Today I was out and about not really thinking of who I was going to pray for. I was attending a His Word Proclaimed meeting with all the other churches in town. Within 5 minutes of the meeting 2 people told me of their illnesses. I didn’t think anything of it. My mind wasn’t attuned. Then a little bit later I realized those were my people! So after the meeting we all gathered around them and prayed for them. It’s interesting how easily when people voice needs or concerns we just kind of let it go in one ear, make a few nice comments to them, then let it go out the other ear. Yet it’s so important to the person voicing the concern. Their health and their life really matter. One of the benefits of seeking out people to pray for is that I am more attuned to their needs (although not yet at all times as today proved). But in general I’m not so casual about people’s pain. Perhaps God IS wanting to heal people more often but he wants to do it through His body. Us. But it takes us being as zeroed in on the needs of others as much as our own thoughts and concerns. It’s the loving of our neighbor as we also love ourselves.
