The Spirit Intercedes

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. - Romans 8:26

My neighbor in Michigan told me a story about prayer. She and her family say a prayer whenever they see the flight for life helicopter fly by. Her son David experienced a dangerous head injury on the lake and the local hospital called for flight for life to take him to a larger hospital about 50 miles away. They later learned a friend who also prayed when flight for life passed over prayed for the flight that David was on. Learning that friends were praying for David, even though they didn’t know he was on the flight, comforted my neighbor and told her that prayer for strangers is just as important as prayers for our own families. Praying for an end to war, healing from pandemics, safety for those in the path of fire or weather are just as important as prayer for a quiet night of sleep.

Prayer: God of all the world, may we always be mindful of the needs of people we have yet to meet. Thank you for listening to prayer for all people, near and far. Amen