By Ann Farabee

Our eyes met as I was rounding Aisle 7, while hurrying through the grocery store. I had to do an after school pickup in 20 minutes and honestly, there was no time to talk to my friend that I had not seen in quite a while. But, I knew I needed to talk with her – and I wanted to talk with her. She had lost her husband a few weeks earlier – and I saw the grief in her eyes.

 We hugged. We cried.

She talked. I listened.

Oh, how my heart hurt for her.

 Our short window of time that day came quickly to a close. Our conversation ended as I knew I could not leave my grandson without a ride home from school. So, we prayed a quick prayer together, and as we parted, I said these words, “I’ll be praying for you.”

 I did. That day, I could only think of her – the grief, the hurt, the pain. I prayed. Then, I prayed the next day. And the next. And probably even the next.

 But… one day I realized that it had been days since I prayed for her – during the most difficult time of her life. My promise had been short-lived.

 I put the blame on my memory. I put the blame on my busy life. I put the blame on _______. (Just fill in the blank with any excuse.) I put the blame on everything – but myself.

 I’ll be praying for you. Those words seemed so empty even to me – and I was the one who said them.

 That is when I gave myself a good talking to – through the guidance of the Holy Spirit and God’s Word.

 I remembered:

 *When we pray, God hears. God listens.

*When we say a name in prayer, we are giving that person an amazing gift – their name transcends from earth to the God in heaven.

*A connection is made from our lips, our thoughts, and our hearts to the ears – thoughts – and heart of God..

 It is called the power of prayer.

We forget sometimes that we have a direct link.

Luke 18:1 says we ought always to pray – and not to faint. To faint means we lack in strength or enthusiasm.

Do we believe it matters?

Do we believe God’s Power is > than our power?

Do we believe God hears our prayers?

Do we believe we are really talking to God?

I believe we do.

Do we believe we pray enough?

I believe we don’t.

Can we change that?

I believe we can.

Will it be worth it?

I believe it will.

Lord, help us to remember to pray always and not to faint. Help us to give – and receive – the gift of prayer. Help us to remember to pray for someone when we say we will. Amen

Ann is a speaker and teacher. Contact her at annfarabee@gmail.com or annfarabee.com