I Get By With A Little Prayer From My Friends

Hello, friends! I’m back in the land of the living.  I will blame my blogosphere disappearance on finals week. Three final projects, five pots of coffee, and 11,000 words later, I’ve polished off another semester, and I’m half way through my program. I’ve learned my lesson: Only take a 9-credit semester of grad school when it’s absolutely necessary (it was this semester) I am thankful that God was faithful (as if I was expecting Him to be anything else).

But I couldn’t have done it without my friends’ prayer. 

One of my classes was particularly rough. And while it did push me to think about new things, the discussion was always emotionally charged—which made for good discussion—but I was so drained by the time I got out of class, I didn’t even want to drive home.

Going into this program (English departments are traditionally liberal), I knew I would be the one with a different worldview, and I was okay with that. But it caught up to me in this class. Though I had only run into the post-modern themes a few times before, this time it hit me head-on. There are no absolutes, everything is grey, and good luck navigating it—just make sure your opinions don’t offend anybody…

Um, okay? I’ll just…not say anything? And take a zero for class participation? Think again.

Since I am not one who enjoys debating or discord, this was stressful for me. Every week I’d walk to the parking garaging thinking, “I don’t have to do that again for another week!”

But the prayers of faithful friends made a difference. Often I would get a text that said, “I just prayed for you!” or “I hope your class is going well!” These little things bolstered my spirit and helped me stay focused and engaged in the class. Yes, you read that right—a text actually helped me stay engaged in class! Okay, it was probably the prayer that did that…

Which brings me to the obvious conclusion: Prayer is indeed powerful.

Like, woah. 

Tomorrow, May 1, is National Day of Prayer. It is a day to publicly lift up our country, its leaders, and anything else on your heart in prayer, pleading with God to work in specific ways. (You can pray any day of the year, by the way. You don’t need a special day. He’s always listening.)

I don’t know if you’ve ever really thought about prayer and exactly what it is, but let me break it down for you.

You get to talk to the Almighty CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE. He can do pretty much ANYTHING. So the question isn’t “Why in the world would you pray?,” it’s “Why in the world would you NOT pray?!”

My friends’ prayers mean a lot to me and are a blessing. Whom will you bless tomorrow?

Your church or community may be doing something special tomorrow. For my local friends, there will be a meeting at the Lapeer Courthouse in downtown Lapeer at 6pm. Find something you can do and go pray!

Also, check out what Jesus had to say about prayer here and listen to Him pray for you in John 17.