A few weeks ago I developed a sore on the inside of my mouth, caused by periodically biting down when I chewed. It didn’t heal immediately but as I intentionally ate more slowly and carefully, I stopped chomping down and the sore got better. Thankfully I didn’t need to go to the doctor. The sore is almost entirely healed but I can still feel where it was, which I take as a reminder to pay attention. Along with physical sores, periodically we find ourselves nursing emotional sores; we say or think biting words, and sometimes we are the recipients. We care for these injuries by making adjustments and by praying, and looking to God for help. It takes time to heal but through faith, healing happens. We may be left with a reminder, which helps us to replace irritation with love. |
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What is the benefit in praying for a person or situation when I know very few of the details? I say, plenty. Whatever makes me think that I have to know the entire story in order to pray. Actually, knowing too much gets in the way because unwittingly instead of lifting it all to God, I end up forming a little committee with God. I can even imagine myself pulling up a chair next to God so we can have a special, private conversation. Do you see what’s happening? That childhood image of God as Father is right there. I know it will never entirely go away and that’s fine with me, but it doesn’t have anything to do with the mystery of prayer as I believe it. The less of a syllabus I have in front of me about what’s going on with people, the clearer the path to God. By clear I mean less murky, fewer shadows for light to confront. Now, about that chair. I often pull it up and chat with God. Not to help God figure out what to do, or to tell God my opinions, but to listen to God tell me what to do and to hear God’s opinion. I often don’t know what’s going on with someone I’ve decided to pray for, and that’s just fine. I don’t need to know, but when I do hear of a blessing that has been bestowed upon them, I say a little prayer of gratitude for God’s small voice whispering to me. The other day I received just such a flutter of angel wings from a friend I’ve been praying for. Sandra, I’ll call her, has been a family friend ever since she was born. She is about ten years younger that me; our mothers were college friends, and our dads enjoyed each other early on. Now Sandra lives in an assisted living facility and has no family remaining. From my perspective, she is alone. She is not on the internet, and although I can leave a message on her answer machine, she never picks up the phone, nor does she return my call. Our mode of communication is the U.S.P.S. About six months ago I decided that I would write her name on my top ten prayer list every day. Occasionally I send her a postcard, photograph, or article, and since she has always practiced her faith and gone to church, I mailed her a copy of the service that I gave at my church a few weeks ago. At the end of June I sent her the July-August daily devotional, Upper Room. I wasn’t surprised, therefore, to receive a little envelop in the mail from Sandra yesterday. In it she included ten file cards, each expressing a particular memory of my parents. These ‘jottings’ most likely were in response to the book I’m writing about mom. But what did surprise me was her heartfelt expression in following comment: “A very devout and kindly man and I meet daily for prayers, so we’ll add the Upper Room to our schedule. He has many challenges to cope with, but he considers prayer the best medicine until a cure for what ails him materializes.” What a beautiful window into Sandra’s life. She is not alone. I will definitely keep praying for her, as well as for her devout, kindly prayer friend. The story isn’t over. God is still speaking. |
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