Who Prays For You?

Whenever there is some kind of tragedy, we often hear people say something like, “My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.” I’ve heard newscasters say it in response to a person’s loss of a loved one. I often wonder what they mean when they say that. Do they equate thoughts and prayers as the same thing? Do kind thoughts about someone make an impact in their lives in some way? Or is it just a nice thing to say? Also, do they really mean that they are praying for the hurting person and if so, to whom are they praying?

In recent weeks, I’ve received countless texts, emails, and messages from brothers and sisters in Christ with the same message, “I am praying for you.” In this case, I know why these believers say this to me. I know what they mean when they do. And I know that these words actually do something. Not simply because it is a nice thing to say, which it is. Not simply because I know someone cares about me, though I know they do. But because those words refer to something powerful. When a Christian prays, things happen. God uses the prayers of believers to carry out his will.

I can’t help but think of the story of Peter when Herod put him in prison in Acts 12. “So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church” (v.5). Then we read what happens when the church prayed: an angel came and set him free, breaking his chains and bringing him past sentries guarding the jail. “Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting” (v.11). Peter went straight to the house church where everyone was gathered, still praying for his release. James tells us “The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working” (5:16). There are countless examples in Scripture of God’s people praying and the Lord hearing and responding to their prayers.

So, for the Christian, praying for others actually means something. It’s more than words and more than a kind thing to say. It does something. God hears and responds when we pray for one another.

When we pray for one another, we pray to the same Father on behalf of our brother or sister in Christ. It is a very practical way in which we live out our unity with one another. Our Father moves in the life of those for whom we pray. The Apostle Paul knew this and that’s why he asked the Corinthian church to pray for him, “You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many” (2 Cor. 1:11).

The question is, who prays for you? Who do you turn to when you need prayer? Whether you face temptation to sin or a hard trial of life, who will bring your needs before your Father in heaven? My father passed away recently and I immediately reached out to people in my life that I knew would pray for me. And they did. Even more, they called on the phone and prayed aloud with me. They came to my home with meals and prayed for me.

In order to have someone pray for us, we need to be connected to the Body of Christ; we need to be a part of a church community. And in order for people to know we need prayer, they have to know us. We have to be engaged with others in the church, inviting them into our lives, so that they know our sins, sorrows, and needs. We can’t expect people to know us if we slink into the back row right as the sermon starts and exit before the benediction. This means we have to participate in the life of the church—in fellowship, in discipleship and learning, in service to one another. The more we do so, the more we are united to others in the church, and the more we can turn to the church body when we are in need of prayer. And as we pray for one another, we are further deepened in our unity, and glorify God together in thanksgiving for his answered prayer.

The prayers of my brothers and sisters in Christ have carried me through a lot this past year. Do you have people who pray for you?

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Give Thanks With Your Whole Heart

Later this month, we celebrate Thanksgiving in the U.S. It’s a time to gather with family and friends and enjoy a feast. It’s a time to give thanks for all our blessings, to express our gratitude for all that we have. When the holiday was first announced by President Lincoln in 1863, it was assumed that such thanks would be offered to God. In our post-Christian culture, people still express gratitude for the good things in their life, but not to the One who gives them all that they have, including their very breath.

For those who profess faith in Christ, what does our offer of thanksgiving look like?

In Psalm 9, the psalmist wrote, “I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.” (vv.1-2). In Hebrew poetry, when two lines are joined together, they are considered a couplet where the second line repeats what is stated in the first line. It echoes the thought in the previous line, providing further information on what the first statement means. In the case of verse one, recounting all of God’s wondrous deeds is what it means to give thanks to the Lord with one’s whole heart. So rather than just verbalizing a general statement of thanksgiving to God, we look back at our life and list or recount all that God has done.

