Kimberly Hahn's Talk

Friday was the first time I had ever heard Kimberly Hahn speak. I've heard her husband speak before and read a few of his books as well. I found her just as fascinating as he. Her knowledge of Scripture was AMAZING. She made me want to pray more with the Word of God. So that I too can be a woman steeped in the power of His Word.

Kimberly's talk was entitled "The Strength of the Humble" and spoke very much to my heart. (Remember that this talk was geared towards women but many of her points are good for everyone no matter the gender or vocation.) The point that she kept repeating over and over throughout her talk was that in order for us as women to be strong we first have to recognize our weakness and realize that we can do nothing without the strength of God. Once we admit how weak and little we are then God is able to step in and uphold us with His strength.

She then went on to speak a little bit about the spiritual warfare that we all face. She said that we should read and pray with Ephesians 6. And then gave us two "Offensive Weapons" to help combat evil.

1) The Word of God. Memorize it; read it; pray it. Allow the Word of God to pierce your heart with the truth. She made a good point....Protestants aren't born with an extra gene that helps them memorize Scripture. We ALL can do that!

and 2) Prayer. "He that is within you is greater then the one that is in the world." Stay close to Jesus in prayer and He will stay close to you.

The rest of her talk focused on these two "offensive weapons". Sacramental Prayer: we don't go to Mass to be entertained we go to participate in Jesus' Sacrafice. And stay close to the Sacrament of Confession. When we sin we don't just affect our relationship with God. We affect our relationship with the whole Body of Christ.

We need to take time out for prayer every day. Even when things are going peaceful. It's just as important to pray then as when our lives seem to be in turmoil. "Don't become over worked and underprayed." In order to live by God's grace we need to admit how weak we are and how very much we need God's strength.

Even if we just stopped and first thing in the morning prayed an Act of Consecration: we've just given the whole day to God and made everything we do an act of prayer no matter how tiny the task we will be doing.

God will give us all the strength we need....as long as we admit that we need it and that we aren't the one in control of our lives or our days. And a good way to do that is to not put our focus on ourselves. And how very, very guilty I am of this. Focusing on my hurts and wants; on my feelings and pains; that doesn't bring me closer to God. By focusing on ourselves we are led to despair.

If we instead focus on the greatness and magnificance of God we will find joy in His strength. After all...prayer isn't meant to bring us deeper into ourselves. Rather it is meant to bring us outside ourselves to God and then take what He gives us to others.