- 22 -
Prayer and Remembering
My first best friend, a young man from my childhood named Bruce, was born 55 years ago today.
For some reason, Bruce's birthday has remained etched in my mind despite the fact that I haven't seen him in well over 40 years, and have no idea where he is or what's he's doing. So, each year on October 28th, I pray for him that God will bless his life with the Lord Jesus Christ, be it in salvation, or in growth in the grace and knowledge of a salvation already received.
The spanning of space and time offers one of the greatest aspects of the gift of prayer. We can "touch" people, or more accurately, we can ask God to reveal Himself, His truth and His working in the lives of people across the globe or the calendar. Prayer, of course, draws us near to God. But it also somehow draws us near to the ones for whom we pray, at least in spiritual terms. We give a gift to people by our intercession on their behalf, and we ourselves are blessed by the uttering of names, the remembrance of faces, and the opportunity to remain involved in the hearts and lives of those once near, but now long removed from our presence.
Happy Birthday, Bruce, wherever you are. May the Lord Jesus be known to you in this day and always, and may He be trusted in your heart, whether in the new birth, or in ongoing growth from a birth already received and experienced. And thank you, Lord, for the amazing gift of prayer whereby those once dear to us remain so because they are so dear to You.
We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers, remembering..."
(I Thessalonians 1:2-3)
No comments:
Post a Comment