"Prayer Work"
by Tom Goodman
January 4, 2007

At our midweek service (Wednesdays from 6:30 to 7:20), I have begun a series called They Knew How to Pray.  We’re looking at the prayer life of people like Abraham, Moses, Hannah, Nehemiah, David, and others.  Here’s a note I got today from someone who attended our first meeting.  She gave me permission to share it with you, but I’ll leave the note anonymous:

In light of last night's message about prayer, I shared with you one prayer situation I had after prayer service.

I had no expectation this morning, though, that God had a "ball rolling" into another prayer situation so quickly . . . and the ball had my name on it!  It's like the Peter/Cornelius connection.

An acquaintance at work called me up this morning and burst into tears.  Knowing that, obviously, there was something bothering her, I told her that we'd meet right then and there at a little table in our lobby to discuss the situation and pray about it.  To make certain that she didn't back out, I walked up a flight of stairs and met her at her desk and we went down together.

She started out by telling me that she had wanted to speak with me before about this same situation but had not done so.  She wasn't sure why God wanted her to speak with me but she knew she needed to.  I asked her to let me know what the situation was.

When she outlined the situation (marital and self-esteem problems), I knew instantly (a) why you stressed prayer last night and (b) why God had directed her to me.

Your message last night served to bolster my confidence in doing the right thing at the right time in God's righteous way and outlined important facts about what my counsel and prayer was to be directed toward.

With my friend’s situations being very similar to what I have experienced in my own life, I told her that I didn't want to take away from her story; however, she needed to know why God had directed her to me . . . and I explained that I could provide comfort in these areas since I had experienced very similar issues.

Without going into too much detail, we ended up holding hands (two women in the lobby of a state office building!), sobbing, and praying.

I know about prayer.  I experience prayer often (notice I didn't say daily?  My fault entirely).  I experience the results of prayer often (I need to work on the consistency, persistency thing you spoke of last night).  But, when God calls you into an intimate moment with a Christian, for the sole purpose of listening, counseling, and lifting that other person up in prayer . . . making a spiritual connection that God had wanted to make for some time . . . you experience true "communion" and a foretaste of the intimacy we are called to with God through Christ!

Oh, what a Friend we DO have in Jesus!

Great note!  I hope you’ll join us for this series on prayer at our midweek service every Wednesday at 6:30.  We sing, we pray, and we study God’s word—a great “shot in the arm” in the middle of your busy week!

—Tom

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