Sunday, March 29 - Palm Sunday

The Prayer of Faith

...and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him. Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. (James 5: 15-16)

PRAY FOR ONE ANOTHER

Recently I visited my brother's church. Upon entering, each member or guest was invited to sign a slip of paper. (I wondered at first if this was a unique way of taking attendance.) During the celebration of the Eucharist, I came to know the real reason. After all have received the bread and the wine, the congregation stands in a large circle. A child carrying a basket distributes those little slips of paper, one to a person. The name you receive is the person you are asked to pray for in the coming week.

Oftentimes in churches we pray for those who are sick, or others whose special needs are lifted up in worship or through prayer chains. Rarely do we simply offer a prayer for one of the "regular" people whose needs we may not know. Maybe we pray for our congregation as a whole. We might even pray for its leaders. Mostly we pray for people whose needs we know are great. But imagine the power of having your name lifted up in prayer each week while you also adopt a fellow member as the object of your week's prayers.

Praying for our church family by name, one by one, week by week, could be a very powerful ministry. Perhaps it could go one step further. What if I called that person and said: "I am praying for you this week. Do you have anything in particular - ­a special need or concern - ­that you would like me to pray for?"

At the very least, a prayer ministry of this kind would keep the faithful praying for one another, and help them stay in touch with each other. Perhaps even greater bonds could develop as concerns are shared and joys are celebrated. Even in uneventful weeks I would be honored and humbled knowing that someone is praying for me. For that, only one response is needed: "Thank you."

O God, you know us better than we know ourselves. You have brought us together into this community of faith in order that we might be a blessing even as we are blessed. Lord, teach us to pray for each other. Amen.

Pastor Keith Dey 

Emanuel Lutheran Church 

Southern Shores, NC