Ever since I was young I usually pray before sleeping. I always do it because my Mom told me to. Honestly speaking, we are not that religious family. We don’t go to church very often, even up until now. However, God and saints were not new to us since my grandmother was a “mananabtan”— the one that leads the prayer. Every member of my family, we have this tradition that we have a specific church to go to whenever our birthday comes. We would visit the churches, light candles, and pray. Praying was the only thing I knew to communicate with God. Praying… I knew it was important. I knew it was nice. What I did not know was if it really works.
As I was slowly growing up, I was able to maintain the practice or at least do the sign of the cross before sleeping.
Continuing my life as a Junior High School student, I was just like a typical girl whose life routine went like running in circles. Home to school, school to home— it was what it was as my every day passed by. Even so, my life was not that meaningless at all, I had so much fun, in fact. I was able to learn great things, experience fun moments, met new people that I never knew I would treasure until the present, and of course, show who I am. Showing who I am is sharing what I have got in life and I have got this interest in dancing which gave my life a little bit of flavor. Adding the spice, I discovered my interest in writing, which leads me to the answer.
When I started writing it seemed like I couldn’t stop doing it anymore. I kept writing whenever I got the time to. I was also able to show it to a larger number of people. I was gradually starting to face my fear of being on stage whenever I present a piece. And that’s nice. What was nicer was being chosen to compete with other students on campus and whoever is chosen among us will have a chance to compete in the City. I was challenged about that because I invested pretty big in writing way back in those days. The fact that it will also be the first contest that I’d be joining if ever I will be chosen. The thing was I was informed late. I only had the night to write and familiarize the piece for the next day. Because of the undying pressure I was having, I prayed before I started writing. I prayed to God to guide me on writing a good one because despite the limited time, being afraid, and everything that was making me doubt myself, there was a part of me that wanted it. There was a part of me that wanted me to own it—the stage, the people, and the award. A big part of me wanted it. I prayed so deeply that I could say that it was one of the deepest prayers I had done.
The process went smoothly. I finished it earlier than expected and even familiarized most of it. The piece I just wrote made it to the top list of my favorite poems that I have made. And it was beyond satisfying especially when I got chosen and even won first place in the City contest.
I started it with a prayer and ended it with it as well. The satisfaction I felt that time was irreplaceable and there was no reason not to thank Him for being with me in the entire process of a great experience. That was when I realized that prayer works and knew that He listens. I also realized that not because He listens he will give it to you, He will give it to you when you put love and passion as you deliver it to him, and make action for it to become how you wanted it to be because, after all, that is how prayer works.
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