Can I Pray for You?

Susan* is a woman who entered Engedi’s residential program with serious health issues and mental health struggles. One day Susan was overwhelmed with physical pain and emotional turmoil, which seemed to come in waves for her, even before she got here.  She expressed so much anxiety over her debilitating illness and crippling fear that normal activities and regular self-care were no longer possible for her.  Not on this day at least. Hopelessness started to set in.  To watch her suffer, and feel utterly powerless to help is extremely difficult, but it’s a feeling many of our Engedi staff get very familiar with. 

However, for many of us, walking with God every day adds a sense of power and perspective that changes everything.  So this day, one of our staff said the words that came naturally to her mind, expressing a hope in her heart that almost escapes without thinking:  “Can I pray for you?”

It’s a simple question, but it has profound implications.

For anyone that believes there is a God; and that God is good, loving and merciful, and that he is responsive to human need; it’s an easy, almost automatic question that can be asked in almost any conversation, especially when a human need is shared.

This simple question introduces three essential ideas into human relationship simply by mentioning prayer (a direct communication with God):

1.  God is both real and good.

2.  God’s goodness is ready and available for YOU (whoever ‘you’ may be, and whatever your situation).

3.  My communication with God matters, even (and perhaps especially) for someone else.

Susan certainly needed help.  Physical healing would have been fantastic, and any measure of emotional peace would possibly have been even better.  After a short prayer, she got both.  God’s goodness and power touched her body and calmed her soul within a few short hours.  The experience gave Susan a peace she had never known, and an eye-opening perspective that would stay with her forever.  God is good; and he loves her.

We’ve seen this play out many times over, and it is amazing to be a part of it.  We invite God into human needs, and he does what only he can do - healing bodies, restoring souls, clarifying truth, and changing hearts.

One of the greatest things any of us can ever do is to ask someone; “Can I pray for you?”  From God’s perspective, that may be the very reason for where you are today, and who you are with.

Please pray for Engedi Refuge today.  We serve hurting people with serious conditions, struggling against debilitating obstacles all the time.  We need help, courage, faith, wisdom and peace every day.

We also invite you to come pray for us on July 28th during our Prayer and Pantry event at the Ministry Campus: 7370 Guide Meridian, Lynden (next to Get Simple Box, just north of Wiser Lake road). This will be an opportunity to connect with our staff and see first hand what God is doing at Engedi Refuge. Find more details on our home page.

*Name changed to protect the privacy of our residents.