Do not be shy about PRAYING!

Okay, so I have been guilty of this before when I was a kid. Sometimes, when it was my turn to be the prayer leader of the day, my tone starts to change to a smaller one and I always end up praying hurriedly and recite a shorter one.

Now that I'm older (26) and looking back during those days, I don't even understand why I tend to be shy about praying in the first place. It wasn't as if my classmates were laughing at me while I was praying - I never laughed at them when it was their turn to be prayer leader, nor was I in a country that praying would be offensive to others because of difference in culture. One thing's for sure, I'm not shy about praying in public today.

My fiance and I are of different religions but both of us are Christians. It was through him that I started to lose my fear in praying in public. I remember the first time we got together and started dating, I was about to attack the meal in front of me but he held my right hand, and he started praying. He started saying grace and thanking the opportunity that we were together sharing a meal and how special it was. (we ate at a fastfood joint by the way, nothing fancy)

I was a bit uncomfortable and shocked, to say the least, at first. But as we got together more often, I got used to it. I would even initiate holding his hand and saying grace. Eventually, my shyness went down the drain. I realized that there was no need to be shy at all. Besides, I should definitely be thankful for the food that's in front of me, or just basically everything in my life. God has done so much for me so why should I be shy in thanking Him for all of these?

Another example would be the family of my officemate who happens to be my neighbor (I call her Mommy Sandra). Mommy Sandra has a beautiful family. She has a loving husband and cute twin boys. Everytime they see me walking down the street going to the jeepney terminal, they would offer me a ride. And each and every time I ride with them, I also get the chance to participate in their morning devotion and prayer. Mommy Sandra would read the Devotion of the day from the Living Bread, then they would pray the Morning Offering, Our Father, and they would each pray out loud their own personal prayers. 

I admire them a lot because they weren't shy at all with praying even with an outsider like me in the car with them. I think I'm going to do that with my own family when the time comes. 

So there is really no excuse to be shy about praying in public. We can even pray anywhere! God asks no specific time and place for us to give Him thanks. Simply having a meal with a good friend, a loved one even at the simplest restaurant is already something to be thankful for. So go ahead and say grace, hold somebody's hand, or get your bible or devotion out and just read it in public. God will be happy to see you doing so.

No more shyness. Thank you God for everything... EVERYTHING. I love YOU :)


XOXO,


AVI