It seems in the past year I have had several friends going through some really hard stuff. I don't know if it is because I am getting older so more adult, real life problems are present or if it is just a really tough season for several that I care about. It has been a variety of struggles, heartaches and crises. When the news has came each time I have felt the tug of war struggle of wanting to fix things and not knowing what to do. It is like you want to jump in the water and rescue them but there is no place for you to jump. So then you are left saying "I will pray for you." Sometimes saying that just seems cliché and frankly it sometimes doesn't feel like enough. Recently a friend changed my mind on those cliché feelings.
My list of friends and family that I am praying for is long and full of BIG stuff. Occasionally I will send a text to a friend after I have prayed for them. I don't know about you but there are times I will be driving down the road or unloading the dishwasher and God will just place a friends name on my heart and it is in that moment that I stop in my tracks and pray for that person. I almost consider it a "text from heaven." God knows the busy season of life I am in so he pricks my heart and stops me then and there for a time of prayer. Recently I texted a friend "I just prayed for you" I just wanted her to know that God had just placed her on my heart and I wanted her to know that even though her storm is raging she still has people in her corner rooting for her and praying for her. The response she sent is what quieted my doubts and made "I will pray for you" anything but a cliché. My friend has been through a lot, most recently a great loss. When I told her I had just prayed for her she replied "good, thank you, I need you to because lately when I try to pray the words just won't come."
Many of you have been right where she is...you know God, you know of his faithfulness and goodness but the waves keep crashing before you can open your mouth to catch some air. You get over one hurdle to look up and see that a mountain is next. The pain of life can be paralyzing, it can be a brutal place and to that all I can say is thank goodness this world is not our home! But here we are living in this world and if you are on the sidelines watching as friends get hit blow by blow with the pain and heartache that life dishes out- pray for them! Let them know that you are praying! God is faithful and provides us with each other to lighten the loads of our brothers and sisters when life gets too heavy. If you are being beaten by life right now, if you are paralyzed by the pain of life and the words won't come when you pray- let others pray for you. Let others walk with you and give you the sustenance you need to make it through the valley. God has given us so many blessings one of the greatest is the gift of each other!
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