And that’s what the author does in Psalm 9. Some scholars think David wrote this psalm after his win against Goliath; others see it as a psalm recounting God’s deliverance over David’s enemies in general, those enemies who stood against him as he took over the land God promised to his people. In this psalm, David reveals the reasons why he is giving thanks. He recounts the Lord’s faithfulness in delivering him from his enemies (vv.3-6). He describes the Lord’s character and how he relates to his people. (vv.7-10) The Lord is just, righteous, and a stronghold. He does not forsake those who place their trust in him. David then exhorts, “Sing praises to the LORD, who sits enthroned in Zion! Tell among the peoples his deeds!” (v. 11).

To give thanks with our whole heart is to do more than just say, “Thank you”; it is gratitude that bubbles up from deep inside our heart. It’s the response of those who know that all good things come from the Father in heaven. It’s the response of the humble—those who acknowledge that God alone is the source of all that we have. Further, when we give thanks, it’s not so much about the gift itself, but about the Giver, for as the psalmist wrote, “I will be glad and exult in you” (v.2). This is what makes the gratitude of a Christian different from other expressions of thanksgiving. We give thanks and rejoice in God; the non-believer rejoices in the gift.

When we give thanks during this season of Thanksgiving, let us recount the things that God has done, not just the things done for us today, but even the things God has done for us in the past. The Puritan preacher, Matthew Henry, wrote in his commentary, “When we give thanks for some one particular mercy we should take occasion thence to remember former mercies and so to show forth all his marvellous works.”

This Thanksgiving, let us ask: How has God been faithful to me in my life? How has he provided? How has he comforted? How has he sheltered? How has he delivered? “The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you” (vv. 9-10).

As we recount his wondrous deeds, let us give thanks with our whole heart.

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Had the Reformation Not Happened

It’s the time of year where we decorate our front porches with pumpkins and hay bales. The air is brisk and we bundle up in our sweaters and boots. It’s a season that fills the senses with favorite tastes and smells. Even as I write this, an apple scented candle fills the room with a sweet fragrance. This month, children ready themselves to gorge on candy. Before long, we’ll be stuffing ourselves with turkey and pie, followed by stockings and presents.

It’s a busy time of year and sometimes we miss an important event tucked in amid all the celebration and feasting. Reformation Day. It’s not a holiday but it is an important day to remember for so much of what we experience as believers today, began October 31, 1517 when Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door at Whittenburg. For many of us, the day comes and goes without thinking about it. What happened five hundred year ago is all too often taken for granted.

But what if the Reformation had not happened? What if Martin Luther had not brought his questions and challenges to the church, confronting it with all that the Bible taught about salvation and the church?

Here are just a few things that might be different:

• We would not have the Bible in our own language.

• We would still be paying indulgences to get loved ones out of purgatory.

• We would believe that we are saved by our works instead of by grace alone.

• We would elevate church tradition over what the Bible teaches.

• We wouldn’t know the extravagant grace of God for us in Christ.

• We wouldn’t worship God with our whole hearts and glorify him with our lives.

• We would not hear the word preached each Lord’s Day.

Can you imagine any of these things? Each one of them is significant and had the Reformation not happened, the church today would be very different. Every morning when I sit down to read my Bible, I’m doing something that Christians did not do before 1517. Not only do I have the Bible in my own language, but I have multiple versions of it in every size and shape, even digital versions. Through my encounter with God’s word and what it has taught me about the gospel, I trust in Christ alone for my salvation knowing that I am saved by faith and not works. Another reformer, John Calvin, explained the depths of God’s grace in our salvation. From beginning to end, salvation is rooted in God’s grace. There is nothing we did to earn it. There is nothing we can do to lose it. Think of it, had the Reformation not happened, we would not sing the hymn Amazing Grace. It would have no meaning for us.

There are many other things that grew out of the Reformation as well, including how we view vocation. Had the Reformation not happened, we would still separate work into jobs that are holy and important and those that are not. Martin Luther also influenced worship through all the hymns he wrote, inspiring musicians down through the ages.

Luther’s simple act on October 31, 1517 sparked a reformation that continues to ripple down through the ages. May we not take what happened at the Reformation for granted. May we continue the motto from the Reformation: Ecclesia Reformata, Semper Reformanda, the church reformed and always reforming. And may we look to the word of God alone to be our authority, as it teaches that we are justified through Christ alone, by faith alone, in grace alone, to the glory of God alone.

