Helping Others Survive

One of my favorite books on prayer is entitled, "Prayer."  Written by a saint who survived the Civil War and lived long enough to see the next century, E.M.Bounds has inspired me and put me to praying during many a dry spell.  I am reminded of him as I sit here in the silence of the hours normally spent in sleeping.  There is a story he told in his book that defies finding and is only remembered partially, but it is one about a man whose wife finds him up in the middle of the night praying and he tells her to leave him alone that he must be praying for there are too many souls in need of his prayers.    

Unfortunately, I cannot confess to that kind of spirit in praying, but I do know what it is to have a list of those who have been promised prayers than I seem to have time to pray. Tonight as my sister who lives in Texas told me of a friend's struggle, I told her to tell him I would be praying for him and his wife.  Some months ago an old roommate from college who lives in Missouri called asking for prayers for a friend.  And, so it has been in these recent days   

I find myself moving more and more into this kind of ministry.  I do so not just because the Word of God says, "...pray for one another..." (James 5:16) and "Bear one another's burdens..." (Galatians 6:2), but, perhaps, even more so, because I have lived through a time when I lived as dependent on the prayers of others, as we all are, for air to breathe.  While we may not know how to help those who walk the hard path of dark times, we can pray for them.  It may be what enables them to survive.