Grit and Grace: What prayer can do
I was sitting at the bar at the Bavarian Inn in West Virginia when I received a flurry of texts from a girlfriend asking if our boys, who are roommates in Asheville NC, were OK. She had been watching the news and was unable to reach her son. I got on my phone to understand what she was telling me about Hurricane Helene. Seeing the devastation, I made a phone call. Then another. I sent a text, followed by a facetime request. We have an understanding in my family that if the same person calls back right away it’s important, so we answer. My boys never violate this rule. Despite my efforts to try every avenue of communication that I could think of, I had no luck until finally, the youngest answered. He was in Knoxville and safe. I started the process again.
In my work with the Spirit world, I have been guided to change my focus from asking why bad things happen to asking how I can respond to those situations in an empowered way. I have worked diligently in my own life to develop tools and resources to carry me through the tough times. While I do not always travel down those paths with grace and ease, these resources have given me the grit needed to stay the course during challenging times. Watching Hurricane Helene wield her power of destruction in a beloved community was definitely one of those challenging times. As the flood waters rose, I had no choice but to find ways to keep the faith. When my mind goes into fear, I do what I know, I pray.
As long as we resonate with the prayer, we can use any prayer to increase our vibrational countenance. Below is my daily prayer. I speak these words aloud each day because they reinforce that no matter what happens in my world, I am deserving of Source’s abundance, light and love. I do this because it calls me back to myself and connects me to my soul. It is in this state that my personal frequency is high enough to receive guidance.
- I am a being of light.
- I am the daughter of the Mother/Father God.
- I am whole and deserving of abundance in every area of my life.
- I am drawing to me now all that I need.
- I accept fully the support of the Universe and know that good things will flow to me.
- I release all anxieties around this passage into the light.
- For this remembrance, I give thanks, Amen.
Let’s take a closer look at the meanings behind the words.
- I am divine being. My essence is united with light, love, and healing.
- I am connected to a Universal Source. I am part of the oneness of all that is.
- I am open to receiving the blessings of abundance in all of its forms. My current state does not dictate my worth. I am worthy because I am a child of God.
- I accept that everything is perfect as it is. No matter what is happening in the external world, I will look for the good.
- I acknowledge that I will be supported by the Universe in whatever it is I choose to focus on. I trust that whatever comes into my life is somehow serving my highest good.
- I choose to align my life with peace and anchor it in love. I release any fear so it can be transformed into love by Spirit.
- I am grateful for the opportunity to be a creator on the planet.
I believe these words. I am not simply reciting a prayer each morning. I am using the words to connect into a higher frequency of energy. I prayed these words when I was afraid for my boys during the hurricane. It calmed my spirit immediately. From that vibrational state I was able to send my energetic feelers out to my boys and sense if they were in trouble. Whatever they were doing to stay safe held the vibration of confidence and capability which my spidey senses then picked up on. That sustained me until I could hear their sweet voices again. We were lucky.
Prayerfulness is a state of being that is cultivated through openness and attentiveness to the sacred in everyday life. It is an opportunity to walk with the divine through our interactions and encounters with others. As I watched the video footage of the devastation left in Helene’s wake, I noticed the generosity and support from so many people that not only live in the area but many of whom were from other places. People stopped asking “how could this happen?” And started asking “what do you need?” Being in the right place at the right time to help people in need is part of the mystery of the Divine.
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Cultivating a practice of prayer and remaining prayerful each day are tools we need to balance our challenges with our growth. With our grit we persevere and push through adversity. We find the courage to face our obstacles so we can achieve our goals. We commit our time and our resources to help others through challenging times. With our grace we become flexible and adaptive to our new circumstances. We make allowances for people, forgiving them for reacting out of their fears and frustrations. We learn humility when we ask for what we need and can put aside our ego in order to receive it. We surrender our need to control.
We do not have to speak to be heard. We do not have to be close to touch, and we do not have to be solely brave when faced with tragedy. If we hold the vision of better times then we will find our way back to that place again. Our prayers should not be reserved only for sickness and tough times. Nor should we limit our practice for church on Sundays or holidays. Our prayers can be a daily practice that we use to increase the sacred energy in our lives. We can then rely on that energy to calm us in times of crisis, so that we are able to respond when Spirit calls us to action. This storm was strong, but the people of WNC and all those who jumped in to be of service proved they are stronger. They showed us how a region ravaged by a storm, can be transformed into a cacophony of hope and inspiration.
Sabrina Matheny is a gifted medium, a devoted writer in the realm of spirit and energy, and your guide to Welcoming the Woo. If you’re seeking clarity, direction, or want to connect with spirit and are interested in booking a reading, click here to learn more. For self-help wisdom and insight into energetic enlightenment, peruse her archive of articles.
