I’ve written before of the young man Jesse Rotholz whose life still hangs by a thread. Three months later and he is still alive, although his family literally was told it was time to stop treatment and let him die in peace. The mother, buoyed by hope and another doctor, took a different stance. And the surgeon who said no more surgery was confronted with a mother who told him, “I am praying for you and others are praying for you. God will be with you in that surgery room. I know you can do this.” He begrudgingly relented. He operated. Jesse is still alive. Barely. But he is still alive.
Daily now for almost 3 months his mother has posted on her Facebook page, imploring people to pray even despite the prayer fatigue. Here’s this from his mother:
Prayer fatigue. It’s real. Especially when you are praying nonstop and are in a constant state of wondering if a loved one is going to live or die. It can last a few weeks but this young man has been tottering on life and death nonstop for 3 months now. Tottering every day. Every day has been a miracle.
And it got me thinking about prayer fatigue. As I too have been praying for Jesse and others. At times it has felt heavy and prolonged.
It’s then that I realized that God does not intend for us to always live in a state of crisis. Prolonged heaviness is not our place. We’re not meant to sustain this posture.
When prayer fatigue comes, that is our signal to start moving towards praise. Praising God that he cares for us, praising him the He is involved, thanking Him that he hears our prayers. Praise does not weigh us down but lifts our spirits. There’s a time to be on our knees, crying out to God for help. And a time to put on our feet, singing our prayers, praises and being thankful for His help.
It doesn’t mean every moment is praise. Or every moment is pleading prayer. It’s both. It’s knowing the moment.
And when I started praising God for his great love for Jesse, the heaviness lifted. So then I started praying for another friend who is having a lot of marital difficulties. And when I did I felt that what was needed most was that on-the-knees-crying-out-to-God prayer. It’s a season. It’s a moment. And knowing what is best at what time.
This mother of Jesse has had it tough. She’s been sick. Her son’s life hangs in the balance. And there’s much more difficulties that are going on. There’s absolutely no condemnation. None of us probably know what this feels like.
You probably have friends in similar places. You may be in that place.
It’s time to pray.
And when the timing is right, it’s also time to praise.
