Intercessory prayer is the purifying bath into which the individual
and the community must enter every day.
(Dietrich Bonhoeffer)
and the community must enter every day.
(Dietrich Bonhoeffer)
Before You Ask
And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. (Matthew 6:7-8)
Many people think their prayers won’t work if they don’t utter them clearly enough, or fail to explain to God exactly what they mean, or don’t speak loudly enough to him with sufficient earnestness. But when this happens, prayer becomes so exaggerated that our Savior even forbids it.
Obviously Jesus does not want to discourage us from praying. His point is that when we pray we must have a sense of proportion. Once we have prayed, we must be quiet. We need to be like the farmer who has sown his seed. Help will come only when you are quiet in faith. Also in your sickness or with other needs, learn to be still and look to the Kingdom of God.
We can share our needs with the Father in a few words, without making a fuss, and rest assured that God already knows what we need and what he will do to help us. We don’t have to explain our requests in great detail to God, or try and make quite sure that he knows our needs. God knows about even the smallest matters and takes them straight into his heart. We can turn to him by glancing Heavenward, with no words at all. We can do this even when we pray about something concrete and tangible, or about something that specifically troubles us. We may realize that what we thought we needed is actually not necessary and that we can find a way right in the midst of how things are now.
This doesn’t mean that we just let things happen – as if everything will come of its own accord without our longing for it. Nor should we just cast a brief and hurried request at God’s feet. When this happens, we too easily lose sight of God, assume that everything comes to us without his help, and we forget to thank him. Then we cease to have a believing heart and are consequently not true children of God.
Jesus said, “Before you ask him.” Therefore we do need to make our requests known to him, otherwise many things will not be given that could have been given. It never displeases God when we come to him with our heartfelt requests. A real child asks for everything, knowing God has an ear for him. We should bring all our burdens and needs to him, for at the very least this helps to make us ever more aware that in all things God is the giver.
God always has our interest in mind. He carries our various needs with fatherly concern, eagerly waiting for us to come to him. He has not forgotten us. And when we feel tempted to think so, then all the more we should remember that he knows it all and cares for us. In fact, he knows much more about us and our needs than we do. Simple, childlike prayer is enough to move his heart, give you something out of the fullness of his compassion, and save you from all sorts of fear and trouble.
(Johann Christoph Blumhardt)
(The God Who Heals, Words of Hope for a Time of Sickness)
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Julia
Concerning the conflict in Syria, please pray for:
1. The hundreds of thousands who have needlessly lost lives since the Syrian conflict began. We pray for the souls departed, for those left grieving and broken-hearted, for the families torn apart.
2. Seven years of lost education. Some children have missed the entirety of their primary or secondary school years; others struggle to adjust to the educational curriculum of another country – which may be in a different mother tongue to their own. We pray for boys and girls whose childhood has been stolen: bring your restoration, bring your healing, bring renewed hope for a future.
3. The invisible scars. The trauma that so many victims of this war have witnessed or experienced could take a lifetime to heal. God of compassion and mercy, God of comfort, who knows discerns all of our thoughts from afar: immerse every one of them in your love and lead them through this darkness into your arms, and light.
4. A safe place to call home. A quarter of Syria's pre-war population – some five and a half million people – have fled the country. Inside Syria more than 6 million people are said to be displaced, though the numbers fluctuate daily. Many of the refugees whom our partners serve in Lebanon have moved residence on more than one occasion and the outlook remains uncertain. Frequently, families are forced to live in cold, cramped, dirty and unsafe conditions. We pray Lord that you grant rest to the weary, for we know that “in peace [we] lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make [us] dwell in safety. (Psalm.4:8)
5. The weak, the elderly, the infirm. Every Syrian displaced has suffered because of this conflict; every individual has a story to share. But some are especially vulnerable – those who have a disability – physical or intellectual/sensory – those with a chronic illness (cancer, diabetes, hypertension), for which they cannot access the necessary medical care, the elderly and the very young. We pray for these, especially vulnerable, that they do not risk further marginalization and isolation, that their individual needs are cared for, even in the midst of conflict.
6. Our Christian partners in Lebanon and Syria, as they seek to serve those in need. We thank you for the historic Christian communities of the Middle East, who continue to serve as salt and light in these troubled lands. We thank you for Embrace’s local partners, for their faithfulness and tenacity of spirit, for the love, compassion and witness they demonstrate as they serve, without attention to religion or creed. We ask that you will continue to bless, encourage and strengthen them, as they as they seek to be instruments of your peace – healers, comforters, teachers and friends.
7. For a negotiated and lasting peace, for an end to the violence and suffering. We pray for wisdom, compassion and mercy amongst all those who are in authority – from you, O Lord. We commit to you in particular the upcoming donor conference to be convened in April in Brussels. We pray for a renewed commitment amongst international donors to support the UN-led process for a negotiated political solution. We pray for sufficient mobilization of the financial, political, and humanitarian resources that are needed to ensure that aid reaches the Syrian people and their hosting communities in Syria and its neighboring countries.
Amen.
(Embrace the Middle East)