When I was small, every time I saw a beggar or a helpless soul on the roadside, something within me would pause. It could be during a car ride, a walk, or even from the balcony of my home. Their tattered clothes, frail hands, and eyes filled with silent pleas spoke to me in ways words never could. My little heart, incapable of grand solutions, knew only one thing to do. I prayed.
“God, please help them. Please cure them. Please make their life better.”
That simple prayer became my constant companion in those moments. I knew I couldn’t change their circumstances. I couldn’t feed them, clothe them, or heal their wounds. But I could fold my hands and whisper to the sky, believing with unwavering faith that somewhere, God was listening.
At that age, I didn’t question the enormity of suffering or the limits of my own capabilities. I simply believed. And that belief was enough. There was a purity in those prayers — a child’s sincere hope that the world could be made better, one prayer at a time.
As I grew older, life became busier, and those spontaneous prayers became fewer. Not because I stopped caring, but perhaps because the world taught me to measure the impact of my actions more tangibly. It’s easy to feel powerless when faced with the vastness of human suffering. The childlike certainty that prayers alone could change lives sometimes wavers.
But one thing changed. When I started earning and growing up, I tried to help financially or in any other way within my capacity. It gave me a sense of fulfillment to know that I could make a small difference. Yet, one reflection that often crosses my mind is how the prayers I once offered so often as a child gradually decreased. Life became busy with my own responsibilities, ambitions, and day-to-day concerns.
Still, I hope I find the time and heart to pray more often, just like I did as a child. And I hope I continue to help others in any way I can. After all, the power of a prayer is not always in the outcome, but in the act of caring itself. Maybe, just maybe, that prayer finds its way to someone in need, carried by the same unwavering faith I held as a child.