People routinely ask me to pray to God for their particular needs or resolving some of their problems. Many people send prayer requests through internet blogs, E-mails and telephone calls. I make it my habit to bring all these prayer requests to my daily Mass and other prayers. However, I never felt the intensity of such requests until I myself had a particular need for prayer support from all my friends and relatives recently. When my sister fell seriously ill, I sent a heartfelt request for prayer support to hundreds of my friends and relatives around the world who are in my E-mail and telephone list. There came a sudden outpouring of prayer support from every corner of the world. Those who received my message not only prayed for my sister and family, they also in turn sent out the same request to all those in their contact lists. Soon there built up a global network of prayer for this one single person – my sister. I felt overwhelmed by the messages of solidarity and prayer support from people I had known and not known before, people who live thousands of miles away from where I am, people of various religious, national and linguistic backgrounds. It was a feeling of intense affinity, connectedness and solidarity.
When someone requests us to pray for their needs it expresses many things.
1. It is an expression of trust in God’s power over human and natural powers and in his love and care for us humans. He is always faithful’ He knows what is best for us; He never abandons us; He is near us even when we think He is far away.
2. It is an expression of one’s confidence in human’s power to intercede with God. God hears the cry of his beloved. Prayer uttered for another person is more pleasing to God’s ears because he sees the goodness of the one who prays for others. It is an expression of one’s other-centecentres rather than self-centecentres; it makes us more humble, trusting and selfless. It changes and transforms us.
3. It brings blessings of rewards to the one who prays in unknown and surprising ways as every prayer uttered connects us with God and makes us His favourites.
4. It brings blessings to the one prayed for, perhaps not always in our own terms and ways, but definitely in God’s terms and ways. He knows what is best for us. Even if we do not get what we pray for, he will, by His loving presence, bring us the grace to accept the situation and surrender to His will and plan for us.
5. Our prayers for others connect us with them and build up a world of solidarity, fraternity and harmony. This is the sign of the kingdom of God.
“More things are wrought by prayer than these world dreams of.
Wherefore, let thy voice rise like a fountain for me night and day”.
(Alfred Tennyson, 1809-1892 , "Morte D'Arthur")
