Power of Prayer

I'm not exactly sure what prompted a blog on prayer. Sure, I pray, and I feel good praying, but tonight I read an older blog of mine and in the blog it talks about all of the things that we should do in life and one of the pieces of advice was:
Pray. There's immeasurable power in it.

So I was thinking about prayer and what it means to me. My mom and Ryan babysit this beautiful baby named Tyler, and my mom is teaching Tyler the sign of the cross. Tonight I was thinking about coming home and teaching Tyler a prayer - I imagined he and I kneeling at the bed and me teaching him Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep because it was the first prayer that my mom and dad taught me. I havent said this prayer in years. I actually had to look up what the actual words were:

Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep;
if I die before I wake,
I pray for Lord my soul to take.

Is it just me or is this depressing? This is a classic children's prayer from the 1700s, and tonight i realized how depressing it is to teach a 3 year old that if i dont make it through the night, may the lord take my soul. This is something that I might say now - but this is all besides the point.

I said that prayer every night - and it became tradition - which is why I want to teach it to a child in my life.

Another prayer that was tradition:

Angel of God,
my guardian dear,
to whom God's love entrusts me here,
ever this day, be at my side
to light and guard, to rule and guide.

That was an aunt anna prayer -

Ok, Jeff, whats the point?

My point is, is that prayer knows no boundaries. Prayers can be as long, or as short as you want. They can be something that helps you fall asleep - they can help you wake up - they can, for me, provide you comfort. I remember when my great nonnon passed away - I prayed for a few things - I prayed that she would greet my Uncle Carmen and let him know that we all love him and miss him everyday. I prayed that my aunts and uncles would all be safe and would be alright until I got there to hug everyone. Prayer for me provides a sense of comfort. Like, someone IS listening even when no one else is.

Do you pray?
What do you pray for?
What do you do when your prayers go unanswered?

If there is immeasurable power in prayer, why do we see so much bad? I dont know. But, it's ok that i dont know. I'm OK not knowing the answer - all I know is that I will pray. I will pray that my loved ones are protected. I will pray for mine and their health - I will pray and believe in the power of prayer until I am no more. with all of this said, I dont consider myself a VERY religious person. I have beliefs - some most won't agree with it - but I don't think you have to be a religious person to pray. So, if you're reading this and you havent prayed for a month or more - I challenge you say a quick prayer tonight and see how you feel!

Good night.