As I have been reading this book, May It Be So, it has touched so many different cords in my heart and experience. It has opened me to viewing the Lord’s Prayer in a different light.
I believe the essence of this book can be summed up in one of the book’s quotes: “May your language be formed in relationship with God rather than letting a relationship with God be predicated on your use of the right words.”
Often times we pride ourselves on forming the perfect prayer that we feel is worthy of the ears of our fellow humankind, but yet we miss the importance of a simple petition and a contrite spirit.
Also, this book brought the concept of community into prayer. We often can view prayer as a singular task that one must accomplish alone, but understanding the Lord’s Prayer goes beyond just ourselves.
The specific prayer that I chose to write about was Prayer 30, “May the fear of being afraid never keep me from facing the things I am afraid of.”
I chose this prayer thinking it was random, but then I began to realize the true application of it to my life.
Sometimes my fear of failure prevents me from trying, or even from succeeding.
I graduated with a Masters degree in physical therapy over 10 year ago, but have not been able to practice with this degree. My struggle has been the federal examination. I have been unable to pass it, despite my many attempts.
Over the years, this has affected my spiritual journey and has also made me afraid to try again, simply because of the fear of failure.
I am faced with accepting the belief that truly all things work together for the good of them that love the Lord and the challenge to keep smiling, even though I have no idea how much this failure has infiltrated my life.
God has no doubt still blessed me with much and I have a lot to be grateful for. But I feel like my life has unfinished business.
This is not a success story; this is a transparent story.
I believe that we must speak life into our situations and into our stories. If I accept that fear is the result of false evidence appearing real, and that with God all things are possible, I can overcome.
Not allowing my fear of being afraid to control the things that I face opens the door to new opportunities in my life that I am excited to explore.
Aaron Waters is a physical therapist who loves God, family, friends, and fun.
These reflections stand alone, but if you want to enjoy the prayers from May It Be So that they’re based on, please click here to request a copy of the book.