Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Intercede For Others With Prayer

And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will. -- Romans 8:27

This morning a dear friend will go into surgery for what the doctors believe is stage 3 colon cancer. Another dear friend lies in the hospital in horrible pain and the doctors don’t know what’s causing it. A neighbor had two heart attacks last week and then a triple bypass. Another neighbor finally made it home from the hospital and now waits to see if she’s strong enough for a liver transplant.

It all just seems so overwhelming. We want to help. We long to help. And yet, really, what can we do? We can’t heal them. We can’t ease their pain or take away their fear. But we can pray.

It sounds fairly simple and it is. But prayer isn’t about talking about praying. It is actually praying. It is hitting your knees and pleading with God for healing and comfort and peace for those we care about.

And He hears us. Even when we don’t know what words to say, even when we don’t know what the people we care about need, God hears. He knows because the Holy Spirit searches our hearts and translates words we cannot speak.

Most of us talk about prayer. We tell a friend that we’ll pray for him. We assure a co-worker that we’ll pray for her child. We promise and we fully intend to do so. And sometimes we remember.

What would happen if we stopped everything and prayed right then? How powerful would it be if we called on God in that moment? What could change if we actually used prayer -- our communication with Almighty God -- to intercede for those in need?

Last fall a pastor did just that. My friend was about to have surgery and I asked him to pray for her. And he did -- right then. We called another man over and we prayed right there in the parking lot. Her surgery went wonderfully. Maybe it would have anyway. But I will never, ever forget how it felt to hear his words in that very moment.

Prayer is powerful. God hears us. God. Almighty Power. Heavenly Father. Creator of all things. God hears. Sometimes all we can offer are our prayers -- and that is enough.