When I was first diagnosed with cancer, everyone wanted to help. When asked what people could do, I always said pray. Please pray!
Pray for healing, for my peace. Pray for my family. Pray for all these logistics. Pray for my healthcare team. Pray for my church, who was helping practically, almost every single day.
The amazing thing with the internet these days: there were people all around the world praying for me and my family. People in Europe, in Asia, in Africa. In North and South America. Even Australia. We did not know all these people. But most of them knew someone who knew us. It was amazing and humbling all at once.
Today I am cancer-free. My family is not in that needy situation.
When I hear of needs, I pray. I really believe it makes a difference. Even if I don’t personally know the individual going through the storm, God certainly does! When possible, I text or email, or snail mail a note to say I’m praying. I pray it fills the recipient with hope, reminding them that they are not alone or forgotten in their scenario.
Paul encouraged Timothy to pray for all people. We don’t have to have a relationship with them. We don’t need to know their response. We only need to lift them up. It’s so simple, yet the effects of sincere prayers can be life-changing.
I am so blessed to be part of a prayer group of ladies, more mature than I. These “girls” are retired. They could sit back and take it easy. They do anything but! I had to silence our prayer chat on my phone so it doesn’t go off at work! These “girls” are praying all hours of the day. They are ministering in very real ways to multitudes of people. They have shown me that our ministry doesn’t stop, or necessarily even slow down as we accrue more decades of experience.
Over the past 5+ years I have been on the prayer team with them, we have seen physical, emotional and spiritual miracles.
As much as God blessed the people we prayed for, we, the pray-ers were blessed. We got to witness, watch, and wait as God worked all things for good.
I encourage you to pray as you go about your day. Someone speeding on the road? Pray for them. Someone grumping through the grocery store? Pray for them. Hear someone talking about a sad situation? Lift it in prayer. God knows who they are and what is needed.
If you, like me, want to spend a little more time seeing more of the needs God sees, will you join me in asking for His help with just that?
Prayer: Dear Lord, please give me Your eyes to see what I can lift to You. Help me identify the needs around me and remember where I can carry that load: to Your feet. Thank You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.