Seeds of Prayer

I love to pray. As I see it, there’s no richer activity on this earth. After all, prayer is direct communication with Almighty God. What could possibly top that?

I didn’t always see prayer this way, though. Growing up, our family prayed like many other families: at mealtime…

  • “Dear Lord, we thank thee for this food,
  • We pray thee bless it, to our good.
  • Help us live thy name to praise
  • In all we do, through all our days. Amen.”

…and at bedtime. Mom would take turns kneeling beside each of our beds, praying different prayers over us. And of course I remember bowing my head in Sunday school and church.

But two distinct childhood experiences planted fertile seeds of prayer in me. The first occurred when I was eight. My sister Mary, age nine, was playing with a neighbor child who wanted to light a fire in his yard. Mary watched as he poured gasoline over twigs and papers, also splashing it on her jeans. When he threw in the match, a fireball engulfed everything at once, including Mary’s pants. The boy raced from his yard, through ours and into our house yelling, “Mary’s on fire! Mary’s on fire!”

It was Saturday, and Dad was home. He ran out the kitchen door, grabbing a throw rug as he stepped over it, hoping to smother the flames. As we rounded the garage, Mary came limping toward us, the fire out but her jeans charred and still smoking. She’d rolled herself in the dirt, which had smothered the flames.

Dad carried her inside, and as her whimpers grew to sharp cries, he gently tried to cut off her jeans to assess the damage. But Mary’s pain was acute, and the cloth had melted into her skin. Mom was weeping, holding our little brother, and suddenly my whole world felt like it was coming to an end.

I was told to stay out of the way and couldn’t do anything to help, but I did think of one thing. I ran to the living room, looked up at the ceiling and said, “Oh God, don’t let Mary die!”

After she underwent skin graft surgery and spent several weeks in the hospital, my prayer was answered in the affirmative. God let Mary live, and a little girl’s faith in the power of prayer started to grow.

The other defining incident occurred when I was 12. Our family received a phone call that caused Mom to wail like I’d never heard before as she hollered, “No! No! No!”

Our cousin had been killed in a car crash at 17. (Tomorrow’s blog) Once again I felt like we were all coming undone with the catastrophe of that night. But Dad took action and gave us hope. He said, “We better pray.”

The five of us kneeled down next to my sister’s bed, and he prayed while we cried. I don’t remember his words, but I do remember his urgency to get to prayer. And a middle-school girl’s faith in the power of prayer took another growth spurt.

As I got older, problems multiplied and decisions with consequence needed to be made. I found myself pursuing conversation with God more and more, needy for his involvement. (The December 12th post describes this journey.)

Today, as a widow with an empty nest, I have few demands on my time and no set schedule, letting me pray an hour or so a day. (By the way, reader, you factor into a nice chunk of that.) Prayer also whets my appetite for face to face conversation with Christ, an extravagance I know will one day be mine. Likewise, it can one day be yours.

As a child, I could never have understood why anyone would want to pray an hour a day. But if I live long enough, I hope to be praying even more than that.

When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a (wo)man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face.” (1 Corinthians 13:11-12a)

13 thoughts on “Seeds of Prayer

  1. One of my two biblical heroines is Anna [Luke 2:36-38]. She was “about 84 years old, serving God with fastings and prayers, night and day.” Her testimony has always pictured for me the perseverance for the race set before me. Oh, yes, the sweetness, the comfort, the rest, the joy and more found with our heavenly Father along the way! But to serve Him with prayer — I think on that. And then I think on the continual availability and pursuit of that service.

    I know one doesn’t turn 80-something and begin to live in this focus. You are on this path. Thank you for the encouragement to do likewise.

  2. Love today’s blog Margaret. Many of you who read this blog know Gerry Craig, mom is dying. It’s her turn to go Home. She needs your prayers today. I read, Anonymous, you asking if it was alright to talk to God, yes it is. Jesus set an example for us in the Bible, he talked to God, his Father. We are asked to cast all our cares upon Him for He cares for us. Praying is a crucial part of our relationship with Jesus. Everytime I read this blog, I pray for the commenters too. Thank you Margaret for making this little community of bloggers a big part of my day.

