Prayer is the oil, the Holy Spirit is the gears.  When we oil the gears, they begin to turn and things begin to work.  When we pray and open our hearts to the Holy Spirit, God begins to work in our lives.  I believe this with my whole heart and soul.   Too many times I have seen it happen.  Too many times I have seen how God works in our lives.  I want to share this story with you to show you, without a doubt, how God works in our lives.

My son joined the military a couple years ago.  Before he joined, he was headed down a rocky path.  Like many  teens, he got into his share of mischief but it started to get him in trouble and he found himself in the wrong kind of company.  Joining the military was a step in the right direction for him.  It got him away from temptations that were hard for him to resist.  But even then he still had his share of problems.  Now, I may be a bit bias, but my son is a good kid.  Truly, deep down a child of God and he grew up in faith.  Like me, at that age, he fell away from going to church on Sundays.  In our phone calls I would try and encourage him to go but he had not yet found that spark to get him to return.  I have faith he will.  He soon found out that he was going to be sent overseas to Afghanistan.  I really wanted him to go to mass and especially the sacrament of Penance before he left, and he showed a desire to want this also, but time slipped away and it never happened.  Now, here is where God steps in….

When my son was home for Thanksgiving I had made him a laminated card to carry in his wallet.  On one side was a picture of Christ standing at a door.  The door has no handle or knob.  On the back is a short explanation of the significance of this.  In essence, this picture is showing that Christ is always there for us waiting for us to open the door and invite him in.  Then there is a short prayer.

The day that my son flew out I spoke with him briefly.  He was about to board his plane.  He was going to have his phone shut off shortly, so we said our goodbyes and hung up.  Then, a short while later I received a text from him.  Then another, and another.  Here is the story they tell – It seems he had taken out the card I had given him and had read it then as he put it down he looks up to see a Catholic priest standing there.  My son approached the priest and asked if he would hear his confession before he left.  The priest said “Of course”.  My son said he feels so much better.  And I know he is leaving in God's hands. 

He is always there, just open the door and invite Him in.