying about job security. So I prayed in the shower. I explained the situation and why I was afraid. I also recognized the importance of Rest Day. I knew in my heart He cared, and I felt a split second of excitement amidst my tearful frets as I stepped aside, allowed the tennis ball to sail past me, and nodded to Him----This one’s all you. And I let go. How? I stopped thinking about it. I harnessed the wild, bucking stallions that are my imagination and stopped trying to think of the solution. In other words, I distracted myself. I immersed my mind in conversation with my family and watched tv with them. I forced myself to pay attention to and ponder where I was, who I was with, and what I could do to participate.

The very next day, after an unplanned, casual conversation with my fellow co-workers involving the topic of school, my manager realized I had a taste for an area of their business no one else wanted to do. I am currently in the transition phase and apprenticing under a professional as we speak…In all my worrying, I could never have thought of this solution. Kind of suspicious timing if I do say so myself.

The second suspiciously timed turn of events involved another dose of letting go paired with compassion. I saw a problem, more like felt the problem, and after a time it bothered me. I brought my heavy heart home and prayed. I acknowledged the problem and its negative effect on me. I also explained how the people involved were blind to it and the resulting effects. Wisdom told me it was not my place to tell them, so I was at a loss of what to do. Their blindness made me sad, so I pleaded that He not fault them for their actions just yet. Previous experience taught me timing is everything, so I asked Him to reveal the problem when they were ready to make a change. In the meantime, the problem still affected me negatively, so I asked for protection from the heaviness that lingered in the atmosphere because of them. Then I stopped thinking about it, which, being that it is November and incredibly beautiful this time of year in Georgia, I found to be relatively easy.

Throughout the next week, I was strangely positioned in such a way that I spent next to zero time in these people’s presence, whereas before, it was unavoidable. Again. Suspicious. Granted, I know I will continue to encounter the problem because one prayer does not always solve every problem immediately, but I enjoyed the emotional respite all the same.

Hold up. Interesting. I just thought of something. A few weeks ago, I spoke with Papa God conversationally and mentioned rather off-handedly how tiring faith can be at times because results are not always immediate. I did not overtly ask for immediacy, but I just thought it would be nice once in awhile…

… This is why I do not believe in coincidences

Stay Curious,

Olivia

P.S. I hope you voted my fellow Americans. Despite our government’s flaws, those who came before us fought too hard for us to consider any alternative, not to mention those continuing to fight for us as we speak.