Over 2,000 years ago Christ sat with his disciples and broke bread, giving them a prayer to carry with them in the coming days once he was no longer on Earth among them. This must have been a powerful and special gift to hand to one hand to another in a time of need and future chaos. As Christians we pray often in short simple thanksgiving, quick requests, or concern for a loved one. There need not be any great performance in the moment. And other times we are in a setting with a multitude of others on our knees or with hands lifted high praying in unison. All shared words given seem precious.
The Lord's Prayer has been a huge part of my life from the time I was a little girl reciting it on Sundays at church service and other times I prayed it quietly alone when life had become so overwhelming that all I could think to do was pray that one prayer that seemed to cover everything. What we may not realize in our everyday rat race is the beauty of a prayer given from a friend.
A few years back when my granddaughter passed away, I was given a prayer from deep within as I mourned and read God's word. I posted the prayer and a past film producer contacted me asking if I would share it with his struggling mother. The prayer went like this:
Dear Heavenly Father, be with, within, around, and for my whole family. Heal brokenness, fill empty spaces, whisper into doubt, and cleanse where life has stained our being. As our Creator, make yourself, your will, and your unconditional love known to us all in unique ways that ignite our individual souls. Give our ears a song, our bodies a dance, our eyes discernment to see real beauty, hands with a healing touch, and tongues with forgiving words. It is with a heart of praise and a spirit of thankfulness that I lay this at the foot of your throne. In Jesus' name, Amen.
When I had dark moments of fear and doubt, feeling my family may never be whole again, I would go into my office and pray this prayer I had written down on my desk until I felt peace return.
Then a few years later when my husband was entering into a six-hour open heart surgery, a friend came to sit with me at the hospital handing me a folded prayer. At the time I held it in my stiff grip not knowing what the days would bring. Once I got home, I read the prayer. It went like this:
Dear God, we look up to you for strength and healing. Shine your face on us and fill us with your life-giving powers. Calm our anxieties and give our bodies comfort and tranquility. We know and believe that Jesus bore our sickness and our sins on the cross, thus we decree and pronounce that any ailment in our bodies is gone by the power of the blood. Allow your divine healing to touch each and every cell in our bodies. Allow it to run freely through our veins and blood. Lord, we believe in your healing power and that by touching the hem of your garment, we have been healed by the blood of Jesus Christ.
This prayer carried me through some tough days as did the precious friendship that offered it to me. How Christ must have loved his sweet friends to share a prayer for the coming rough days.
Dear Lord, thank you for your word, your friendships in a brotherhood and sisterhood with Christ, and those messages from heaven that carry us through. May we never underestimate the power of prayer with you and among your heavenly hosts. Amen
