For those of you not privileged to have known my mother, she was a true prayer warrior. If you needed something accomplished by the Almighty, you got Merry Nell to pray for you. And she loved to pray for people–both with them in person, and silently, with her Bible open to an obscure verse no one had ever thought to claim for asthma.
She taught me well. While I won’t claim to have her direct line to God, intercessory prayer has been as natural for me as walking.
Until now. She’s gone, and I can’t seem to muster up a prayer for anyone.
Yesterday, a friend suggested that I make some changes to my quiet times (hate that phrase!) during this phase of grief. And while driving home, I had a radical thought: What if I gave up praying for everyone? Just for a while.
Is it possible that God could handle it without me? Can my son face high school and my daughter face middle school without my spiritual intervention? Will my husband be OK at work without my daily intercession? What about all those needy people, like the kids up the street? Does the sun still rise without me to pray it up?
You get the picture.
So for now, I’m giving up praying, at least the way I used to pray. I’m sure God can manage.
