Power of prayer, power of intention

As some of you may be aware, Australia was recently staring down the barrel of a category 5 cyclone - one which was going to destroy major cities in the state of Queensland and be bigger than Hurricane Katrina.

But then it veered away from the path of major destruction and its rage was vented on a few smaller townships along the coast. Not that this didn't cause much terror and heartbreak for the residents of these towns, it certainly did. But it could have been a lot worse.

I pray a lot, and as the cyclone was bearing down on Queensland, looking the whole time like this was going to be our biggest ever natural disaster, I said a prayer. As you may also know, Queensland had also just suffered its worst ever floods, with a dozen people dead and thousands without a home. This had already caused such great suffering and sorrow that it seemed that Cyclone Yasi would just be too much for a state and a nation trying to rebuild.

So I said a prayer, and in the prayer I affirmed that the forces of nature have mercy on us, that the cyclone not create harm and instead dissipate harmlessly over the sea.

Now while Yasi did travel inland, it missed the bigger towns and within a couple of days was downgraded from category 5 to 3, from 3 to 2 and finally, 2 to 1.

I am definitely not saying that my prayer alone caused this! But I have a feeling that a LOT of people were praying, not least the people of Queensland who had already suffered so much. I think Australians are a people with a gruff exterior but also very heartfelt, and I have no doubt that faced with the terrifying prospect of this massive cyclone, many of us were praying to be spared.

In the end there was just one casualty of the storm, and sad though that is it is nothing to what could have been. At times like this I feel its so important to have empathy - I imagined what it would be like for me and my family to have to shelter in a shopping centre (mall) along with thousands of others unable to return home. I can barely imagine it but I can imagine the despair and the pain.

I am just thankful that our collective prayers were answered! My intution had said at the time that they would be, and that's what eventuated. I think we need to rediscover the power of prayer, at this time in history we need the help of the angels and the divine powers more than ever! Let's get their loving energies into our lives where they are needed. This kind of prayer need not even be denominational - just pray! And let the divine emissaries of heaven do the rest. That's all it takes!