[Article by Conejo member, Arlene Leedy.]
Shortly after my husband Bill and I retired, we had the opportunity to go to a movie with my Uncle Don. My uncle had retired several years prior from Ernest and Young, a well known accounting firm where he had been a senior partner. We were amazed to hear him ask for the senior discount. After getting the discount and his ticket he turned to us and said, “if you don’t ask, the answer is always no.” This became my husband’s mantra.
In both Matthew 7:7 and Luke 11:9 we are told “ask and it shall be given unto you…” Oswald Chambers, in his daily devotional, “My Utmost for his Highest,” says, “There is nothing more difficult than asking. We will have yearnings and desires for certain things, but not until we are at the limit of desperation will we ask.” And yet, we all know the exhortation to pray without ceasing. Most of us were taught to pray by our parents while we were children. We know that our Father is a loving God. He wants to answer our requests. But if we don’t ask, here comes that “NO.”
This congregation does not have a problem asking God for what is needed for the church and for members in need. Two weeks ago, the time usually spent in Bible study by the adults and teens was turned into an hour of prayer as we looked to the new year. We have no problem asking as a congregation but how about asking for things that we personally need.
In 2018, Bill was diagnosed with dementia. He showed no signs of it at that time. To lighten the seriousness of his diagnosis Bill told his friends he had “don’t mention it,” his term for dementia. After COVID took over our lives, the dementia began to set in. He could not handle the thought of anyone being in the house to stay with him except me. One day he came upstairs and told me he was sorry, but he did not know who I was. I learned that day that explanations were of no help to him. He was back in the days when he was in the Navy and just after that time when we were dating. He knew that Arlene, but he did not know me. I had been praying all along but now prayers became ones of seeking the strength to carry on alone. During the next five years my prayers were conversations with God: for protection, for strength, for thanksgiving that someone was there who was listening and who cared.
I learned that there is a God who listens. I did have someone who knew what was going on in my life and who cared. I knew that many other family and friends were also praying and I really appreciated this. But my prayers were a source of strength for me every hour of every day.
My prayers today focus on others in the congregation who have requested help. And I pray because I found God answered my requests for strength and wisdom to get us through each day.
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