My Bible Sharing

Published in the June issue of the the OLCP newsletter.

Matthew 21:22 - Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive.

I always believed in the power of prayer. But I did not realize how powerful it is until I prepared for the Bar Examinations last year.

One of the lecturers in my review school said that the preparation for the Bar Exams is an individual journey. And indeed it was. Unfortunately, it was also one of my most intense and saddest experiences that I had to go through.

It was not my first time to take the Bar. I could not get back my focus during the first months of preparation. I had to come up with a different battle plan. I revised my schedule for the subjects that I am supposed to review. I also realized that I have to include time for prayer. So that was my strategy, to study and pray. I allotted my Thursday mornings to go to the chapel of St. Jude, even if my time would be better utilized in studying. I also continued to serve in the Lector's Guild even though at that time, I already contemplated resigning my commission as lector. Most of all, I tried to stay positive.

Come, the four Sunday mornings of September, my family and I went to the OLCP Adoration Chapel before proceeding to the venue of the exam. Almost every exam question was accompanied with a prayer. And while waiting for the results, I was hopping from one church to another. This time, I let God take control of my future, whether as a lawyer or not.

On the night before the scheduled release of the results, I literally got all my novenas and prayer booklets and read them one by one. And I repeatedly prayed the rosary. I continued my prayers until a neighbor relayed to us that the exam results were already released. I passed.

I agree with what Fr. Ren said in our Bible Sharing with the Lector's Guild that prayers come hand in hand with work. But I also think that God answers prayers in His own time and there is a reason why my prayers were not answered previously. Now, I am just filled with gratitude with this gift that God has given me. It is all worth the wait.