Deriving Happiness From Prayer: A Woman’s Perspective
Introduction
Deriving happiness from prayer: One constant motivation that spurs us to partake in a bevy of different activities is happiness. No one wants to be sad so we try various things in order to remain happy. Due to our human insatiability, we seem to never be fulfilled or enjoy total happiness, no matter how much we try.
However, this does not deter us. We still keep striving for it at all costs, no matter how short-lived it might be. Whether you are a man, woman or child, one sure way to stay happy in life, proposes this writer, is to inculcate a rich prayer life.
Prayer has numerous effects, ranging from spiritual to psychological and even mental. To the one who prays often, this would be perfectly understood. When we pray, apart from the fact that we’re connected with the Divine, the graces, blessings, and array of positive feelings that come with it are not quantifiable. Not only are we assured of favorable responses from God, but we are also sure to take with us a variety of spiritual goodies, enough to sustain us in our quotidian activities.
At this juncture, it is expedient to focus on the thematic preoccupation of this piece – prayerful women. We know what it means to be prayerful. It literally means to be filled with the zest to pray. Now, it is noteworthy to state here that myriads of statistics have shown over time that women are generally more spiritual than male folks. In fact, in most religious homes, it is the woman who keeps the household spiritually vibrant. Therefore, it is quite necessary for women to inculcate a rich prayer life in order to keep their homes exempt from the claws of the evil one.
Who is a Prayerful Woman?
As we plunge further into this article, there is a need for us to understand who a prayerful woman is. What qualities should she possess? It is when we understand this that we can now enumerate the benefits that come with being a prayerful woman. In light of the above, therefore, the following are some of the characteristics of a prayerful woman:
1. Steadfastness
This is one true trademark of a prayerful woman. She is very resolute and resilient at whatever she does, especially her prayer life. She is not easily swayed by whatever distraction she is faced with. A prayerful woman holds firm to her faith and to her chosen prayer schedule. She doesn’t give in to any form of distraction, whether internal or external, that would make her deviate from these tenets that she holds strongly.
2. Discipline
This is another important quality that a true prayerful woman is expected to have. Without discipline, one’s prayer life cannot be sustained for as long as it should. Prayerful women know this and try as much as they can to be disciplined in their spiritual struggle. They do not allow their emotional disposition at a particular time to affect their prayer life one bit. They pray without ceasing, just as Jesus Christ directed in the Good Book.
3. Prayer Transforms Them
A prayerful woman is not one who only prays without her prayers having significant effects on their lives. Such is not a good prayer life. If a woman’s prayer life does not have a visible influence on her entire life, she has not started. Prayer should transform one wholesomely and the effects should be quite palpable.
4. Consistency
Prayerful women are quite dogged about their prayer life. They are so faithful that they try not to allow a day to go by without saying at least a word of prayer. It is this consistency, alongside other factors, that gears them on in their spiritual journey.
Benefits of a Rich Prayer Life
Praying regularly and fervently has a lot of remarkable effects on one. These effects cut across every sphere of one’s life, not just the spiritual. It should also be noted that these effects are long-lasting only if the person involved stays persistent and resilient in prayer. Without the person’s hundred percent cooperation, they are simply better imagined than achievable. Also, the benefits of prayer do not just end there. Ultimately, they bring us happiness which we very much desire as humans. Some of these rich benefits include:
1. Prayer Imbues Confidence in You
Every occasion of prayer is indeed an opportunity to build one’s confidence as a child of God and in facing life’s numerous challenges. Prayer gives us the assurance that God is always with us at every point in our journey through life. This assurance makes us ever confident and no matter how much trouble we’re faced with in life, we still rest assured of God’s ever-abiding love and presence to see us through.
2. Prayer Assists You In Grasping God’s Will
Another important benefit of prayer is the fact that it aids us to a long degree in understanding the will and plan of God for us. Prayer is not a monologue. In prayer, we believe strongly that God speaks back to us just as we do to him. This happens in various ways.