How about you? Anything else you would add to the list?

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What the Gospel Says to Those Who Suffer

He’s forgotten how to walk.

This thought hit me as I gripped by father’s arm and urged him forward across the living room. I found myself instructing him: Push down on your cane. Lift your foot. Put it down. Push down on your cane again. As we approached the chair he wanted to sit in, I again coached him through the steps required for him to turn around and sit back into the chair safely.

Later, he turned to me and asked, “What is your name?”

“Christina,” I responded. “What your name?” I asked in return.

He paused and with a bit of hesitation, told me his name. I smiled and nodded.

I handed him the photo book I gave him for Christmas last year. The one that had pictures of my family with our names and facts about us. It includes photos of my boys, one in his football uniform, the other in his cross country uniform. He keeps the album next to his chair to flip through when he wants to remember something.

It wasn’t an hour later that he shared with me a memory of visiting me where we used to live in Florida. He described the neighborhood and details about our house. But then another hour later, he was staring off into space, lost in world of his own.

My husband and I made this trip after learning that my father’s Alzheimer’s had worsened and my mother needed help. It made matters worse that hurricane Ian had just whipped through Florida and the power was out everywhere. On our drive down the interstate, we past one power truck after another, pickups pulling large generators, and disaster response teams. They were all headed to meet the needs of people after a horrific storm.

We were headed to see how we could help in my parent’s personal storm.

Alzheimer’s is everything you hear about and more. It’s as heartbreaking as you can imagine. It is debilitating. It causes confusion and fear. Most of all, it’s a thief, first of treasured memories, then of basic life skills. It’s like taking apart a puzzle, one piece at a time. But not in any kind of order; rather, in a random sort of way. The picture retains its outer shape, but the inside has holes scattered throughout. Those holes only get bigger and bigger.

Until there’s no picture left at all.

I have to believe that the gospel has something to say to those suffering the wretched horror of Alzheimer’s or every other disease we experience in life. It has to say something to those who find themselves at death’s waiting room, not knowing when their name will be called. It has to say something to those who care for the suffering, who pour themselves out day and night to meet the needs of a loved one who can’t do for themselves anymore.

The gospel has to speak to those who suffer.

And it does. In fact the entire Bible is the story of a God who cared about his people’s suffering so much, he entered into time and history in order to do something about it. Whenever I experience personal suffering and I need to preach the gospel to my heart, to remind myself of who God is and what he has done and why that matters in the dark moments of life, I always return to the beginning of the story. In returning to the beginning, we are reminded that diseases such as Alzheimer’s find their origins in the fall of man, for when God created the world, there was no illness. There was no decay. Our first parent’s bodies worked as they were created to. They had no aches or pains—no disease that ravaged and destroyed the bodies God had made. Their lives were complete and whole. It wasn’t until that moment in the garden where Adam and Eve broke God’s law and ate from the Tree that sin then entered the world, and along with it, sickness and death.

All disease traces its roots back to that day. That’s why we are right to grieve the physical illnesses and pains of life, because they do not belong; they are not part of God’s original creation.

But God showed his grace to our parents that day when he found them attempting to hide from him, ashamed of what they had done. God not only covered their sin and shame, but he also made a promise, what theologians call the proto-evangelium—the first gospel. In Genesis 3:15, God promised a rescuer, one who would go up against Satan and defeat him—one who would rescue us from the wretched curse of sin and death.

Jesus came to fulfill that promise. He came to conquer sin and death. He came to break the curse of sin that separates us from the One who made us. And he did so through his perfect life and sacrificial death on our behalf. The gospel assures those who suffer that our Savior suffered for us so that we will not suffer for all eternity. He made us right with God so that now, through faith in Christ, we have the assurance of eternity forever in a place where there is no more sin, sickness, or sorrow. We are cleansed from sin, forgiven, and made new creations. Because Jesus rose from the grave, he ensured our own resurrection at the last day. On that day, we will have bodies that are whole and complete, free from sin, and free from the ravages of illness and disease. What a glorious thing to imagine!

