Pray for the People

After tragedies like the recent floods in Texas which caused many deaths, it is common to hear people talk about ‘thoughts and prayers’ for those who are suffering. Other times, on just a normal day someone might approach you and ask you to pray for them. Do you pray?

One of the reasons clergy dress in a certain way is so people ‘who need God’ know who to turn to on the street. This happens to me often. “Father, can you bless me?” or “Can you pray for my friend?” This is not limited to clergy. People of faith ask other people of faith to pray.

We are all busy going about our daily lives. We tend to separate our lives into ‘boxes’ for work, family, church, etc. When these ‘boxes’ collide, we get uncomfortable. If we are at work and someone asks us to pray, we panic. This is NOT our prayer box.

Sure, I will pray for you. Then we go about our day, and more often than not, forget to pray for the person once we are comfortably in our ‘prayer box’ at home. We had every good intention to pray but simply forgot. So, let’s do something about it today.

The easiest way to not forget to pray is to actually pray in the moment. A simple prayer like, “Lord have mercy on your servant …” is more than just a few words. Asking for God’s mercy is not only a great prayer, but also immediate and we avoid the risk of forgetting to pray later.

Consider the needs of the person who approaches you for a moment. They stepped out of ‘their box’ to ask you to pray. Their vulnerability should be worth immediate attention from us. Your immediately ‘Lord have mercy’ allows them to feel your prayer and love immediately.

God gives us the example of immediate prayer in the Gospel reading for today. Two miracles took place. Two people were touched by God. Twice were other people able to feel the love and prayers of God, and they didn’t have to wait.

At that time, a ruler came in and knelt before Jesus, saying, “My daughter has just died; but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.” And Jesus rose and followed him, with his disciples. And behold, a woman who had suffered from a hemorrhage for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment; for she said to herself, “If I only touch his garment, I shall be made well.” Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And instantly the woman was made well. And when Jesus came to the ruler’s house, and saw the flute players, and the crowd making a tumult, he said, “Depart; for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. And the report of this went through all that district.

Matthew 9.18-26

If you want to keep a list of people so you can pray for them during your daily prayers, that’s ok too. In fact, keeping a list of people is a long-time tradition of the Church. That always helps, but it is the immediate prayer, with the other person, that will connect us to each other in love.

Let’s face it. Our prayer may not produce a healing miracle, but the other person will feel our love in the moment. Knowing someone loves them enough to step outside the ‘box’ and pray immediately might be just what we both need. We need to pray, and others need our prayer.