The Timing of Prayer

“Bear one another’s burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians: 6:2)

I have a good friend who will literally step what he is doing and pray for me as soon as I tell him that I have a prayer need. It doesn’t matter where we are, or whether we are just talking over the telephone, If I ask him to pray for me, the conversation comes to a screeching halt and the praying begins.

I love this guy, but I am not comfortable when he stops in the middle of a conversation and starts praying. In fact, I’m so uncomfortable with it (and more embarrassed to admit that I have spiritual problem over it) that the Lord decided to teach me a good lesson about the quality and timing of prayer.

Last week, my eight-year old daughter, who lives with her mother in North Carolina, was spending a couple of nights with a friend while her mother traveled on business. Her mother’s trip could not be avoided and the friend with whom she had left Victoria was no stranger to the family. The truth is her mom could not have left her in better hands.

I telephoned Tori on the first night of her stay. As soon as she picked up the phone, the tears began to flow. “Please come pick me up, Dad,” she pleaded. “If you left Griffin right now, you could be here in five hours. Please, Dad. I need you. I shouldn’t have to stay without my mommy or daddy.”

You can’t imagine the guilt I felt at that moment. It’s at moments like these that I realize just how damaging divorce can be. Yet in spite of her plea I could not help her.

“Tori,” I replied. “There’s nothing more Daddy would like to do than be with you right now. But I can’t come, Sweetheart. It’s just not possible.”

We talked for several minutes and nothing seemed to calm her down. I decided that I could not hang up until she regained her composure.

Then, out of nowhere, she asked, “Dad, will you pray with me?” Well, I’ll never question the timing of my friend’s prayers anymore. I didn’t wait to pray for my little girl when it was convenient for me. I prayed for my little Tori right then and there, and God started to honor that prayer before I had finished. He helped me settle my daughter’s fears. That’s what the Prophet Isaiah means when he says, “Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear.” (Isaiah 65:24)

What does Jesus mean when he says, “Bear one another’s burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ”? Well, the “law’ to which Jesus is referring is His commandment to us to love one another. “As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” (John 13:34) You see, as Christians, we should be willing to sacrifice our pride and unashamedlv respond to the needs of others as soon as those needs are known. It doesn’t matter where we are. That’s what sacrificial love means and that’s the kind of love Jesus commands us to show.

That experience with my daughter taught me two lessons about prayer that I’ll never forget. First, there’s no such thing as a silly prayer request. Even though I knew Tori had nothing to fear, she didn’t know, so her fear was by no means silly. Equally important Tori taught me that praying with someone is much more meaningful than praying for someone, The fact is she’ll never forget the night that she and her daddy said a prayer together, hundreds of mile apart, to a God she could trust for an answer.

I’ll never forget that night, of the next night for that matter. You see, when I called my daughter one night later to see how she was doing, she said, “Thank you for praying with me last night, Dad.” Indeed, everything was ok.

Thank you, Lord, for answering that prayer. And yes, thank you for the lesson it brought with it.