The gospel not only gives us hope for the future, but it also gives us hope right now in the present. It tells us that our Savior knows our pain; he knows our suffering. The Bible calls him the “Man of Sorrows.” “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed” (Is. 53:4-5). The author to the Hebrews says, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (4:15-16). We have a compassionate Savior who knows what life is like in a fallen world. He calls us to come to the throne and bear our lay our burdens before him. And he promises grace and help in our time of need.

Even more, when he left to return to the Father, Jesus sent his Spirit who now lives within his people. The Spirit fills us with hope as he reminds us of God’s word, as he counsels and comforts our weary hearts, as he equips and enables us to do the work we are called to, and as he transforms us into the image of Christ. We have the very Spirit of Christ living within us. The same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead is at work in our hearts. It is this Spirit who even now prays for us when we are too weary to pray for ourselves. “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God” (Rom. 8:26-27).

Over the past year, my parents’ days were reduced to the square feet of their house, where the routine was consistent, making life predictable and safe for my dad. One routine was their evening Bible study where my mom read aloud to my dad. I don’t know how much it impacted him in recent weeks as his disease worsened, but I pray that the words of life and the promises of God’s grace for him in Christ—words he’s heard his whole life—brings comfort and peace as he enters into another stage of his disease.

It was hard to see my father so debilitated. I felt helpless. It grieved my heart. It’s not right for a child to instruct a parent in how to do the basic things of life. It reverses the natural order of things. In those moments of helplessness, I just kept praying, “Father, please provide.” He did and I know he will continue to do so. My father is now in a long term care facility where he will receive the care he needs—until the day when he meets his Savior face to face.

Life in this fallen world is hard. It’s painful. It’s filled with sorrow. But for those who trust in Christ, we do not grieve as those who have no hope. For our hope is found in a person, our Savior, who suffered on our behalf, and who will one day return to take away our suffering once and for all.

Father in heaven, I pray for all those who are wounded by the effects of life in this fallen world, whose bodies betray them by sickness and disease. The sorrow and fear they feel is great and at times just as debilitating as the disease. And just as great for those who provide care. I pray that you would comfort the hurting with your perfect love. I pray you would shower your grace upon them, that they would know the depths of your love for them. That you would be with them. That you would sustain them and carry them. Until that day when Jesus returns to make all things new. In Jesus’ name, amen.

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When What is Broken is Made Whole

Those who know me, know how much I love antiques. I love exploring those big shops filled with individually run booths with displays of items from yester year. I especially enjoy looking at things that people used in everyday life, imagining who used it, and what their life was like.

One year, after a day spent exploring antique shops, I purchased an old secretary desk. I loved the pull down front, complete with a lock and skeleton key. The space for writing was covered in faded red leather, and behind it stood slots and cubbies waiting to be filled with stationery supplies. It was built of solid honey stained oak and I pictured a woman from a hundred years before, sitting at the desk, writing a letter to a loved one far away.

I placed the secretary in the back of my van and headed home. The problem was (and still is!), I’m not the packer in my family and didn’t think about securing it in any way. The first bump I drove over made the desk toppled over. As soon as I heard a thud, I had a bad feeling. When I arrived home and opened the back of the van, I discovered the desk had fallen apart in pieces. Many pieces.

I was crushed.

My husband and father-in-law took charge. They applied wood glue to all the pieces and held them together with clamps. A couple days later, the desk stood there as it had before. You couldn’t tell it had fallen apart.

That was almost fifteen years ago and the desk still stands tall in my kitchen. I often look at it and remember the sorrow I felt when it broke apart and the joy I felt when it was mended. It reminds me of my own life and how the Lord has healed my own brokenness. It reminds me that even when things are at their worst, there is still hope. Because God is a God of redemption. He takes what is broken and makes it whole. I can attest to this in my own life and have witnessed it in the lives of others.

