As a kid who was raised by Christian parents, I have enjoyed the comfort of knowing that people were praying for me my entire life–not just my godly parents, but others in our church. So many times in life people have told me they’re praying for me, and as a pastor’s wife now I’m regularly reassured that people in our congregation pray for my family every day. There’s something so sweet about knowing someone’s storming heaven on my behalf. It’s humbling and brings peace, especially when I’m struggling.
Maybe many of you reading this have had a similar experience. You have faithful friends, godly family members, and church people who pray for you regularly; people you can reach out to when you need an extra measure of God’s mercy or grace, when you need help, when you need the kind of understanding that only comes from God. When you feel weak, when you feel like your prayers are cold or ineffective or you just don’t know how to pray, you have people who will cry out to God with your name on their lips.
But what if no one prayed for you?
Recently I saw a post on social media from Dr. Richard Ross. He told the story of his wife’s conversation with the pest control man who came to their house. It was just a regular day. He was there to do what he does every day of his life: spray for bugs. But while he walked around the house, Dr. Ross’s wife LaJuana asked a simple question: “Would it be ok if I said a prayer for you?” He told her that he was going through hard times and would welcome prayer. But it’s the next part of his response that haunts me: “My mother always prayed for me. But she died. Now I don’t know of anyone who prays for me.”
I wonder how many people we walk past every day who don’t know a single soul in this world that prays for them? Imagine the devestation of a man who loses his mother when he also understands that the one person who cared enough to pray for him is no longer on the planet.
Most of us aren’t the people of prayer that we should be. When I picture this man in my mind–a man with few connections to people who know God, a man who lost the one person who prayed for him, a man who needs prayer–it broadens my perspective about the place that prayer could have in my day to day life. I suppose I just assume that people I encounter throughout my day are doing fine, that they don’t need or want my prayers, that if they’ve given no indication that prayer would be welcome, it probably isn’t. But the truth is that I don’t always know why God places people in my path as I’m busy accomplishing all of the stuff that’s on the agenda each day. What if the person who is bagging my groceries is longing for just one person in the world to say a prayer for her? What if the dry cleaner is going through a hard time and doesn’t know anyone who would lift him up in prayer? What if the last thing on the waitress’s mind is the God of the Universe? Would a simple offer of prayer help turn her heart and mind toward her creator?
Sometimes I forget that the people I run across are eternal souls who need spiritual support and encouragement. They may not even believe in God, but they know that people who profess to follow Him should care about their well-being. They recognize that people who claim to know Christ show love when we pray for someone. Who am I walking right past who needs to know that just one person in this whole wide world cares enough to pray for them?
I remember finding out that my aunt had mobilised a small army of her friends to pray for me when I was serving in the British Merchant Navy. I also remember the empty feeling when she died and asking God, “who is praying for me now.” The reply was not what I expected. It was a question rather than an answer, “who are you praying for?” Since then I have committed to praying daily for family, friends, neighbours, pastors/elders/deacons at church. It has changed me and grown me so much.
David, thank you so much for sharing this.
For many years, my two siblings and I drew much comfort from knowing that our Mother carried us to the Throne at least once a day. Depending upon whatever we were going through at the moment, we knew she was at the dining room table with open Bible and a trusting, pleading heart several times a day on our behalf. I vividly remember the day I felt the hammer-blow of realization that, with Mom’s transition to eternity, the umbrella of my prayer covering was gone. It was at that moment that another hammer-blow fell – the whisper of the Spirit that felt like a shoulder-shaking shout: “Who are YOU praying for?” In repentant tears and with my own petitions for wisdom, strength, endurance, and love, I vowed that I would pick up the prayer mantle of my Mother and continue to cover my extended family with at least daily prayer. In the intervening years, God has demonstrated his faithfulness multiple times as He answers those prayers – even when the answers are “not yet” or even “no.” He has also sensitized me to the unknown hundreds I see on the highways each day, and to individuals I encounter in the course of any given day: “Who is praying for them?” At that moment, if I am obedient – I am. Thank you for sharing this. It is a reminder I needed. Blessings!
Trish, thank you for sharing! I appreciate your encouragement and the call to obedience!