Prayer Buddies

17Jun
For I am longing to see you so that I may share with you some spiritual gift to strengthen you or rather so that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine.
-Romans 1:11-12 



In Paul’s letter to the Romans, he lets them know that he wants to share his spiritual gifts with them, and perhaps even more importantly, he lets them know he counts on them for encouragement. Paul says he wants to be encouraged by their faith and wants to offer them encouragement as well - a give and take relationship.


I start each morning with prayer and meditation - trying to improve my conscious contact with God. There are times when it is easy to feel God’s presence and other times when it is hard. There are times when I think my own prayers are enough to keep me grounded and sane, and there are other times when I need the support of my prayer buddies.


I have a few people that I reach out to when I need prayers. I know through experience that if they say they will pray, they do it; they don’t offer idle promises. By the same token, when I say I will pray for them, I do it. I set a reminder on my phone if I need to do that. I ask for prayers before difficult conversations, when I am struggling with my faith, when I travel with my cat, when my children are in a hard place. There is one prayer buddy I have had since 1996—the comfort this provides is indescribable. She feels the same way. We do not do much together socially, yet we are closer than many friends who see one another daily-through our prayer requests, we know one another intimately—our fears, despair, hopes and longings. 


I am also in a group that prays for one another—recently the husband of one member of the group was undergoing very serious surgery. We decided that we needed to be praying during the surgery - for her husband and his caregivers, but mostly for the peace of mind of our friend. We each took an hour and committed to pray during that hour. She says knowing she was covered in prayer is what allowed her to sit in the waiting room without losing her mind. It allowed her to pray, too.

Do you have someone you count on to pray when you can’t or when you feel like you need more than your own prayers? If you don’t, my prayer is that you will have the courage to create that for yourself. It might be life-changing for you as it has been for me.


Musical Meditation - Servant Song - Sung by David Haas



Loving God, thank you for hearing my prayers.  Thank you for the courage, vulnerability and trust to reach out to others when I need their prayers in addition to my own.  Amen.

Prayer

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