Praying for You...

            There is a method of prayer that I love to use on retreats.  Those in attendance are divided into two groups, and the first group sits in a circle facing inward.  They bow their heads and close their eyes, and then those in the other group move quietly from person to person, placing their hands on their shoulders and head, and silently pray for the person they are touching.  After everyone has had a chance to pray for each seated person, the two groups change places and the ones who previously prayed are now prayed for.

            It has always been a moving experience when I have done this.  Some people shed tears, some grab onto the person for whom their praying.  It is moving because it means a lot to us to know that someone is praying for us.  To know that we are lifted up before God by name is a moving realization.

            As your pastor, I pray for you.  I spend time in prayer most mornings, and I pray for you by name during that time.  I use a copy of the church directory to pray for each person who is a member of our church family, and I lift you up to God.  I pray for you when I pass your house.  I pray that God will bless you and that you will know God’s peace.  I pray for our children when I pass the school they attend, and I pray for our teachers, administrators, and workers in that school.  Sometimes I will pray for you (silently) during worship, and sometimes I pray (silently) for you during a meeting.  Of course I have prayed for many of you while with you in the hospital, but I also stop in the chapel of the hospital and spend more time praying for you.  When I walk to the front of the sanctuary to lead a funeral, as soon as I find my seat I begin praying for the family who is sitting to my left.  Often I don’t know what words to use, I don’t know what is meaningful to pray for, so I will imagine you in my mind’s eye and I picture God’s healing grace flooding over you like a blanket.

            As a member of the May Memorial family you are prayed for.  Not in some large “I pray for the congregation” sense, but in an individual way, by name.  I do this because you are important to me, and you are important to God.  It is a part of my vocation that brings me joy and love, and I count it a privilege to carry your name before our God who hears all of our prayers.