“May I Pray for You?”
"May I Pray for You?"
by Os Hillman
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and
petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ~ Philippians
4:6
I walked into the office. The secretary seemed physically struggling
with her breathing and her countenance was different than normal.
"Are you okay?" I asked.
"Allergies," she replied. "Sometimes it gets so bad I can hardly
breathe."
"May I pray for you?" I asked.
"Oh, I don’t want to take up His time with something as menial as
me. I’d rather not waste it on me. You should pray for someone much less
fortunate than me. My mother always taught us to pray at the dinner table
for those less fortunate than us," she replied. The woman was touched that
I would offer to pray for her.
The next day I told her my prayer group was praying for her. She
could not believe that I would do such a thing for her.
It is interesting what happens when you offer to pray for someone.
Offering to pray for someone can be the most genuine and loving thing you
can do for another person. It can be the one means of getting a
conversation on a spiritual plane that cuts across religious stigmas and
gets to the root of the problem-the person’s real need. It immediately
reveals your own values and sets the stage for future encounters. All it
takes is a little holy boldness to step through the door when the
opportunity seems to present itself.
Is there anything too small to pray about? Do we, in fact, bother
God when we make any request that is not dealing with only the poor in
Calcutta? Paul clearly tells us in this passage that prayer is talking with
God. It is having such a relationship with Him that we can bring anything
to His attention.
We’ve all heard the housewife’s prayer for a parking spot or other
such seemingly trivial prayer requests, but are they trivial to God? If God
is our closest and most intimate friend, then it becomes very natural to
talk to Him as you would a friend who might be sitting next to you in the car. Yes, God desires to have such close communion with you and me that we
can pray about anything-even a parking spot.
As you enter the workplace today, ask a co-worker if you can pray
for him about something. You may be surprised at what doors will open as a result.
