(reposted from a Facebook note 7/5/2017)
I grew
up in churches that would allow you to say you had an “unspoken” prayer
request. Usually it was something that was a little too private to share in
public but that you desperately wanted someone to pray about. Or perhaps it was
just to have something to say when it was your turn to share prayer requests.
Today I have a little story about a different kind of unspoken request.
On Monday,
the young lady who is helping me with Tim’s care dropped him off at our house
around lunch time. He had a sandwich and was resting in his favorite chair. Our
kids turned on a classic TV show, but he obviously didn’t want to watch it. I
put out a chair in the driveway and suggested that he sit outside until the
show was over. It was a beautiful day, the kind we endure January for around
here. A little later I went out to the garage for something and didn’t see him
in the driveway where he usually sits. I went back inside thinking perhaps I
had missed him in the living room. When I didn’t see him there, I sent a child
to the basement and another to the backyard. A third jumped on her bike to
begin riding around the block. He wasn’t anywhere nearby. I realized that he
had left without telling me where he was going.
I
opened up Find My Friends on my phone and began a search for Tim. Thankfully he
had his phone with him. A little blue dot “TO” appeared about 3 miles away, not
far from his apartment. For the first time ever, he had decided to go for a
walk, from our house all the way back to his apartment, 4 miles away. I called
him and ended up bringing him back to our house where he declared he had done
enough walking for one day.
Sometimes
we know specific requests to pray for our friends. Other times, we simply bring
them before God, knowing that he “knows what you need before you ask.” (Matthew
6:8) In our bowing before the Father, I know I have simply asked for his
guidance, grace, or comfort for a friend, not knowing exactly what her need
was. I know many of you are praying for Tim daily. You probably didn’t pray on
Monday that he would protect him when he went for his “walking spree” (Tim’s
words that day). But God knew what Tim needed. It gives me great comfort and
strength to know that Tim’s care doesn’t rest completely on my shoulders. Thank
you for praying for him.
Romans
8:26-28
[26]
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. [27] 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. [28] And we know that for those who love God all things work together for
good, for those who are called according to his purpose. (ESV)
