Daily Delight

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A great sadness came to the door of the church office where I work this week.  Visitors that were on a journey made an unexpected stop at our church seeking help.  It is not unusual for travelers to drop in as they drive by our building to request assistance with food, lodging, gas, etc.  But this particular visit was totally different…an urgent need for help that did not fit any of those categories.  We had never before had a situation like we experienced, so we prayed as we sought to meet their most immediate needs.  The visitors left within an hour, but the sadness that accompanied them remained heavy in the air.   The main request of these folks had seemed easy enough, “pray for us!” but it was a far from easy assignment.  Our hearts literally broke as we prayed for them.

Have you ever thought about the price of intercessory prayer?  Author Henri Nouwen said in his book, Compassion “to pray for others means to allow their pains and sufferings, their anxieties and loneliness, their confusion and fears to resound in our innermost selves.”   It is a holy thing to fully enter into a posture of prayer for one another.  We are lifting another’s needs, wounds, and fears before the throne of grace…and sometimes it can be overwhelmingly heavy lifting.  The burdens can literally drive us to our knees as we pray for grace.  

We are called to “pray for one another” (James 5:16) and to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). We are invited to become a part of the ministry of grace that God is doing in the lives of others when we partner with Him by praying for others.  Intercessory prayer is a process of growing in love for others and in greater dependence on God.

Our prayers for the unexpected visitors were answered in part that very evening…but we continue to pray for this family that God will show great grace in the days ahead.  We are connected through the power and ministry of prayer.  We are connected through His love.

Photo: @nhinton14

	Bonnie Arends
	Bonnie is a woman who finds her identity and mission in Jesus. She is passionate that others will come to know the Living Hope that she lives in and from each day. Bonnie's life verse is, "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect" (1 Peter 3:15). Bonnie lives 'in the middle of a cornfield' with her farmer husband and son. She enjoys the space and quiet of rural living and is especially thankful for the beautiful sunsets she experiences over the farm's vast pastures.