Praying for Others

The sun is shining today in Vicksburg after the torrential rain and thunder storms of yesterday.  I’m glad we decided to sit out the storms and take a day off the road.  The Weather Channel is predicting that the mid-Atlantic states may be in for some wintry weather over the weekend—just about the time we thought we might return home.  We’ll keep a close eye on those reports and if necessary dilly-dally around in the South for a few extra days.

As we drove through the Fort Worth/Dallas area the other day, I blew a kiss to Jay and offered up a prayer for her and her family as I do everyday.  Jay was involved in a serious auto accident a few months ago resulting in severe concussion and other injuries.  Does it do any good for me to pray for Jay?  I think so.

The Gospels tell us that Jesus prayed for others.  He prayed for children.  He prayed for the sick.  He prayed for his disciples.  He prayed for his enemies.  He prayed for the world.  This is one thing we know about Jesus—his was a life filled with intercessory prayer.  If I am a follower of Jesus, then my life, too, should be a life filled with intercessory prayer.

God desires a deep personal relationship with all his children.  God wants us to open our hearts to him without fear or scruples, just as a father wants his son to share what goes on in his young life.  Prayer is not telling God what to do.  That would be presumptuous.  Prayer is telling God what we think we or someone else needs, always adding, “if it be thy will.” Elton Trueblood wrote, “Most of the problems relating to God’s will are already solved when we see prayer not as an effort to change it, but as loving communion which may help in the promotion of that will, whereas without the prayer it might be frustrated….Whatever God’s power may be, we are needed, and never more so than when we pray.”

So this morning I pray for Jay and for so many others I know personally—and for those I do not know and will never know—like those starving in Somalia today.   As I do so, I wonder if there  is anything more important in the world than praying for it and for those who live in it.

"Jay"--You are in my bundle!