But the greatest testimony of this is that of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Imagine what the disciples must have thought and felt when they saw Jesus crucified. I imagine not only the great grief but also the despair and hopelessness. How could anything come of Jesus’ death? But then the resurrection! They saw Jesus’ broken body healed. They talked and walked and ate with him. And because Jesus conquered death and overcame the grave, he now sits at the right hand of God. He reigns on high and even now is at work to make all things new. “And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new” (Rev. 21:5).

Jesus defeated sin and death. And by his perfect life lived for us and his sacrificial death in our place, he redeems and restores us. He cleanses us from sin. He brings us back into right relationship with God. He makes all that is broken whole. Indeed, those who are in Christ are new creations (Rom. 6:11, 2 Cor. 5:17). The Spirit is at work in us even now, transforming us into the image of Christ. And one day, that work will be complete. What glorious hope we have in Christ!

Life often seems like my broken secretary desk, fallen apart into too many pieces to count. But God can do even more than simply glue the pieces of life back together; he gives new life. He transforms.

Have you seen God take what is broken and make it new?

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When God is Our Portion

I was in tenth grade when my grandmother had a heart attack. My grandparents lived far away from us and had just been in town for a visit when we received a call from my grandfather late one evening. I remember a flurry of decision making and tense voices, and then my mother came in my room to tell me she would leave in the morning to travel and visit my grandmother in the hospital.

I remember not quite knowing what to feel or think. I was a teenager and unfamiliar with all the medical jargon. But I loved my grandmother dearly and wanted to comfort her in some way. So I opened my Bible, culled through the Psalms, searching for words that might provide some solace. I scribbled a note to her for my mother to give her and added these words of Asaph:

“Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (Psalm 73:25-26).

A few days later, my grandmother passed away and every time I read Psalm 73, I think of her.

For years, whenever I reach Psalm 73 in my Bible reading plan, those two verses jump out at me and instantly I am transported back to my adolescence and to the grief and sorrow I felt at her loss. But recently, I re-read the Psalm and was struck by how those two verses stand in contrast to everything before it.

In Psalm 73, the psalmist comes to the throne of grace with a complaint. He pours out his disappointments, questions, and doubts before the Lord with great expectation. He assumes God hears him. He assumes God will respond. And what is his main complaint?

The prosperity of the wicked.

They seem to have no problems. They are rich and problem-free. They don’t experience the troubles and trials the rest of mankind contends with. They are prideful and thumb their nose at God. The psalmist describes it this way: “They set their mouths against the heavens, and their tongue struts throughout the earth.” They deny God. And all the while, they increase in wealth and prosperity.

Asaph brings these complaints before the Lord in the context of worship. And in doing so, he is convicted. He sees his heart. He sees how bitter he is as a result of comparing his life to that of the ungodly. “When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart, I was brutish and ignorant; I was like a brute beast toward you.”

But God is gracious! The Psalm then transitions to the wonders of God’s grace. “Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory.” After Asaph confesses his sin, the fog dissipates and he sees the truth: God is everything. The ungodly might have every material possession their hearts desire, but the godly have something far better, God himself. Knowing God and being known by him is worth far more than anything this world has to offer. In fact, everything that the ungodly accumulate in life dissipates like a dream once they stand before the throne of judgement (v.20). Their prosperity is shown to be empty and useless. What a contrast to all that we have in God! That’s what those verses I sent to my grandmother mean. God is our portion. He is our inheritance. And through Jesus, we have full access.

I have my grandmother’s Bible, the one she took with her to church each Lord’s Day. It’s filled with her sermon notes and underlined passages. She knew the Lord was her portion. And I’m thankful for the years I had with her as a child, to learn from her testimony, to learn of her love for God. My grandmother’s example and the words of Asaph point me to the truth: “it is good to be near God.” In his presence, doubts are transformed. The weak are made strong. The lost and frightened find refuge.

When we seek the Lord, we find everything.

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