As I start out a new Fall period, I am so grateful for what I discovered as an Evangelical. The beautiful songs like How Great Thou Art and Amazing Grace. One sings and prays these songs at the same time. Added with it the beautiful tunes they rouse the soul. I know they are Western tunes. There are also traditional Thai songs that are beautiful prayers, but I had as a westerner to get used to these strange tunes.

Prayer has always been a mystery and a joy for me. A mystery, as I still don´t know how to pray…but I enjoy doing it anyhow.

• The Lord gave us a beautiful prayer: The “Our Father” prayer as a reply to the question of the disciples, ´Lord teach us to pray`. I have learned to appreciate the many ways that one can repeat this prayer and it doesn´t have to be rambled off.
• Then there are the Psalms. These were prayed by Jesus as well. His haunting cry ‘my God, my God, why has thou forsaken me?` still touches our hearts.
• There are gifted people who wrote beautiful prayers, how they found these words is so amazing… Well it is their gift to compose, and we rejoice with them.
•  I find that my own prayer-life is limited. I have a whole list of names  for which I pray nearly every day. I mention the name, ask the Lord for a blessing. At times there comes spontaneous a specific need they might need help in, or some beautiful thoughts to bless them with. I am always searching for ways to improve my prayer-life. If anyone has suggestions, please write to tjvdweele@me.com, you always get a reply.
• There are also written prayers by Saints, that have been handed over for hundreds of years now, like Saint Brigitte of Sweden. Her prayer about the Suffering of Jesus and the Blood that then flowed I pray daily. I remember with it how my dad loved to talk and sing about “the blood of Jesus”. There is also a “Litany of Humility” that I met and that spoke to me. I included that in my daily prayers as well.
• I pray now daily the Brevier: the collection of Psalms and prayerful parts of the Bible that have inspired many people through the ages and is now in various denominations becoming more and more in focus.
•  I lived after the war some years (1947-1949) by the parents of my mother, in Zeeland. On Sunday morning, we always had an egg (what a luxury!) and then after we finished the meal, we sang Psalm 1. That old tune is still in my mind and I often sing this quietly for myself.

This is a grateful Téo, looking back into history what other believers have left us.

“Bless the Lord O my soul and all that is within me bless his holy name”