The Prayer of Cyrus Brown
“Last year I fell in Hodgkins’ well headfirst,” said Cyrus Brown,
“With both my heels a-stickin’ up, my head a-pintin’ down,
“An’ I made a prayer right then and there, Best prayer I ever said,
“The prayingest prayer I ever prayed was standin’ on my head.”
–Sam Walter Foss
In this poem, written by Mr. Foss who lived and died more than a century ago, three learned men were talking about the best way to pray, standing, kneeling, eyes closed or open. Then Cyrus Brown, with his common sense, told them about the most sincere and maybe loudest prayer he had ever prayed. It might have gone something like this: “Oh, Lord, get me out of here.” I’ve prayed like that, Lord get me out of this situation, although, thankfully I’ve never fallen in a well. Whether I’m kneeling, standing, or driving down the highway, I know the Lord hears me when I pray, not because of me or what I say but because He says He hears.
The Bible passage I read this morning was Psalm 50. The Lord says to call on Him when I’m in trouble and He will answer me. Now that’s reassuring. He doesn’t tell me that I have to be kneeling or standing, eyes closed or open. It’s a plain and simple assurance: I call, He answers. Then in I Thessalonians 5:16-18, I’m told to always rejoice, pray without stopping and to give thanks in everything. How can I do those things? It’s good to have a quiet time, kneel down by my bed and concentrate on the Lord but then what? There are a lot of hours left in the day and I can’t go around muttering prayers every minute of the day. However, I can pray as I make the bed, being thankful I have a bed and that I’m able to move around. I can pray as I wash dishes, being thankful that I have food and family who come to eat with me, I can pray for my neighbors as I see them drive off to work each morning. I pray for my grandchildren at their school and everyone in that school as I drive past. I pray a lot in traffic. A whole lot!
It’s a funny thing but when I pray, I find that I am filled with gratitude to God. He gives me so much each day. And I rejoice that He, the Creator of the universe, sees fit to bend down His ear and listen to insignificant me. Another residual effect of prayer: it is energizing. It actually gives me physical strength.
Prayer is a wonderful shield to put around my family. In the face of all the wickedness in today’s world, the best protection they or I can have, in fact, the only protection is to “abide under the shadow of the Almighty” (Psalm 91:1).
So, I pray in lots of different situations. I ask God to give me words to say, whether I’m writing this blog or a cozy mystery or talking to a friend. I ask Him to guide me when I simply don’t know what to do, and I thank Him that He is with me each day and hears me when I pray. And, by the way, I thank Him that He forgives imperfect me. Forgiveness is a wonderful gift and for that, I can never thank Him enough.
Speak Your Mind