Megan's prayer: Jars of Clay's "Flood"

Many times when I feel overwhelmed, the only way I can find to express that is by crying. Sometimes this is an okay thing. When I have this overwhelming sense of joy or happiness in my life, it happens. When I watch Extreme Makeover Home Edition and I see just how much people care for one another, it happens. When I feel an overwhelming sense of love from someone, it happens.

It also happens when I'm overwhelmed with school work, with stress, with frustration. Those are not the most enjoyable times. It's during these times that I need to remember to turn to God, to ask him to "calm the storms that drench my eyes, dry the streams still flowing."

Chris' prayer: Jars of Clay's "Flood"

I remember hearing this song on the radio when it was first released. It was actually even before I had really taken ownership of my faith and invested into my spiritual life. Nonetheless, the feeling I had then is one that I continue to have today: I find myself amazed whenever something spiritual or religious, whether it be a song like this one, a book, or a television show "crosses over" and becomes mainstream. It catches me off guard to find the secular world catching on to something religious.

It probably shouldn't surprise me. I think I recall hearing that something like 90% of Americans believe in God, and something like 80% identify themselves as Christian. It seems like the secular world is so far removed from that statistic, though...that God is part of our lives on Sundays for an hour, then perhaps a minute before meals, and then contained in privacy for the rest of the week. It is refreshing, and yes, amazing, when we as a culture allow Him to escape that box and make an impact on our secular world.


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Catie's prayer: Jars of Clay's "Flood"

Lift me up - keep me from drowning again

There have been many times in my life when I felt like I was drowning. Not literally but in the sense that I was in way over my head. Earlier this week I felt like this. I just had so many little things that had built up and I felt entirely overwhelmed. But God lifted me up. After a while I realized I didn't have much control over what happened in some of the situations so worrying about them was pointless and whatever God wanted to be done was going to be done. It's hardest when we don't have control to want control more than ever. But we were never in control of the situation to begin with so why not give control to God?