God always sends help

Over the past year and a half, God has placed a special burden on my heart to focus more on prayer. I have always been comfortable with the kind of prayer that is strictly between God and me, the kind where I share my most intimate thoughts and feelings with Him, ask Him for direction, thank Him for the blessings He sends and the lessons that He teaches me (even when they are painful), and share my joys and sorrows. Corporate prayer, where these intimate thoughts become public, and intercessory prayer, where I ask for God to work in someone else's life, have been more challenging.

About a year ago, I asked my pastor for some help in this area. He shared with me a book on prayer, but it really didn't help all that much. It didn't touch on the questions that I had. I was too embarrassed to tell him that I still didn't "get it," and he didn't pursue it, so I moved on. I read a few more books on prayer, which, frankly, left me with still more questions, and no real answers. So, God sent Julie.

Julie is my partner at work. We make such an incredible team. She is strong where I am weak, and we both have such a great love for God and for our "neighbors". As I mentioned to her that I was struggling with prayer, she suggested that we pray together in the mornings. I thought that would be great. I thought she would do the praying, I would say, "Amen," and that would be that. But she had better plans. We trade off days leading the prayer, and our group is not just the two of us. We now have a group of five regulars and about 6 more that come when they can. Sometimes, we meet in a patient's room, or invite them into my office to join us. It has been great! There have been some fabulous outcomes, and I am growing in my comfort with "corporate" prayer. (meanwhile, my church has asked me to lead out in prayer, too. I somehow accepted, and the first time I did it, I was sure that I would see my breakfast again, but with a shaking body and quivering voice, I did it. The second time was much easier, and I know that God is leading me to grow in this area).

As for intercessory prayer, I have always gone through the motions, but I never understood how or why it works. Why would God, who knows the plans he has for each of us, and works all things for our benefit, ask us to pray for others? If it is for our own growth, reaching outward instead of always inward, I could get that. But if we can somehow change God's mind toward someone, or have Him choose a different plan for the person than He already has, then that gets more confusing. (though there is Bible evidence to support this idea). Again, Julie has helped me with this, and it has helped to see God actually answer this kind of prayer.

Finally, last week, Julie taught me something so terrific. There is a young woman that we both know and care about. This young woman read my book, "Finding Peace in the Midst of Chaos," about a year ago. Since then, she has asked me many difficult questions about God and the meaning of life, and she has opened herself up to trust me with some personal struggles. She has also shared with Julie and asked her similar questions. I am a bit reserved when it comes to sharing God's good news with others. I don't want to push anyone away, so I hold back. I wait for them to ask me, then I share whatever I can. Julie doesn't wait, and she doesn't hold back. And with Julie's guiding, this young woman accepted Christ last week! I was privileged to be a part of it, and I was able to see first-hand how to take that step of directly asking someone if they want to accept Jesus as their savior. All of these years, I have never known how to do that.

Praise God for the special friends and helpers that He gives us in our journey!