“Every great movement of God can be traced to a kneeling figure.” ~ D. L. Moody
On May 20, 2021, a young man celebrated 365 days of sobriety. His father, mother, and sister attended an early morning recovery group to support him and help celebrate his clean and sober birthday with all those in attendance. During the sharing portion of the meeting, his younger sister revealed that she had written a single prayer on a piece of paper in the third grade and kept it in her jewelry box. The prayer said, “God, please heal my brother from his illness.” She spoke directly to her brother, emphasizing how she often prayed this prayer. Wow, how powerful to have a sister, behind the scenes, praying for your healing and transformation. All those years of prayer, the humility and patience it took remain persistent in prayer and keep the prayer between her and God. The blessing of this story is that God answered the prayer. She, of course, was not the only one praying for her brother; the parents boldly prayed without ceasing and went to great lengths to help their son without trying to enable him with his battle against the illness of addiction and alcoholism.
The pain and sorrow of this life, the principalities and powers of this world, and the challenges that life deals us have no defense against the power of love. Love is the most potent force present on earth, and why Jesus said that the greatest commandment in the world is to love God with everything you are and possess, and the second commandment is just like it, love your neighbor like yourself Matthew 22:36-40 (CEB). One of the greatest expressions of love known to humanity is bold prayer. We must learn how to pray earnestly and relentlessly for people, places, and things to heal and experience God’s love. How quickly our world would change if we all learned to pray like this young lady.
Learning to keep our prayer private is a must, and Jesus made this point clear in his teachings, Matthew 6:5-8 (CEB):
Showy prayer
5 “When you pray, don’t be like hypocrites. They love to pray to stand in the synagogues and on the street corners so that people will see them. I assure you, that’s the only reward they’ll get. 6 But when you pray, go to your room, shut the door, and pray to your Father who is present in that secret place. Your Father, who sees what you do in secret, will reward you.
Proper prayer
7 “When you pray, don’t pour out a flood of empty words, as the Gentiles do. They think that by saying many words, they’ll be heard. 8 Don’t be like them, because your Father knows what you need before you ask.
Sometimes we are lost for what to pray, and our tongue gets tied. We can take great comfort in knowing that even when we are at a loss for words, the Holy Spirit prays on our behalf. The Apostle Paul shares this great news with us in Romans 8:26 (CEB):
26 In the same way, the Spirit comes to help our weakness. We don’t know what we should pray, but the Spirit himself pleads our case with unexpressed groans.”
How many of us would be where we are today if not for prayer warriors? Most of these prayer warriors never reveal their intentions, thoughts, and prayer to us; they are behind the curtain boldly praying on our behalf. God loves to answer passionate love-filled prayers that are focused on the welfare of others and prayed continuously without ceasing. Who are the prayer warriors in your life? When was the last time you told them, “thank you” for praying without ceasing?” Make it a point over the next few days to reach out to the prayer warriors in your circle and say “thank you.” You will be glad you did, and your actions will bless everyone. If some of them have passed, light a candle on their behalf, and invite their spirit into your time of private prayer today.
God of Love, please hear our prayers for healing and transformation for those we love. You know their names and needs better than us. We boldly pray for Your miraculous hands to touch the lives of the lost. Please equip us with the same humility and patience the sister exemplifies with the prayers for her brother. In Your Spirit and Name, we pray these things. May Your will not ours always materialize, now and forever. Amen.
Paul D Melnuk says
I experienced this miracle from God that Harold writes. I am still experiencing enormous gratitude attacks each time I think about it or share the experience with others. I had another one reading this meditation. God is love.