God uses every detail in our lives to provide His perfect orchestration of our steps. One day a sequence of events led me to be earlier than usual to church.
I was sitting in my pew praying and turned to get something out of my bag. At the same time, a woman came to the table right behind me to use hand sanitizer before talking with the Pastor. Since I was there so early, I decided to go outside for a few minutes to collect myself and enjoy the beautiful sunshine and warmth. A few minutes after returning to my seat, I looked up to see this same woman next to me. I have never seen her before.
She said, “Would you please pray for my heartbroken son? You seem like you must be a good pray-er being at church so early.” She then shared more detail so I would know how better to pray for her son and the situation. I felt inspired to give her a copy of my book, hoping it might encourage her. She seemed delighted and said, “Well, it must have been the Holy Spirit that prompted me to share with you. Thank you so much.” I asked if I could hug her and she said, “Sure.”
Photo courtesy of Sapphire Dream Photography under Creative Commons License (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Reflecting on this ordained God moment, I felt I could relate to what this woman was experiencing on a few levels.
Have you ever been so desperate in prayer crying out to Jesus? Maybe you needed to share a heavy burden with a human, as well as with God.
A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding. She had suffered a great deal from many doctors, and over the years she had spent everything she had to pay them, but she had gotten no better. In fact, she had gotten worse. She had heard about Jesus, so she came up behind him through the crowd and touched his robe. For she thought to herself, “If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.” –Mark 5:25-28 (NLT)
Imagine the desperation the woman experienced. She suffered greatly, being shunned by people and deemed ceremonially unclean for twelve years. The woman spent all her money seeking help but to no avail. She even got worse. She was desperate and hearing about Jesus, had faith He could heal her. All she had to do was touch the hem of His robe.
When have you felt such desperation you wanted to touch the hem of Jesus’ robe? Spending time in quiet prayer lends itself to touch the hem of Jesus’ robe.
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Have you ever been so heartbroken? Were there some friends to comfort you?
When Jesus arrived at Bethany, he was told that Lazarus had already been in his grave for four days. Bethany was only a few miles down the road from Jerusalem, and many of the people had come to console Martha and Mary in their loss. When Martha got word that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him. But Mary stayed in the house. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask.” Jesus told her, “Your brother will rise again.” –John 11:17-23 (NLT)
When Mary arrived and saw Jesus, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled. “Where have you put him?” he asked them. They told him, “Lord, come and see.” Then Jesus wept. –John 11:29-35 (NLT)
Martha and Mary were heartbroken at the death of their brother, Lazarus. They both had many friends to console them and their broken hearts. Martha and Mary, at separate times, expressed their disappointment and broken-heartedness to Jesus that had He been present, Lazarus would not have died. Jesus wept too.
When have you been so heartbroken you wanted Jesus to be physically present to make everything better? Being honest with the Lord brings us into a closer presence with Him especially, when we are heartbroken.
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Have you ever needed the faith of others to carry you when you felt helpless?
And when he (Jesus) returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them. And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” –Mark 2:1-5 (ESV)
“I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.” And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!” –Mark 2:11-12 (ESV)
What perseverance this paralytic’s friends had. They were determined to bring their friend to Jesus and came up with a clever way to get him to see Jesus despite the huge crowd. Notice it was the faith of the paralytic’s friends Jesus saw as it says, “When Jesus saw THEIR faith.” Because of his friends’ faith, Jesus forgave the paralytic’s sins and healed him.
When has your faith wavered and grown weak, so you needed your friends’ faith to bring you to Jesus for His healing touch? Sharing a prayer need with trusted friends yokes us together and strengthens our weak faith.
Photo courtesy of Lewis_Satini under Creative Commons License (CC BY 2.0)
May you be reminded this week of the importance of…
…unity in prayer, the privilege we have.
…reaching out to the Body of Christ in your desperation.
…comforting the brokenhearted.
…knowing God is close to the brokenhearted.
…your friends and their faith.
…staying yoked with Jesus.
Please feel free, in the comment section below, to share times you were desperate, brokenhearted, or relied on the faith of your friends in your time of need. It is always a blessing when you share. Thank you in advance~
Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. –Colossians 4:2 (ESV)
Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. –Galatians 6:2 (NIV)
