Prayer-Care-Share: My Bookmark Story Series

I looked at the second name on my list. That person is one who had been like a brother to me during my "party-boy heyday". He was indignant when, in 1993, I made a complete about-face and abandoned that lifestyle. The Lord had worked a powerful set of life-changing events in my life and I willingly walked away from the drinking and partying that, up to that point, had been the major aspects of my life. He felt left out and left behind by me. Even though I tried to reason with him and explain this life-changing set of events to him, and even though I had begged him to join me in this mind-set that was centered on Jesus, he was certain that something was very wrong with me and that I had let him down by not wanting to continue the drinking and the partying with him. Now....guess what happened as soon as this thought came to my mind Do you think the Holy Spirit was going to let me get by with thinking I could just pray for this person? No way!! That still, soft voice was immediately quoting Scripture to me. In fact He was quoting Matthew 5:23 & 24. "Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First, go and be reconciled to your brother, then come and offer your gift."

I did not dare go any further down my list of names of those I want to pray for. I knew I would continue to run into this problem every step of the way. I got frustrated, and muttered to myself, "For crying out loud...all I’m trying to do is pray for these folks so they can come to know you, Lord. This isn’t supposed to be about me!! It’s supposed to be about them!!" Ever so quietly, I could hear in my mind the same words again and again. "We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the Godly man who does His will." "We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the Godly man who does His will."

I asked myself.........how much did I really want these prayers for the folks on my list to be effective? Just how important is it to me that the power of prayer be unleashed on their lives. Am I being genuine about this, or am I just going through the motions? Folks....it was gut-check time for me, and what it really came down to was a test of my faith. Did I really believe, with all my heart, what Jesus taught us in the scriptures, or was my belief only a half-inch deep?

In my struggle with questions like this, I felt a protective warmth that reminded me of how it felt when I was just a little kid, and my Dad would wrap his arms around me. I knew where that sensation came from, and at that moment I knew what I needed to do. The entire point to all this is really very simple. If we attempt, as I did, to turn effective prayer into a formula, we are acting like the Pharisees. Instead of acting as a believer in the Son of God....we are "acting religious." If we choose to be selective about what God teaches us, and only use the parts that do not require anything of us that might make us uncomfortable, we are using " a form of godliness which lacks power." Most importantly...we are being dishonest with the Creator of the Universe....the One who holds our very soul in His hands. The same one who loved us so much that He gave His only Son for the likes of us. When I think of it this way.......I know that the yoke He has asked us to take up is not heavy. In fact He is there, with us every step of the way to help us carry it.