John 14:13-14 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.
So please, please, pray for me.
But don’t send me your positive thoughts.
James 5:16 says that the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. I have found this to be true so many times in my life when I needed prayer—even when the answer I most desired didn’t come, I’ve felt the power of other’s prayers for me lifting me up and helping me get through a tough time.
And I have felt that this week. I have felt the power of prayer. Because God listens to His people when they call upon Him, and sends comfort and healing. He sends the strength to drag your three kids to two different hospitals multiple times, to watch your mother cry because she’s in so much pain, to hear your Alzheimers-stricken grandmother ask why her own (long dead) mom isn’t coming to see her.
I have not felt the power of positive thoughts, because positive thoughts start and end with a person. No matter how well-intentioned, they are powerless to change any circumstance.
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In my parents’ house, there is a chalkboard in the kitchen. Originally meant as a functional decoration, it has been useless since December 2007, when my then 9-year-old niece wrote three words on it.
“Jesus, Please, Please”.
Above it, my mother then wrote “Do not erase” and my niece’s name and the date.
At the time, her grandfather (not my dad, my sister-in-law’s dad) was dying of leukemia. He had just been diagnosed, and during brutal treatment, a devastating bleed on the brain had started. Family was called in to say goodbye.
My niece knew there was one thing that could save him. She was only 9 but she knew what to do. And over eight years later, the evidence of her childlike faith stands in my parents’ kitchen as a reminder to us all. Jesus, Please, Please.
Her grandfather made a truly miraculous recovery and lived another two-and-a-half years. There is no medical explanation for his surviving the brain bleed that day, but I think the prayers of hundreds of people asking God in Jesus’ name, and the faith of this one child, had a lot to do with it.
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And so, friends, if I ever ask you for prayer, and you are unable to call out to God and Jesus on my behalf, but still want to help? Do something practical. Make a casserole. Give my kids a ride. Offer to babysit. I’ll gladly accept any help you want to give with love and gratitude. And rest assured when your time of need comes, I will return the favor. And also? I’ll PRAY for you.
And keep my good vibes and positive thoughts to myself.
