Bringing Prayer to Life: Praying For Others
Posted: Wednesday, May 06, 2009
by Steve Radford
There are a lot of hurting people these days. Financial pressures, marital problems, illness. As part of a community of people who believe in God, it's common for someone to ask that you pray for them or their situation. How should we pray on behalf of someone else? I believe God wants us to do it. But it seems strange to bring the situation to God as if He hasn't been paying attention and needs a briefing from us.
If you have ever wondered how to pray for people in need or even why to do so, maybe something I experienced several years ago on a mostly empty, late night flight will help.
Our family had relocated to a new city in the middle of the school year. Our daughter was a preschooler, so the move was easier for her. But our son was 10 years old. He had left all his friends behind and found himself the outsider at a new school. I couldn't find the words to pray but I knew I loved him very much and that he was struggling to fit in.
With the reading light off, I leaned my head against the window of the plane and prayed silently. "God you know that I love my son. I want to help him but I don't know how. You know I would do anything, even die for him or our daughter without hesitation if called upon to do so." As I prayed that prayer at thirty thousand feet, God's presence was very real. It occurred to me that I was accompanied by the only one capable of loving our kids more than my wife and me.
As I looked out the window into the darkness, I envisioned Jesus seated next to me looking down at my son. I didn't need to explain the situation to Him. He already knew. I didn't need to suggest solutions. I just needed to join Him in loving my young son. One who was willing to die for him, along side one that already had. With that image in mind, it was easy to say "I'm going to trust you on this".
The memory of that flight provides a point of reference for me when praying for a friend that just lost a job or got a scary diagnosis from the doctor. Maybe God will send me to help them. Maybe He'll allow me to watch while he orchestrates their rescue. Or maybe He'll teach me something new about trust and peace as we love them together.
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Top-level comments on this article: (2 total)Steve, I really like this.
Beautifully put Steve. God doesn't need our help but, His word also tells us to pray for others. He will bless us as we pray for others and it will draw us closer to Him. I often have a tune that goes through my mind and the one that is running now is, "Help me to see for just one minute through your (Jesus') eyes. I know that God also has all of our best interest in His hands.God bless,I like your comment Michelle. Seeing others through Jesus' eyes would make a big difference in how we behave and react. Thanks for reading and commenting. Steve
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