Life Without Prayer
- Becky Tirabassi Crosswalk.com Contributing Writer
- Published Sep 10, 2008
One of my favorite authors, Eugene Peterson, in his book called The Jesus Way writes, “There are no secrets to living out the Christian life but it cannot take place without prayer.”
We’ve all tried it. We’ve all tried to manage our businesses or families without consulting God and we’ve all had the same results. Sooner (or sometimes much later), we find ourselves at the end of ourselves—looking up for answers, praying desperate “help me, please God” prayers.
Life is not meant to be lived without prayer.
Prayer is our lifeline to God. It was never intended to be the last resort option when all else fails. Prayer is the link that “double-clicks” us directly to the One who has the answers we long for, need, hope, fret, and worry about…
On a recent flight, I sat next to a woman who told me that her teenage son was struggling. Once a quiet, shy child, he was now fifteen and had become attached to a group of kids who seemed to be different, troubled, and just caught using drugs. She was so surprised, overwhelmed, unsuspecting of such behavior that she and her husband were caught completely off guard. She was being advised to send her teenager to an out-of-state treatment center. She was emotionally devastated that the situation had evolved into this…and even more concerned that she would make a wrong decision on his behalf.
I asked if she prayed…if the family attended church. She abruptly said, “No.” A few minutes of silence followed.
They lived a life without prayer.
I knew I couldn’t stop sharing with her what was on my heart…it was burning inside of me, even though I it would be awkward for both of us if I continued. As we deplaned, I quietly offered to pray for her child. It took a few minutes before she gave me permission to do so.
As we headed toward baggage, again in silence and squeezed onto a very narrow escalator, I looked her right in the eyes and said, “I was a teenage alcoholic and the child of an alcoholic. In one prayer with a stranger, God came into my life and took away my desire for alcohol. I’ve had over 30 years of sobriety. I honestly believe that if you ask God to show you what to do with and for your son, He will make it as clear as a banner in the sky.”
She stared at me, and then very slowly let out a sigh of relief and a smile.
Life is not meant to be lived without prayer because life is not meant to be lived without God and God can always, always, always be found by those who pray.
Ros Rinker, author of Conversing with God said, “Prayer is a two-way dialog between two people who love each other.”
Today, be an encourager to others by praying for them. Pray, especially, for the men, women, and children in your life who don’t know God, who have never experienced His love. Most importantly, don’t hesitate to let them know that you are talking to the God who loves them, asking Him to answer to their prayers.
Join Becky as she celebrates her 25th Anniversary of Prayer between January 2009 and March 2010. For more information, click here.
