2/18/2023 0 Comments Pray for someone like you![]() ![]() You can't go wrong praying one of these, can you?''Sure,' she replied, 'why not?''Well, here's the prayer I want you to use.' 'And the Bible was written by God, right?' (This wasn't the time or place for a philosophical exploration of the nature of Scripture.) 'So these must be good prayers, with the divine seal of approval. ![]() 'This is a collection of prayers right in the middle of the Bible,' I told her. I picked up a Bible from the pew and opened up the book of Psalms. 'I suppose so,' she answered uncertainly. ![]() Would you be willing to pray a prayer written by God?' 'Sugarcoat a lie? Do you think God doesn't already know how you feel, what's going on in your life? There's no point telling anything other than the truth.'She looked deeply sceptical. 'I can't do that!' she said.'What else are you going to do?' I replied. This clearly wasn't what she'd expected to hear either. 'Well then, that's what you need to pray. 'I wish he was dead.'I held her fierce gaze. So here's my first question: what would be the truth for you right now? How do you really feel about this situation, about this man?'Her eyes flashed. But there's no point in telling God anything that isn't true. Let's start with Prayer 101, a kind of basic introduction. I thought to myself, Well, from such mighty seeds of faith, who knows what oaks might grow? But I kept that to myself and simply answered, 'Sounds good to me. 'I don't really know if I believe in all that. Would that be helpful?'She thought about it for a moment. 'No,' she said, 'I don't want to see another counselor. I explained to her that I couldn't offer her counseling myself, as I don't have training in that area, but that I'd be happy to refer her to a colleague who might be able to help. I've been to see counselors, and they've been helpful, but the anger is still there. I can't get rid of it, can't some to terms with it. 'It's been months now since he left, but the anger has stayed with me. 'It's the anger that's killing me,' she told me. He'd left her, and she found herself grieving, bitter, angry, disoriented, and filled with a desperate sorrow. They'd argued, and it had become clear that for some time he'd been cheating on her with a string of different women their relationship had meant far less to him than she'd believed. The relationship had seemed strong to her, but she'd discovered that he'd been seeing another woman and that the affair had been going on for quite a while. She'd recently discovered that her partner of many years had been unfaithful to her. She began to unfold a story of painful betrayal and heartache. 'I'm not religious or anything, but I thought you might be able to help.' So we picked out a pew, and I asked her what was on her mind. She demurred, but asked if I could spare her a few minutes: 'I really need to talk with someone,' she said. I'd come over to say Evening Prayer and invited her to join me. Hopefully, it reminds you that you are a part of a spiritual family with a loving Heavenly Father who wants His people to cry out to Him in prayer.It was late afternoon, the autumn sun filtering weakly through the stained-glass windows, when the young woman walked into church. I want you to know that I care and that you are not alone in going before God. So let me ask you - how can I pray for you today? You can click here to let me know what is going on in your life and how I can pray for you today. You can make a difference in someone's life by simply asking, "How can I pray for you today?" Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done." "Don't worry about anything instead, pray about everything. It helped remind me that I am a part of a spiritual family with a loving Heavenly Father who wants His people to cry out to Him in prayer.įrom time to time, we need to be reminded to pray about everything. It made a difference because I knew number one that they cared, but also because knowing someone was praying for me meant I wasn't alone in going to God. The reason why, all these years later, I still remember that moment so vividly is that the question paired with their sincerity made a difference. A few years ago, I met with one of our church members about an area of ministry where they were interested in serving. When we finished talking and walked to our cars in the parking lot, they put their hand on my shoulder (remember when we were closer than six feet to each other?) and asked, "How can I pray for you?" It's one we can find ourselves rarely being asked, or even still, rarely asking. ![]()
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