The Powerful Prayer: A Lesson from Ed Red Eagle Sr.

My Dad is one of the wisest men that I know personally. All throughout my life he has taught me and countless others important lessons. So when my Dad has someone he looks up to and learns from, I pay attention. 

One man that my Dad often had the privilege of learning lessons from was Osage Tribal Elder Ed Red Eagle Sr. 

Uncle Ed (as he was known by almost everyone) was a man that had a way of teaching lessons in the middle of casual conversation. Sometimes Ed would stop by the house out of the blue and visit with my Dad. When he was there, I always locked myself on the couch and took in their conversations. Even as a young man I saw the value in listening to these men talk. 

One particular lesson that really impacted my Dad and he has spoken with me about it multiple times is Powerful Prayer. Uncle Ed told my Dad that prayer is powerful, my Dad agreed. Then Uncle Ed said, Powerful Prayer is when your heart and mind come together during prayer!

You see, we are both Spiritual and Physical beings. When we pray, we believe God hears. But, our prayers can become rote memorization, repetitive, and almost mindless actions. On the other hand, when we take what we feel in our heart (passion, emotion, etc) and connect it to our God given minds, then prayer becomes powerful. 

God knows what we want and also what we need. It is our job to bring our heart and our mind together, then present our prayers to God. 

I am not giving you a prescription for prayer. However, I am sharing with you a lesson taught to my Dad by a great man and then passed on to me. So next time you pray, think on the words of Uncle Ed... "Powerful Prayer is when your heart and mind come together."

I-E KA-SHE-NUH E-KI-PSHE KO^-BRA