The Spiritual Fitness ManualChikamu

The Power of Prayer - Part 2

By Chaplain Jesus Alvarez, US Border Patrol 

HOW TO PRAY

Prayer can be short and very to the point when entering a critical incident or crisis situation. Because time is of the essence, you can simply pray, “Jesus, please help us with this, let thy will be done” or “Jesus, please be with us.” I have recited these prayers many times when my Border Patrol unit is rolling up to a critical incident or situation. After I have finished the prayer I ask my team for an AMEN. 

Many times in your role as a First Responder, you will encounter the face of evil or immense human suffering. Whichever the case a prayer will protect your heart and mind and fortify you physically so that you can have God's power to overcome spiritually whatever task is at hand.

Afterwards, that same prayer can help you make peace with a critical incident or tragedy that you faced and maybe help you understand it better or to accept it.

During the times that I have asked WHY, I have found that prayer many times won’t give me all the answers. That is tough to accept but prayer does give me comfort and helps me to understand that I sometimes don’t need to know why some things happen. The bottom line is that whether I understand everything or not, when I pray it strengthens me and helps me to keep fighting the good fight with all my might.

"Honor First"

“I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom and that of all about me seemed insufficient for that day.”  -Abraham Lincoln 

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION:

• What is the most difficult aspect of praying for you? What hinders you from doing it consistently?

• How can you resolve this so that you can strengthen your prayer life and your relationship with God?