A few Sundays ago at The Well, we dedicated book bags for our children as they prepared for school. Along with the prayer for the book bags, we made bag tags for each child. On one side of the tag was our church logo with the child's name. On the other side, there was a prayer for the child and the parent to pray each day as they were leaving the house.
A mom stopped me the other day to tell me how much praying with her child had changed their world. She reported that the child left the house with a great confidence each day. For the mother, it seemed as though she was letting her child go into a safe world as God was surely going with her child. Each year the child had struggled in school in studies and in the social aspect as well. This year all of the struggles have disappeared. Their life is better.
I believe that the discipline of prayer brought about that change.
A young couple is struggling with every aspect of their life. Their dream of happiness seemed to be lost. Then they began to do something different. Each morning at the breakfast table, they paused and prayed for each other. Each would name the struggles that were present. Each one would ask for God's direction in every way. Then at the close of each day, they would spend some time reflecting upon the day--listening to one another. Before going to bed, they prayed again.
The couple is still not out of the woods. But when they talk about life's difficulties they speak with great optimism. "We know God is at work in our life. We know that we will make it". The only thing they have done differently is to give themselves to prayer.
Prayer is the discipline of time and space. Prayer is constant communion with God (Harry Emerson Fosdick) Prayer is the opening of intimacy between God and those for whom we pray.
My wife, Mandy and I, have added a prayer discipline in our life of more intentional prayer for one another. Our life is filled now with anxious moments with both of our fathers having been hospitalized and weary. We have spent more time apart because of the care of our fathers which is a necessary thing at this time of our life.
Our prayers have made us stronger. Prayer does this. Prayer invites us to more intimate relationships with God and those whom we love.
Need some more power in your life? Need to be closer to someone you love? Pray. There is great power in prayer.
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