  3. Thanks for this post (and all your others!) Prayer is powerful indeed. Great reminder. We had a similar loss in our family (cousin killed in a car accident at 16) and I will never forget it.

  4. I love this verse from the Psalms – Lord, my heart has heard You say, “Come and talk with Me.”
    And my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming.” (Psalm 27:8)
    What a absolute joy to know the Most Holy and mighty Lord of the universe longs for us to talk with Him, and we can do so at any time!

  5. My family heritage includes pray-ers. My Grandma went to bed early every evening. The Lord woke her up around 1:00 am at which time she spent time in the Word and in prayer until about 5:00 am. In an emergency, we called Grandma first, and then called 911. Our ladies Bible study at church which begins next Sunday is on prayer. It will culminate in a day-long retreat on prayer. Wonder if the Lord is trying to tell me something. 🙂

  6. Thanks Margaret for another inspiring blog. What could be better than spending time with the One that controls the entire universe? Easy to say, now if I would just do MORE of it!

  7. Thank you, Margaret, for once again inspiring me with your winsome and powerful words of truth. Keep on prayin’! We have no idea…

  8. We will certainly pray for Gerry’s home going! My Mom is gone and it was difficult but we were all with her and she moved with vigor to look up in those last seconds after not being able to move or look anywhere. She had such an amazed look on her face. We prayed and thanked my Mom’s best friend the Lord Jesus for coming to get her – then she left us. We loved Gerry and her husband, two dear servants of God. My Mom used her 8yrs at a home to spend 1hr in prayer each morning for her family and 1hr for our government, the supreme court, etc and for each country in the world for the gospel to be preached with freedom, she prayed for teens who came to our coffee house in the 70’s by name and anyone she added from that time on, and then at nite another hour for her family again. I believe Mom, who was a very active believer in church and the community and Christian Women’s clubs accomplished a great work for the Lord with all those prayers. I hope someday God will let us know what He did when we prayed. God bless you Margaret as you pray for us who write you, I know He will bless us because of you. love to you. Beth

  9. When my son was 2 years old we went to Diseyland. As we started our adventure with a walk down Main Street Chad was a few paces ahead of us. Suddenly he called out in his loud voice, “Mickey Mouse,Here I am! Mickey Mouse, Here I am!” Of course I thought it was entirey CUTE. Since then I have recognized the utter confidence that Chad felt, the assurance that Mickey was eagerly awaiting his arrival (in fact, even looking for him)and that it would be a joyous encounter in a magic kingdom. He had no self-consciousness, no fear,no need to cling to us. He was abandoning any other concerns, ready to embrace the one he trusted to receive him with open arms. This is the way I most like to approach God…here I am, here I am. Matthew 19:14 But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me. Don’t stop them, because the kingdom of heaven belongs to people who are like these children.” And yes, we did meet Mickey.

  10. Thank you, Margaret, for bringing your readers, including me, before God. There is nothing more powerful to do on our behalf. While perhaps not knowing the fruit of that labor here, there will be a harvest that you will become aware of someday.
    Love,
    Terry

  11. Blessed words of example and encouragement, Margaret. What comfort and strength comes to us when we call out to our great Savior for help and He sends His mercy and grace, calming our fears, grief and pain. Long ago I used to think that “pray without ceasing” meant that older saints would spend hours praying–it was their job. I’ve learned that it is an attitude of prayer throughtout the day, lifting up our needs, loved ones, sorrows, frustrations, difficulties and sins to the Lord. It is seeking wisdom and giving thanks hour by hour. What would we do if we couldn’t pray?

    Last Sunday I had the honor of spending a sweet hour of fellowship with Gerry Craig. She is very weak and frail and sick. She is also ready to see her precious Savior face to face, the one who loves her unconditionally and died on the Cross to be the sacrifice for her (everyone’s) sin. I’m praying that her suffering will not be prolonged, and for you, Nancy, as you say goodbye to your beloved mother.