No offense, but if you’re not going to pray for me, there’s really not a whole lot you can do for me. We can’t trade places, so the least you can do and sometimes the most you can do is pray to God with me and for me. If you can’t do that, then what can you do that would substitute from that necessity I have?
Prayer is essential. When I’m down and out I need prayer. When you’re down and out I need prayer. I need prayer to enlighten me in whatever situation I am facing. I need prayer to provide me with the wisdom to share with you in whatever situation you’re facing.
If we can’t pray together, then what can we do? If you can’t pray for me, then can you really help me? Better yet, will you really help me?
When I think about the power of prayer, I wonder why it’s always used as a last resort. Marianne Williamson talked about that very thing in one of her mini-podcasts. She said it’s interesting that when things are going wrong people try everything else and then pray. Her example was when a person has surgery or is in the hospital and a doctor or someone says, “All we can do now is pray.” All we should’ve been doing was praying anyway!
There are celebrities and politicians and leaders that we will never be able to talk directly to. But we have a Creator that we can always talk directly to, and He will always listen. In fact, He waits with great anticipation for us to spend time in conversation with Him. I don’t get why it’s treated like a chore or the absolute last option.
When God only wants me to talk to Him, to spend time with Him, when He only wants me to ask Him directly, why do I wait to do it? Why do we not do what will always be necessary for ourselves and others?
When we are only asked to pray, we are getting the best offer in the world. We are being asked to go to God on the behalf of others, knowing that He is going to listen. When someone asks me to pray I can feel the trust they have in me. They trust me enough to pray God’s will for them, and they trust me enough to believe I’m actually going to pray.
Who am I to betray that trust, and deny God that time?