“I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them.” 1Timothy 2:1
I’m a huge believer in prayer. Lately it seems that God has been tailoring my prayers for those whom I don’t even know, but I just briefly come in contact with.
On a recent plane ride, I had noticed that the young lady sitting beside me was studying for the New York Bar Exam. She was reading profusely, underlining specific words and phrases, and jotting down notes or answers in the margin of her bulky study book. I didn’t want to interrupt her studying, so I would just occasionally say a little prayer for my flight partner with no name.
A few minutes before the plane landed, I finally spoke with her and said, “I see that you are studying for the bar exam. When do you take it?” Our conversation was brief, but she did confirm that she will be taking the exam on Tuesday (today). Through our verbal exchange I discovered where she was from, that she received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Florida, attend law school at Vanderbilt University, she was never in a sorority, and that she will be practicing international law in Washington D.C.. I told her that I had been praying for her. She smiled and was grateful. We parted ways, and after learning all that information about her, I still never found out her name.
In 1 Timothy 2:1 we are instructed to pray for others. I’m not sure if my bar exam-studying-plane-acquaintance is a praying woman or not, but she has had this woman praying for her for the past three days.
And then, in another “stranger” incident, my daughter and I were standing outside our hotel waiting for our car. This random lady came up to us and proceeded to inform us that she just found out that her husband is cheating on her. We could tell, by her words and the glass in her hand, that she had had a few alcoholic beverages. This lady was so distraught. I asked her a concerning question, and then she realized and said, “I’m sorry. I just gave you TMI (too much information)”, and she walked away.
You could just imagine the expressions on mine and Holly’s faces. My heart went out to her. I wanted to hold her, chat a little more, and pray with her. This troubled lady walked away and our car arrived, so our brief encounter was just that…brief.
Tim had told me that he had overheard a conversation between this lady and someone else earlier and he discovered the same thing about her recent betrayal.
I have been praying for this victim of adultery for three days now. If God so desires, I sure hopes He puts us in front of each other again. But, maybe, just maybe, that short-lived encounter is all God wants me to have with her. Maybe He wants me to pray for her and her husband without knowing anything more.
In a portion of Romans 8:26-27 we read, “We don’t know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit himself speaks to God for us. He begs God for us, speaking to him with feelings too deep for words.” In these verses it is zoning in on when we are too weak to pray, but God has laid on my heart that it is also for when we just may know little about a situation, but we pray for what we know, and He’ll take care of the rest of the specifics.
Luke 18:1 says, “Jesus taught the followers that they should always pray and never lose hope.” Always pray. Never lose hope. Sounds like Jesus, The Teacher, My Savior, wants us to pray and hold on to the hope He has for us.
I just said a prayer for you as well. I pray that your eyes, ears, and heart will be sensitive to those around you who need you to pray for them. I pray that you will be a blessing to others, but in turn discover that you are also the one being blessed by God. I pray that you will always hold on to the hope in Christ that is given to you. And as always, I pray God’s abundant love and blessings for y’all.
