Prayer Partner

She had been looking for a prayer partner
for a long time but whenever she thought of
someone and called her, it wasn’t a good
time for the person or she wasn’t interested.

The past year had been hard. Her marriage
of fifteen years ended in divorce. They had
gone for counseling but he decided that he
didn’t want to continue with it and filed for
a divorce. That really hurt. She had hoped
to save their marriage. As a Christian, she
didn’t believe in divorce, not even if there
were grounds for it. In her case, there was
adultery.

It was a shock when she found out
that her husband had been having an affair
with his secretary. When she asked him
about it, he didn’t deny it but promised to
end it. She didn’t fly into a rage but mustered
as much self-control as she possibly could to
remain composed and suggested
that they see a marriage counselor. They did
for a few weeks and then he decided that it
was a waste of time. She found out that he
had not ended his affair. He moved out and
a week later, she received the divorce papers.
The divorce was final and she had full custody
of their daughter. He had her for weekends
and holidays.

It was hard adjusting to life as a divorced
woman. Her sister had suggested that she
joined a prayer group at the church or get
a prayer partner. The support would be a
tremendous benefit for her. So, she decided
to look into getting a prayer partner but so far
her quest was unsuccessful. She prayed about
it every night, hoping that the next time
she called the names on her list that someone
would say “yes”.

Then one day her daughter came to her while
she was in the kitchen preparing dinner. “Mommy,
can I be your prayer partner?” she asked.

Her mother stopped what she was doing to look
at her. What a novel idea, she thought. Then she
thought of the prophets Samuel and Jeremiah.
They were young when God called them to serve
Him. Perhaps God was telling her that the
answer to her prayer was right in front of her.
“How did you know that I was looking for a
prayer partner?”

“I heard you on the phone and when I saw you
you looked really sad so I prayed about
it too. God told me to ask you if I could be
your prayer partner.”

She hugged her daughter. “Yes, Honey, you can
be my prayer partner. Why don’t we take a moment
right now to thank God for answering our prayers?”

Her daughter nodded, smiling. And they went into
the living-room where they knelt down and prayed.

Source:  Fruitful Words Blog

Support

Mark 14:32-42

Remember the last time you were in a really bad place or in a tough situation and when you needed your friends the most, they weren’t there or they didn’t give you the support you desperately needed? Well, it happened to Jesus.

After the Passover meal, He and His disciples went to the Garden of Gethsemane.  He took Peter, James and John with Him and it was then that He became troubled and greatly distressed.  He said to the three men, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death.  Stay here and watch.”  Now imagine that you are one of these men, and you can see that your Master is very upset and He asks you to stay there and watch” what would you do?  Would you go and sit under a tree where you end up falling asleep because you have had a long day and are tired or would you move about so that you can stay awake?

Jesus went a little farther and fell on the ground where He prayed that if it were possible that the Father might take the cup away from Him but resolved that He would do the Father’s will.  When He returned to the three disciples, they were sleeping.  He said to Peter, “Simon, are you sleeping?  Could you not watch one hour?”  Why did He address Peter specifically?

When Jesus had predicted that the disciples would be made to stumble because of Him, Peter had declared that while the others might stumble, he would not.  He vowed that he would not deny Jesus and would willingly die with Him.  Yet, here he is not available when Jesus needed him.  Like the other two, he was asleep instead of being awake and watchful as Jesus had asked them to be.  How is it that even after Jesus had shared with them how He was feeling at that moment, that they weren’t there for Him?

When the storm raged while He slept on the boat, they woke Him, asking “Master don’t you care that we will perish?”  What about the storm that Jesus is going through now.  Didn’t they care?  Why couldn’t they have watched with Him?  Why couldn’t they have prayed among themselves for what He was going through?  Jesus later told them, “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation.  The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak.”  He told them to do two things–watch and pray.  Be alert and pray.  Yet, when He returned, they were sleeping.  When Jesus comes again, will He find us watching and praying or sleeping?

How would you feel if your closest friends didn’t stand by you in your hour of need as the disciples didn’t stand by Jesus in His hour of need?  They were physically there but their lack of support left Him all alone in His agony.  Do you find that when you need your friends to be there for you, they are asleep?  In other words, do they seem oblivious to what you are going through?  Perhaps, like Jesus, you have to tell them what you are going through and ask them to pray for you.