TBC Notes

"Lord, Help Me."

Growing up as a Roman Catholic, my prayer life was overloaded with supplements to supposedly boost the effectiveness of my spiritual endeavor. To name just a few, there was “the Rosary (including 50 Hail Marys), the Stations of the Cross, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Holy Face of Jesus, the various scapulars, the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Our Lady of Guadalupe, Seven Sorrows of Mary, novenas (nine successive prayer days) to various saints, and pilgrimages and devotions to the Blessed Sacrament.”

After becoming a born-again believer in Jesus Christ, it took me a while for my prayer life to Jesus to become personal and intimate rather than my former rote and repetitious prayers as a Catholic. Now my prayers are more like conversations that I have with a Person I know and love, which I do.

They also have become shorter and more direct. One of my favorites is the prayer said to Jesus in Matthew 15 by the “woman of Canaan.” “Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me” (v. 25).

Did that contain enough for Jesus to answer her request?  “Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour” (v. 28). The Lord knows we all need His help, so I'm never reluctant to pray that simple prayer: “Lord, help me.”

T. A. McMahon

Executive Director