Prayer First

 "Courage is fear that has said its prayer."  Call me crazy, but I'd never heard this quote before until this past Sunday when our Pastor said it...and it was mind blowing!  Apparently the quote is very popular, so much so, that it has been attributed to different people, one of them an actress from the Silent film era, go figured...  My guess is that when a famous person like that says something so remarkable like this quote, people remember it more, and start associating it with that person. 

At any rate...the thing is, the quote really impacted me.  It made me remember a couple of years ago when I was watching an action movie with the boys and someone said something alike:  "you have to be a little bit afraid in order to be courageous."  The scene was a Dad trying to encourage his young son.  I remembered at that time, Dylan was most impacted by that...but so was I.

The thing is, as much as I am ashamed to admit it, fear is a big part of my life.  I hate myself for it...but it is a reality I cannot deny.  It is a struggle I've carried since ever.  When I was a little girl, I was permanently afraid of the thought of losing my parents.  You see, they had me in their 40s...so, I was the kid with old parents.  When my friends' Moms were in their 30s, my Mom was in her 50s...that worried me very much.  I grew up and the fears continued...most of them associated with fear of loss: loss of health, loss of stability, loss of loved ones...you name it...I was afraid of it.  There was one fear in particular, though, that sticks out among the others: the fear of being paralyzed...I don't mean physically, though that frightens me very much too.  What I mean is, I'm afraid to be paralyzed by fear itself.

I want to be courageous enough to do what I have to do even if I´m afraid.  I do not want to be that person who does not do anything because she is too afraid to do anything.

This is why the quote speaks to me so much.  The inspired words remind me that fear is not the problem.  Fear is actually a necessary element in courage.  The problem is when we allow our fear to disconnect us from the One who makes us courageous.  And how does fear do that?  It does it, when it keeps us away from prayer: the conduit, the cable that plugs us into our source of power and strength.  

King David showed us in many occasions how staying connected to God through prayer was the key to renewed courage and strength.  His entire life was an example of that...hence God's expression of praise for David, when through Samuel, He declared how the son of Jesse was a "man after His own heart." (1 Samuel 14: 13)  In the Psalms we see this, and one in particular calls my attention today:

Be merciful to me, my God,

for my enemies are in hot pursuit;

all day long they press their attack.

My adversaries pursue me all day long;

in their pride many are attacking me.

When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.

In God, whose word I praise—

in God I trust and am not afraid.

What can mere mortals do to me? Psalm 56: 1-4

We see clearly here that David's first step, when facing hardship, was to pray:  "Be merciful to me, my God..."  In his moment of affliction, David always went to the Lord in prayer.  He presented his trouble.  He opened up and confessed his fear.  He recounted the troubles.  Then, we witness the progression of his conversation with God.  We see courage emerging when the Spirit reminds him to put his trust in Him, "In God, whose word I praise..." And as he is reminded of how God is with him, he is able to stand and know that "in God" there is no need to be afraid.  

This is how "fear says its prayers:"  when we put prayer first, always first...never ceasing... That´s when we see courage follow...

May the Holy Spirit maintain us plugged into the source of all power through the connection of prayer.  In Christ Precious Name.  The Name above all Names.  Amen!