Ester tells the story of the seven-year old who prayed: “Lord, please be with those people who are less privileged than us and also those who are more privileged than us.”

What an insight from this young person! Everybody needs prayer. Every day each and every person on this earth is faced with many, many choices and our problem is that we cannot see into tomorrow how it will work out. The consequences of numerous decisions may not be that serious, but although some may look innocent, the consequences can destroy lives.

A business owner struggles with a major business decision. It may take his business to new heights, or it may cause the end. Parents have to decide on a school for their children, what subjects they should take, which college, which university.

Children must decide about their future and where they want to be one day. People have to decide who they’re going to marry … one can go on and on about all the minor and major decisions we have to make. And when I look back on my life, I realize that I do not have the ability to decide about my life on my own. Because some consequences I still have to drag with me.

I need reinforcements. I need to talk about it. I must meet with God every day to discuss my life with Him. At times, I made decisions rushing along with life, when I couldn’t come to a standstill. In times like that I need to drink from the tank that I had filled during my times with God. Alone in prayer I filled my tank so that I could make the right decisions at the crossroads of life.

In all naivety I believe that if not for my mother’s prayers, we five children would have been lost long ago. I believe it wholeheartedly. I believe in the power of prayer. I believe that when you pray, or to put it differently, when you talk to God, you are changed, you learn more about God, you learn more about yourself, you learn more about God’s will – and that makes your way through life so much easier.

But even more than that – we must pray for one another. We must ask others to pray with and for us. Life out there is not easy. Sometimes we end up in dangerous places. Then it is indeed the prayers of others that get us through it.

Paul knew this. He knew the challenges that life holds. He knew that the devil especially liked to attack young children of the Lord. From the first time they had heard about the young Christians, said Paul: 9… We haven’t stopped praying for you. Paul knew from experience that they wouldn’t be able to make it on their own, and he called in reinforcements.

I know from experience that prayer works and that it prevented me from making wrong decisions. The prayers of friends around me, the prayers of my mentor and my mother, my wife and children, and even the stranger that came my way.

Let’s put some effort into our prayers. Let’s make time to be with God, because in the process I am changed and learn how to live life right. And while you are talking to God, bring your loved one, colleagues, friends, and even those you struggle to forgive to Him. Pray without ceasing for them.

Scripture

Colossians 1:9-11

Reflection

Do you still pray?

Do you pray for others?

Even those you struggle to forgive?

Prayer

Lord, I must confess I know I pray too little and that when I do pray, it just feels like a list I’m working through. Amen.