I’m intentionally trying to pray more, especially to pray for other people. I think things will go much better if we all pray more for one another.

I wake up early, long before the alarm. So I use this extra time I have not planned for to pray. I pray for the children I talked to during assembly at their school. I invited the kids to come and talk to me if something bothered them. Some came to talk to me, others wrote letters.

The most touching was the little girl with the enormous eyes who were too shy to come and then asked a prefect to come with her. She wanted me to pray for her mom and dad because they were fighting a lot.

I believe in prayer. I believe that God listens to us and will do something if it is within his will. I believe that even though I don’t know her dad’s name or her mom’s name, and not even her name, God hears my prayer and that he will do something about it. I believe it wholeheartedly!

And I would like to pray for you. I want to pray the same prayer that Paul prayed for the Thessalonians: ¹I, Paul, together here with Silas and Timothy, send greetings to the church at Thessalonica, Christians assembled by God the Father and by the Master, Jesus Christ. God’s amazing grace be with you! God’s robust peace! I pray and trust that you will really experience something of God, that you will experience something of our good God and Father. I pray that amidst all the problems and storm winds, you will experience something of God’s peace wherever you go, even when things aren’t going so well.

Know for sure that God is taking this journey with you. Know that God is travelling with you through life. Also know that you will not always get preferential treatment. On the contrary, chances are it will be harder indeed because you want to do God’s will every moment of the day. Hold on to the knowledge that God will never let go of you.

Fortunately, we can hold onto God. Fortunately, we know that the almighty God is always there for us and that we do not have to face the battle alone. Together we take on the hard times.

I’m big, actually too big. My wife is about half my size, but I cannot do without her. I still remember those stormy times in my business when I sheltered behind her back at night. No, she couldn’t take on the storms for me. I had to do that myself, but simply knowing that she was there and that I could find shelter with her, made it possible for me to take the bull by the horns the next day.

We have God on our side. We are not alone out there. God is there. That is why we can even have peace when times are not so good, because we know God is there. In a way, God does the impossible, and while other people struggle to make plans and keep their heads above water, we can enjoy peace, because we know we are not alone. God is in our team and He will bring peace, and in a way, we will experience his goodness.

And that is why I pray for you, trying your utmost to worship God in the world out there: ¹… God’s amazing grace be with you! God’s robust peace!

Scripture

1 Thessalonians 1:1-5

Reflection

Do you believe in prayer?

Can your prayer make a difference?

For whom do you need to pray this prayer now?

Prayer

Lord, thank you that I can keep on believing that I will never walk through the world alone. Thank You for holding my hand. Please shower me with your peace and grace. Please let me experience your goodness. I really need it. Amen.