A shield before me is God,
who saves the upright of heart;
A just judge is God,
Psalm 7:11-12
When St Patrick was sold as a slave to be a shepherd, he lived outside and in the elements and it is there he became a spiritual rock and even a bit of a mystic. He probably prayed the psalms and there is a prayer attributed to him called: St Patrick's Breastplate prayer, meaning it was his defense, that prayer was like his armour.
Three times this week I have heard how important it is we keep a quick prayer handy. A prayer we can lean on when we feel stressed, or anxious. "Lord make haste to help me," or "God come to my assistance". It can be a few words of scripture that we easily memorize but it is important that it be relevant to the expereince however troublingthat we are having. I keep coming back to a portion of this prayer I mentioned from St Patrick.
Christ be with me, Christ within me
Christ behind me, Christ before me
Christ beside me, Christ to win me
Christ to comfort me and restore me.
Christ beneath me, Christ above me
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger
Christ in hearts of all that love me
Christ in mouth of friend or stranger.
Even if we find a verse or two from this prayer to recite throughout the day, I think it will be comforting to take some time and jsut remember that Christ is with us always.
