Pray For Us!

Therefore I tell you whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. Mark 11:24

There is a story told of a Welsh woman who lived in a remote region in Wales. She went to a great deal of trouble and expense to have electrical power installed in her home. However, after several months the electric company noticed that, according to her bills, she hardly used any electricity. Thinking there was a problem with the hook up, they sent a meter reader out to her house to inquire. The woman came to the door, and the meter reader asked if there was a problem since she hardly used any electricity. The woman replied, “Oh no, everything is fine. We switch on the electricity every night to light our lamps, then we switch it off again.”

Sometimes I wonder if that’s how we use prayer. We switch it on when things are bad, wait for a quick answer, and then switch it off again. In other words, we demote it to the bottom of the list of things we believe will work for us. I hear this all the time, “If all else fails, let’s pray”. It could also be rephrased as, “If all else fails, pray for us.”

The truth is any believer can pray. We don’t have to be a minister or some superhuman Christian, we just need to be specific in our prayers and have faith. We need to pray with expectation but trust God to answer the prayers in His time and in His way. I know God hears us and cares for those of us who ask when we pray. We have all experienced a time when we need someone to pray for us.

During our years in Bowdon, there was a family who were the first friends we made there. Their children, Scott and Connie, were older than our kids, but they became like a big brother and big sister to Rob and Ashley. Their mom, Sherrod, is one of the best friends ever. We have stayed in touch over the years, shared our stories of children and grandchildren, and always reach out when there is a need.

Early one morning about six weeks ago, Sherrod called with news that her grandson, Hank, had been diagnosed with leukemia. She began the conversation with, “I just called to ask you to pray for us.” The call was not for anything material, the call was for no other reason than to ask us to pray. She did what we all should do, she put prayer at the top of the list rather than demoting it to the bottom of the things we think to do. Prayer is powerful.

Just like the woman in Wales, sometimes we don’t use the power that is right in front of us. Why not start with prayer? God can heal any way he wants – with a prescription or without. He can heal with our permission or not.

During the time of waiting for prayers to be answered, God is using doctors, nurses, research, procedures, even prescriptions to His purpose. While God is working, we should be doing a few things.

First, we should be thinking and praying positively and aggressively. There is much to be said for fortitude and mental attitude.

Secondly, we should count our blessings each day. Things like good doctors, nurses, family, friends, even spot blessings that just pop up! There is a great possibility that this experience will change a lot of people for good.

Next, we should continue to work, read, and lift up others. Staying busy is therapy. We are God’s workmanship.

Finally, we should claim God’s promises. God heals everyone in some way.

I think we are all amazed when, in the midst of life’s setbacks, prayer warriors emerge from places we would never suspect. Strangers hear of a need and join the prayer chain, long lost friends emerge to offer support, and families and friends come together in prayer. Pray for us is a motto because in saying it, we move from fear to fear not!

We serve a sympathetic Savior who is attuned to all our prayers. Let’s all pray for each other, and although Hank is doing great, please add he and his family to the circle of prayer.

He surrounds you twenty four hours a day. He is in you, with you, about you and before you. John R. Bisagno