Where did you learn to pray? Did your parents teach you something like, Now I lay me down to sleep...? Maybe you still haven't learned to pray. Maybe you have no idea what or who to pray for. Maybe you're just not sure you have that kind of time. Well, have you got time to think? to speak? to breathe? If you can walk and chew gum at the same time, you have time to pray. Scripture says we should pray without ceasing, at all times, about everything. If it keeps you awake at night, if it makes you grip the steering wheel just a little more tightly, if it causes your stomach to flip-flop, if it makes your heart sing, talk to the God of the universe about it! Yes! He wants to hear from you, and has made a way though His Son, Jesus, whereby you can go to Him. About anything! There is no need for King James thees and thous --He hears your heart and knows you don't speak that way to anyone else. If you're awed by Him and choose to kneel, do it! If you're driving, don't! If you need to close your eyes to focus on Him, do it! If you're driving, don't! He is worthy of your acknowledgement, of the offering of your thoughts, of your tears and your laughter, of your breath. He is worthy!
And you can pray for anyone! I sort of hope, when I get to heaven, I will see some of the people who have been in my prayers. Or, maybe, God will give me just a peek at what was going on in that person's life at the very moment they popped into my thoughts, and I prayed for them. Maybe I'm a bit touched, but there are people for whom I pray I will probably never see again; people who stepped into my life for a nanosecond but have remained in my heart. I didn't put them there. I didn't ask them to crash into my car or walk into the garden department of Lowe's, but there they were. And they have remained with me. I think God has a reason for that.
Robert Vera, in his book A Warrior's Faith, the story of Ryan Job, writes:
I believe that all of the challenges in our lives are part of God's unique plan for each of us. This plan comes to us over time in parts of a puzzle. Each piece is delivered by strangers, friends, family members, and the random people who come into our lives ever so briefly and bring with them a critical piece of the puzzle.
I love that! We are interconnected. God is the Author of relationship; He created man and woman because it was not good for the man to be alone. What will you do with the names of the people you meet? Will you acknowledge the image of God in each life, believe His great love for them, and begin praying? When you took the piece of your puzzle from their hand, did their need, their joy, their hopes remain with you? Pray for them! Pray God miraculously meets their needs and they acknowledge His goodness. Pray God preserves that joy and gives them opportunities to bring Him glory through it. Pray God directs them in their desires and prospers them for His glory. There is no lack of concerns or people we should be lifting before God. Your Kingdom come; Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven! (Matthew 6:10)
This world is a mess (always something for which to pray!), but there are also some pretty wonderful people in it who need our prayers. So long as we have this great privilege, let's use it all day every day! Here's a challenge for you: This week, find one person --in line at the DMV, at work, checking shoes at the bowling alley (that guy could definitely use some prayer), wherever --find one person to add to your prayer list, or start your prayer list (that's okay). Just do it. Imagine how much better this world could get if we all began to pray.
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