A Prayer For Others May Be An Answer To Yours

A Prayer For Others May Be An Answer To Yours

The LORD listened to Hezekiah’s prayer and healed the people. 2 Chronicles 30:20

The Israelites were a month late celebrating Passover, and many people were ceremonially unclean—meaning they should have been excluded from the Passover celebration. Hezekiah interceded on their behalf, asking God to overlook those details and see only their hearts as they began to turn back to him. God extended his grace, allowing the people to enjoy the festival with him. Hezekiah’s prayer made a difference.

One of the great traditions of the body of Christ is to intercede in prayer for others. We serve a merciful and gracious God who hears our prayers and grants our requests. But sometimes those prayers aren’t answered in the way we expect.

Gerard had struggled with post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSS) ever since returning from Iraq. Though this wasn’t unusual—many soldiers returned with those symptoms—the memories of war were particularly vivid for Gerard because he had lost both legs and had seen his best friend die when their military vehicle hit a roadside bomb.

His family brought him to see me because he needed a primary care physician. Though he was a big guy, he seemed to shrink into himself as he sat in his wheelchair. His eyes were vacant and despondent. I spoke mostly with his family during that initial visit and heard firsthand how much they valued the prayers of others. They attributed Gerard’s survival to the prayers of many, many people they’d never even met.

Week after week, I watched as Gerard gained physical strength and seemed to reengage mentally and emotionally with the world around him. One day, when he came for an appointment, he walked into my office on brand-new prosthetic legs. And that wasn’t all that was new. On his arm was an attractive young woman.

He introduced me to his fiancée, Emily, and said, “A lot of people prayed for me over the past two years, and Emily was one of them. When she began praying for my healing, she didn’t know that one day my heart would belong to her.”

A few months later, Gerard walked down the aisle with his new wife, accompanied by many prayers for their new life together.

TODAY’S RX

Pray for others. Though it may take months—or years—to see an answer, what a blessing it is when it happens!

Father, I ask that you place on my heart the names of those who need prayer. May I be steadfast in lifting them up to you, and may you be with these people, comforting them and giving them wisdom in their times of need.