Ordinary Time 
Pause
Everyone goes through storms. Some are a natural occurrence in life, and some are put upon us. But sometimes, it seems that as soon as you’re through one storm, another one is just over the horizon.
What gets us through these storms? For seafarers out on the ocean, it’s navigation equipment. GPS, compass, and satellite. What equipment do we use to navigate through life’s storms?
Whatever problems you may be dealing with this week, trust in the tools that God has given us to navigate this unpredictable life: the love of family and friends, the wisdom of Scripture, and the guiding force of the Holy Spirit.
Listen
So they cried out to the Lord in their distress, and God brought them out safe from their desperate circumstances. God quieted the storm to a whisper; the sea’s waves were hushed.
Psalm 107:28-29
Think
Cry to the lord, and be delivered from your distress.
Today’s reading is about the most important aspect of our spiritual lives: prayer.
I’m often asked about prayer by my friends: How do you pray? What do you say? Do you think God is listening?
Prayer is different for everyone. Some quietly whisper prayers before bed. Some might only pray in church on Sundays. Some might pray just by talking out loud. Our prayers offer up our sorrows and pain. They express our hopes, our dreams and desires. They reflect a vision of how we would like the world to be.
When someone asks me if God hears our prayers, I can’t offer them proof. But I do know that it is important for us to hear our own prayers. Your prayers help you to be aware of the person you are and the person you want to be. Your prayers remind you of the reality of the world today, and the vision of the world you have for tomorrow. Maybe that gift of vision is a part of God’s answer to our prayers.
Will Bryant
Pray
Almighty God, hear my prayers on my days of desperation, and through my prayers may I become more aware of myself and of the mission that you have set before me on Earth. Amen.
Go
“Oh what good is it to live with nothing left to give?
Forget but not forgive, not loving all you see? [...]
You belong with me,
Not swallowed in the sea.”
Coldplay, 2005, “Swallowed in the Sea”
