In a single day, I learned of a friend who had lost her brother, another who had lost her father, still another who was in the hospital for a knee replacement, and yet another who will soon have to undergo a spleenectomy. I felt overwhelmed by the need around me. And I felt powerless to help any of these people.
I sent cards but wanted to do more. What could I do to help these individuals through the trials they are enduring? Of course, the answer is prayer.
I've written about prayer in previous posts. It seems to be one of those recurring themes in this blog. Perhaps that is because I am learning to rely on it and on the Father more and more.
An article I read recently gave the results of a study about hospital patients. Those who were consistently prayed for healed more quickly than those who hadn't. This was not a study sponsored by a religious group, but a scientific double-blind experiment.
I cite this study not to make you believe more fully in prayer, as I'm certain that you already do. I use it only to point out that prayer is being recognized by the scientific community as a powerful and effective tool.
So, for today (and for every day), I am grateful for prayer.
When we hear of things like that all in one day, it does make us more aware of the needs around us. These needs you mentioned are visible and all too real. The needs that also concern me are the ones we fail to mention to each other. They are nearly invisible, showing up in cross words, a downcast eye, a nervous laugh, a feeling of holding back, or a smile that's pasted on. It's harder to see these needs behind the scenes, even in ourselves. They convince me that we could wear our our lives in prayer, and still only scratch the surface. Here's to scratching the surface.
ReplyDeletePrayer is so important and I agree with Deliese, there is so much more going on with people that could use prayers than we are aware of.
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