Prayer Is...For Everyone

1 Timothy 2:1-7

I've read this passage a few times before and, as is usually the case these days, I found something different. I've always taken this passage as a "who to pray for" message. Today I see it as a "why to pray" message.

As I went through my usual ritual of perusing Facebook and what my friends and family have been through in the last day or so, I came across a post from a high school classmate. I have to be honest and say that in high school we never really had a relationship. He hung around a certain group of friends and I had a completely different group. There really was nothing, nor any reason, for our groups to associate with one another.

That being said, whenever we saw one another in the halls or around town we always said hi and was at what my college psychology professor called a level 2 relationship - we asked how each other was and listened to the responses, not really going past that stage.

All of that aside, he's gone through a rather hard life of addictions and incarcerations, but now seems to be finding a new meaning of life as much as a new passion for living it. He has a son and there's no mention of a mother of the child or a relationship of any kind for either of them outside of one another. It would seem, and honestly so, that he is on another leg of his journey. And although this part of his life may be rocky and still have its pitfalls, at least he is grounded in love.

All of that being said, he is battling blindness. I've learned that in Facebook one chooses to reveal reasons for things in their own way and at their own pace, so the questions surrounding his blindness isn't known, but I don't see how or why the hows and whys are important just yet.

His battle with blindness is both a spiritual and physical one, and this morning he said just that. He's seeking a cure, yes, but when I read his reasons for a cure it isn't so much because he wants to see, it's more about wanting to teach his son about what truly matters in life.

In this morning's post he seemed to accept that nothing can be done for him through medicine or surgery to regain his sight. And so, in response, someone replied to his post to, "Pray to God because only his healing touch can bring the miracle you seek."

*Sigh*

My first thought was, "What happens to his faith in God if the miracle he seeks doesn't come?"

We should always pray for healing of the sick and the betterment of societies. We should always pray that the pain and suffering in this world ends. We should always pray for God's love to guide and protect our loved ones, friends, and neighbors, as well as our local, national, and world leaders.

That being said, we should also understand why we pray. Today's passage reminds us that we should pray "so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity."

When we pray for the healing of others, we also pray for the healing of ourselves through an understanding of that pain which they feel. When we pray for the guidance of others we also pray for the understanding of how we are being guided. When we pray for love to be spread throughout this world we are also praying that it can somehow be us that is the one to spread this love throughout the world.

Prayer is good. Prayer is powerful. Prayer is what brings us peace and understanding. Prayer is God's way of talking with us as much as it's our way of listening to God's voice.