One day towards the end of last year, I suddenly had this thought that maybe I could initiate a prayer time with my parents. My parents are pre-believers. I felt the Lord was prompting me to do something. To keep myself accountable, I even shared this thought with a sister so that she could remind me of it. Yet, very soon, doubtful thoughts came to me. “Maybe, they are not ready, maybe they would not like it”. I did not had the courage to ask them.
Soon time passed by and I forgot all about it. Yet the Lord remembered. Earlier this year, some events occurred which brought about stresses in the family. Under such tension, in addition to the fear that my mum would turn to other gods for help (which she probably still does), and also a conscious heart that I needed to account to God, I was “forced” to ask my parents “shall we pray together?” By God’s grace, they were actually opened to it. We started our prayer time together, regularly, once a week, whenever we could. Their acceptance to prayer gave me hope, comfort and confidence.
There were times when I felt weak and was tempted to skip the prayer time with them, but God is faithful and kept me going.
In Singapore Bible College where I am studying, prayer has been a very integral part of the relationship between my roommate and me. We started with praying to encourage one another. And then in times of crisis and challenges, we would also pray. I was often amazed at how God has answered our prayers. I remembered a conflict situation that we witnessed and as we prayed together, we saw God at work to bring light into the darkness very quickly. It also caused my roommate to go through a process of reconciliation and forgiving someone, even when she realized it was still hurting her.
It takes courage and intentionality to pray. Whether it may be to initiate to pray for or with someone or to ask for prayers from someone. We need not be afraid to act upon our intention. We are a grace community to spur one another towards Christ-likeness. Praying together and for one another helps us to unleash grace in our church community and provide the power for us to develop godly relationships.
Let us cultivate the habit of praying for one another. Would you in the new week take time to see the burdens of people around you, and then take the courage and intentionally pause from what you are doing to pray for someone? May the Lord bless you as you do so. “Cast your burden to the Lord because He cares for you”.
By Yvette Chen Yahui, Deaconess (YCKC Bulletin 23&24 May 2015)