I prayed today for Darrick. I prayed that his car runs well and that it doesn’t have any more fuel or radiator leaks and that he doesn’t get into any accidents and that God watches over his driving, especially in nasty weather, and that the cops don’t pull him over.
I prayed for Darrick’s protection from the power of drugs and a drug-abusing relative who borrows from him, that God’s wings would shield him. I prayed that God ride in Darrick’s car right there in the seat next to him, as he requested, and that nobody would take his car away.
I’ve never met Darrick. Don’t even know his last name. But this morning, when my own concerns threatened to weigh me down and pull me into an ungodly self-absorption, it sure was good to be able to think of Darrick and his much more urgent problems. I borrowed some of Darrick’s phrases because they were full of passion and faith: “Please ask God to bless me… please ask God to be merciful to me… ask God to protect me with his powerful wings…” My own faith felt stronger linked with Darrick’s, my own meandering prayers had more focus and clarity. Not for nothing did Jesus say, “Wherever two or three are gathered in my name, there I am with them.”
As you can probably guess, Darrick is one of the hundreds of thousands who post their prayer requests on OurPrayer. You can easily log on and pray for people like him. But I suggest something even more enriching and faith-enhancing: Become a prayer volunteer. It’s not that hard. All you need to do is give one hour of time each week reading and responding to prayer requests. You can do it on your own computer right from your home.
I don’t doubt it makes a difference to people like Darrick. It will also make a terrific difference to you. Any day now I expect a message from Darrick about how his prayers, and mine, ours, have been answered, along with more requests for prayer. Isn’t that just how it works? We all grow closer to God together, growing in faith, praying for one another.
