THE PERSISTENCE OF PRAYER
When everything done in your humanness seems inadequate, trust that the answers will come. Then, don’t rush, just wait. And breathe. Because someone is praying for you. Someone, perhaps whom you least expect, is always praying for you.
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She stood in the middle of the quiet service and began to weep, “Lord let your presence be known to me in such a way that I am left with no doubt that you are working in my life.”
One week later the diagnosis of leukemia came. Her beautiful son would need an immediate bone marrow transplant and then he, along with his devoted mama, would step inside an isolation room for an impossibly long stretch of time.
The instant I heard this news I drove to the hospital and waited in the children's wing where I thought she might be. We were more acquaintances than friends so the possible tension I would be creating from entering this sacred and intimate moment in a family’s life was heavy on my mind even though my heart said, "go."
Something compelled me to be there…something larger than the anxious thoughts that I might be unwelcome.
When she appeared in the long, empty corridor her exhausted eyes locked with mine and then she ran to me, collapsing in my arms, both of us knowing that a supernatural power had orchestrated this unashamed, unrestrained fury of prayer.
I may have been the unexpected one,
the least likely to stand in the midst of an unbearable moment,
the one seemingly unwelcome,
the one with nothing to gain.
But God knew that my being there, the one most unlikely, would bring reassurance that a choir of voices was joining in.
When is the last time you prayed as if your life...or someone's else's...depends on it?
My prayers are different now. They are urgent and relentless, no matter if for a cherished one or someone I hardly know. I have become unafraid of asking for the same things over and over again, not only because I believe that prayer changes God's heart, but more because I believe it changes mine. Praying for something with focus and intensity brings clarity over time—
Our emotions calm and we can see things in new light.
We become aware of the things within ourselves that may be in the way.
We begin to see the situation from a Heavenly perspective.
We clarify what it is that we really mean.
The Persistence of prayer is Like a favorite song you can’t get out of your head. familiar. comforting. inspiring. rhythmic. changing.
I wonder with all my heart if God receives our prayers as a sign that we haven't given up...On Him. On the situation. On humanity. On ourselves.
What do you say to your Creator when you’re having a really rough day?
We are so private and posturing, allowing others to only see the parts of us that we seem to be getting right. But what of the hard moment we labor so intensely to hide?
Have we hidden the very things about ourselves that require honest conversation with the living God?
If you're having difficulty praying for yourself, are you willing to lay aside any notion of pride and ask someone else to intervene?
Have you been prompted by some random thought about someone that suddenly works its way into the middle of your day? Chances are, that person needs you, whether you are aware of the circumstance or not.
Here is what I am marveling in—Without asking, there are those who have stepped into the void of my own disbelief and they have exclaimed, “I will pray!” The one thing that has been more surprising than my current circumstance are those [who know me well and hardly at all] who are compelled to fall headfirst into the vortex on my behalf. On. My. Behalf.
This is the persistence of prayer. Words that come without effort, without judgement of the “how” of it being right or wrong. There is no wrong when the prompting is to run to the One who loves us without reservation, who calls us to pray with persistence and abandon.
NOTES: Just two months after being diagnosed with Stage IV Uterine Cancer I wrote one of my favorite Journal entries…maybe it’s one of yours too. It’s entitled “The Gap,” and it speaks to the notion that someone is always praying for us. Did you catch that? Someone. Is. Always. Praying. For. You. I hope you can grasp just how extraordinary that is. My fascination with prayer has intensified over these past two-and-a-half years. And my faith has transformed through how you pray for me, for healing, even when I fall short of finding the words to pray for myself. You may not realize this but I frequently imagine what your prayers sound like. And this musing evolved into the idea of writing a book. And the book began to take form. Uncomplicated Prayer. How we talk to God. In the next few weeks I will be asking you to be a part of this project in profound and intimate ways. I hope you say, “yes” when I ask you. Because this Journal transcends what I'm going through to intersect my story with yours. Let's write this together. Much Love.