Ask and ye shall receive!

Today is Rogation Sunday. The word 'Rogation' stems from the Latin verb 'rogare' which means 'to ask'. So Rogation Sunday traditionally was a day when the parishioners and the minister would carry out a ceremony known as "beating the bounds". They would process around the boundaries of the parish and pray for Gods protection for the forthcoming year. This applied, in particular, to crops and new born animals.

God, being the one who always listens to us and our needs would no doubt answer these prayers and provide what was needed.

Indeed God continues to do this even in our modern times. Fair enough, if we pray to win the lottery then He is unlikely to answer that prayer (as it is somewhat selfish), but He will always answer our genuine and heartfelt prayers in a positive way, this is evidenced in the bible "Ask and ye shall receive" (John 16:24).

Prayer is an exceptionally important part of being a Christian, it is not good enough to just pray every so often, regular prayer is the way to go. We must remember that God wants us to pray, He likes us to talk to Him, He likes to know what we are doing, just as any good parent wants to keep posted on what their children are up to even if they have grown up and left home!

God doesn't have a telephone, nor an email address and sadly there is no postal service between heaven and earth, so our only means of communication is by prayer. The prayers do not have to be formal or prepared, they just have to be genuine! Remember the Lord does not demand anything from us, He will only take what we are prepared to give, and is a few minutes a day through prayer too much to give? Not in my opinion! The Lord gives us so much more than this!

So, be more like the chicken (from last Sunday) and look up often....and talk while you're at it! When I say talk, this does not mean that you have to speak out loud, it is perfectly accepatable to talk through your heart...just make it a regular thing! Give Him thanks for His goodness also!

I had better mention that I did go to church today, that's why I know that it is Rogation Sunday....I'm getting good at the church thing now....it has become a very important part of my life, the people there are not simply churchgoers, they are faithful people who I am proud to say are my friends! I thank God for this! I thank God for connecting me with the ACC....and I make sure that I remind Him of this thanks every single day!

Until Wednesday..............