Top That, Prozac

Palin, described by Christianity Today magazine as “unabashed about her faith,” prayed continuously during the presidential campaign as she has for all of her life. In this she mirrors the sixty percent of the country that prays at least once a day. Her prayer is a heartfelt effort to prepare for trials and challenges, the stuff of life. In doing so, she connects with the source of wisdom, unashamedly asking her Creator for patience, clarity, and the ability to love in and through all circumstances. And with her prayer she, in the words of Christian writer Philip Yancey, “stands at a place where God and human beings meet,” a humbling experience that allows her to remain — through it all — just plain Sarah….. Stuart Schwartz, American Thinker

“Prayer changes things.”

“Prayer changes people, and people change things.”

Whatever your beliefs regarding the statements above, it’s interesting to note that prayer is the thing that makes things happen. Most people pray. Often, in the face of a catastrophe, people will turn to God in their desperation and beg for notice. Sometimes they will bargain, and some of these bargainers even make good on their debts. People even attempt to use prayer to get them what they covet: “Please, God, just one little Rolls-Royce!” as if the Almighty were the Universal Concierge.

Praying does good things for us. Even if we aren’t very religious, prayer can have the effect of removing burdens and placing them upon the shoulders of another more capable. “Cast all your cares upon him, for he cares for you…” The act of doing such a thing, of praying such a prayer, is good for us and gives us moral courage.

Being moral in this day and age is apparently not a resume enhancement, as Sarah Palin is finding out. Her faith is scoffed at by the media and the movers and shakers in Washington, who have long since abandoned any semblance of morality and simply maneuver and manipulate to prove that they have the power and there is no other, who can even come close. Who needs God, when you have an office full of aides and assistants and a huge budget?

Sarah Palin’s prayer life is part of who she is. If you look closely at her swearing-in pictures, you will see the Bible held by Todd is a batterd and well-used item, more than likely one of several, marked, annotated, and underlined to within an inch of their existence. I know about “battered Bible syndrome.” I came across my own old “Sword” just yesterday — polished from use, pages falling out, but marked, re-marked, and then underlined in pen or pencil, until the poor thing was rendered unreadable. My “Demon-Slayer,” I used to call it, and it was well-used daily for years, the first in a long line. Sarah’s Bibles are the same way, I’m sure. Used, held, carried, marked, caressed, and utilized, every day of her life.

Sarah understands the importance of staying grounded in faith. it keeps her sane and calm, and helps her make the difficult choices. It reassures her family, and helps them to understand that power, title, prestige, and influence are not the most important things in life. Morality from the soul-deep source is something the wags, wits, and wonks in Washington will never understand, and it is what will keep Sarah Palin standing tall and strong, no matter what they can find to fling at her. Being able to make the hard decisions calmly is a God-given gift, the strength for which comes from frequent prayer. Sarah isn’t afraid to make those choices decisively, or to stand by the making of them in spite of the ridicule and speculation of the media. She has chosen a public life, but she has also chosen her own set of tools for dealing with what she faces, and the sharpest blade in her scabbard is the Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God. She is well-equipped:

17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints

The left might take it as offensive, but part of Sarah’s appeal to the folks out here in flyover country is this prayerful approach to her jobs, as governor, as mother, and the new, even more public mantle that is now being thrust upon her. Since her announcement on July 3 that she will not be seekiing a second term, and will be resigning effective July 27 in order to spare the taxpayers of Alaska further expense and embarrassment from the frivolous lawsuits and scurrilous attacks on her and her family means she will be even more often in the public eye. I’m confident that when when the decisions were made around that family kitchen table, the Bible was right there in the middle, and many hands were placed on it in prayer.

Prayer can be scoffed at and ridiculed, but there is no denying the fact that those who turn to prayer feel stronger, braver, calmer, and more at peace. Even if one isn’t much of a believer, it’s hard to argue with the effects of prayer. “Prayer changes things.”

It certainly does. And one of the things it changes is the pray-er. Changing people is what prayer is all about. Staying with the praying makes people stable, brave, and calm. Top that, Prozac.

Watch and pray.