I previously wrote about one-on-one prayer between
the Holy Trinity and me. I stated that I believe there to be a three way prayer
circle also. This circle contains God, there person offering the prayer and the
person who is to be the recipient of the blessings achieved by the prayer. I
hesitantly say that part about the one receiving the blessings because I have
come to the realization that the person praying for another can be blessed as
much as the person for whom they are praying.
Many times throughout my life I had prayed for
others. I have prayed for family, friends, strangers, institutions, weather,
name almost any subject and chances are that you will hit upon something for
which I have prayed. That does not make
me special or a saint, just someone that realizes that there is a higher power
in the universe that knows me, cares for me and is willing to listen to me.
Having cancer and being forced to spend long hours and days just existing
caused me to think, to contemplate many different things. One of those things
was, just what it means when someone says, “I’ll pray for you.” “You are in our
prayers.” “We are praying a novena for you”?
The first thing I realized that the prayers of
others said for me were in fact sacrifices made, by those friends and acquaintances,
for me. These prayers are sacrifices because there are so many other things to
occupy our waking moments. To take time before God to lift me and my malady up
before Him is a sacrifice. One friend of mine, when I first saw her after my
diagnosis, said that I was at the top of her already over flowing prayer list.
She said that her list kept growing and growing and she didn’t know where the
time was coming from to fit it all in. I encouraged her in that I was keenly
aware of the prayers being offered for me. I felt their effects every day. I
also got her attention and told her that maybe this, this prayer life of
sacrifice for others, was exactly what God had in mind for her the day she was
created (Esther 4:14). She said she was encouraged by that very thought.
Simon of Cyrene helped carry the Cross of Jesus on
the way to Calvary. As Jesus grew weaker and weaker on the Way of the Cross,
help was needed. A bystander suddenly became an integral part of the process. Simon’s
work, Simon’s sacrifice helped lighten the weight upon the Savior. When others
said they were praying for me they were partnering with Simon of Cyrene. They
were lightening my burden. They are helping me carry my cross. They were easing
the weight pressing down on me.
Some friends took one of their own to see Jesus. He
was lame and trapped in a body that no longer functioned as it should. The
friends were seeking healing for one of their own. The crowd that surrounded
Jesus that day was pressing and impenetrable. There was no way the friends
could have gotten to Jesus through the crowd. Instead of being defeated against
such long odds they did the next best thing. They lifted their friend to the
roof of the structure where Jesus sat. They cut a hole in the roof and lowered
the crippled friend to the very feet of Jesus. Jesus told the man his sins were
forgiven. When questioned about His right to forgive sins Jesus went a step
farther and told the man to stand up, take your mat and go home. So the lame
friend did just that. He stood up, rolled up his mat and went home (Luke
5:17-39). I wasn’t there and scripture doesn’t tell us but I sort of think that
as he left that house that day there were some singing, shouting and high-fives
all around. This was accomplished through the faith of a few close friends that
knew of the healing power of Jesus and brought their friend to that power. This
is the same action we take and that was taken on my behalf when I was told I
was being prayed for. My friends were not stifled by the power of cancer and
its ability to kill. They and their belief in the healing power of Jesus took
me and my cancer to the roof and lowered me to the very feet of Jesus,
depositing me there to receive His healing.
I felt the mental and physical power of pray as the
pain of cancer was taken from my body and the anguish of my spirit was
released, replace by a peace that passes all understanding. I felt the weight
being lifted from my life as I knew that I was not in this battle alone. Others
were unselfishly helping me carry the burden. I felt it. It is real. Prayer
works. Keep praying for others. For me.
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