We can hear Him speak to us through our consciences, through his Word, the Bible or if he wills it, we could hear him clearly in that still soft voice of his in the depths of our heart. And what else would He speak to us about but his perfect plan and will for us? So, prayer time is an indispensable opportunity to not only draw closer to God but also to learn about His divine will for our lives.
3. Prayer Brings Peace of Mind
Most often, this is better experienced than explained. Prayer brings upon one a rare kind of peace that is almost inexplicable. As implied earlier, God is ever-present whenever we pray. Hence, it is only natural that we feel peaceful while it lasts and even afterward since God is the epitome of peace. People who pray regularly have been reported to generally have more peace of mind than those who don’t.
So if you desire for your mind to be decluttered from all sorts of chaos and filled with God-given peace, why not fall on bended knees today in obeisance to the Divine and see what happens? The peace that comes with prayers is incomparable to that which the world tries to establish. It is purely a machination of God’s omnipotence.
4. Prayer Draws You Closer to God
Just like in human relationships where the persons involved need to spend quality time with each other in order to get to know the other better, we need to spend as much time as we can in prayer to God if we desire a deeper relationship with Him. There are no two ways about it. In constant prayer to God, we get to discover certain deep mysteries about Him that can’t be known by merely learning about Him from religious circulars and other materials.
5. Prayer Has the Ability to Calm One’s Nerves
Prayer helps to release anxiety in people who pray often. When we pray, we are supposed to pour out our whole heart and mind to God. If this is done thoroughly, truly and sincerely, there is always a sense of calm that comes to us inevitably. This feeling, I dare say, can’t be gotten elsewhere apart from in the place of prayer.
6. Prayer Teaches You Forgiveness
One of our common intentions, while we pray, is for God to forgive us for our sins as we forgive those who have in turn trespassed against us. In this continuous chain of forgiveness, we learn to always forgive others, no matter the gravity of their offense towards us. If prayer doesn’t teach us how to forgive those who wrong us then our prayers are not sincere enough. This is because God is mercy personified and an encounter with Him should leave us with more merciful towards others than ever.
7. Prayer Makes Us Relate With Others Better
This is one spectacular fruit of prayer that we should all strive to get. When we pray, we relate with the Divine in a mystical way. We can’t touch Him, can’t see Him but we can certainly fill His presence. Now, since God created us in His own image and likeness and it is stated clearly in the Good Book that we should love our neighbors as we love ourselves, prayer should stir in us the desire to relate better with others.
“If we can’t love our neighbor whom we see, how can we then claim to love God whom we do not see?” These are the words of the Holy Book. So, if we pray regularly and we are still haughty and cold towards others, then our prayer life is certainly problematic.
8. Prayer Solves Problems
Most often, we underestimate the power of prayer, especially as regards its ability to solve our problems. As the scriptures enjoin us, whatever we are passing through in life (whether pleasant or unpleasant), we should “take it to the Lord in prayer.” This doesn’t imply that God doesn’t know about our troubles already. He, however, wishes to hear us spell them out to him, with total faith and trust in His ability to answer us.
9. Prayer is a Weapon
Indeed, prayer is a weapon but it is so sad that many people do not realize this. It is a weapon with which we fight the evil one who never ceases to roam around, in search of someone to devour. It is also needed to fight evil itself which rears its ugly head ever so assertively in our world. Without prayer, our spiritual life remains ineffective. We are more or less a toothless bulldog.
10. Prayer is Therapeutic
Many times, we fail to pay attention to some richly beneficial attributes of prayer such as its therapeutic ability. When we pray, a myriad of positive feelings automatically come to us. It is something that happens naturally and spontaneously. How many times have we, having had a really bad day and then remembering to pray, been totally transformed inexplicably by prayer? This is one sure sign that the Divine is fully alive and active whenever we turn to Him in prayer.
Conclusion
At this juncture, it is expedient to reiterate the fact that prayer is indeed a channel for uncountable blessings and immeasurable graces. It is a medium through which God speaks to us and we, in turn, pour out our entire selves to him with sincerity of heart and clarity of purpose. Therefore, we should never cease to make judicious use of this wonderful opportunity. If you wish to stay truly happy, pray more.
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