Camilo Amezquita

Acts 2:25-26 (NRSV)

25 For David says concerning him, ‘I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right and so that I will not be shaken; 26 therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; moreover, my flesh will live in hope.

Reflection

I often reflect on times when I felt confident and in control and contrasted them with times when I felt confused and lost. We all go through ups and downs with our friends, our families, our jobs, and our faith. We tend to overcome adversity and persevere, but then there are those times when we feel like giving up.

I recall a period in my life back in 2017 when I was struggling with many aspects of my life. I don’t recall a specific event that was the catalyst for my struggles, but I can look back and see that much was in disarray. I was not fulfilling my role as a good father, a loving husband, an obedient son, a supportive brother or an effective leader in the workplace. Spiritually, I kept moving away from God and the Church and was quickly finding myself alone more and more. I was not in a good place, and my faith was shaken. My prayers were hollow, and I was not engaged nor invested in my relationship with God. I began to lose hope.

The Lord spoke to me through a Bible study that I attended in the evenings after work.  The first two weeks I was tired and distracted and my heart was not in it. The third week we focused on two key components of the study that changed everything for me. The concepts of a prayer journal and a prayer accountability partner were new to me and I had reservations. That evening, I went to Starbucks and gave it a try. Before I knew it, I had written three pages in my prayer journal. As David says in Acts 2:25, I felt like the “Lord was always before me” and I was having a candid conversation with the Lord. My thoughts flowed so easily on paper and the more I wrote, the more I felt like God was speaking to me, supporting me, and giving me hope. The burdens that I was feeling and were causing my struggles began to slowly disseminate.

The next morning, I called my prayer partner before the work day started and shared my struggles and much of what I had written the night before. She prayed with me and for me on the phone and I got emotional after I hung up. I felt the power of prayer and afterward “my heart was glad” as David says. 

The class went on for six more weeks, and as I continued to grow spiritually, I saw the improvement in the relationships with my wife, my daughters, my mom, my sister and my co-workers. I had hope again with expectations that every day was better. I thank the Lord for my prayer journal, my prayer partner and for my faith where I know the Lord is always before me, God loves me unconditionally, and God will always listen. 

Prayer 

Heavenly Father, I am forever grateful for you and all of the wonderful things that you provide to me and my family. You are by my side each and every day, watching, listening and guiding me. I know I can always turn to you for support and your unconditional love fills me with hope when I struggle and falter. Amen.