The Weight of Prayer

(Image from www.emergingminister.com)

I'm staring at a prayer list this morning from our Sunday night worship service. I know that I'm the only one who writes the names down for prayer (well, I don't actually write the names myself, but I'm the only one who keeps the names...). Anyway, I don't always hold on to the list. Sometimes it gets misplaced, forgotten, thrown away...

But I'm looking at this list and it's so full of real need, real prayer material:

• a man who had 16" of his intestine removed (and I know of a woman who had the very same kind of surgery - both last week)
• two women who have had hip replacement surgery this week
• a man who "needs a lot of prayer"
• a local Christian school needs a math teacher (and, I have since discovered, an art teacher)
• a diabetic man who struggles with infected wounds
• a woman who has struggled with a difficult family situation
• the death of two men and a woman, in three different cities, in three different families
• college students returning, empty nesters

and a handful of true praises:

• two women who have been hired for good, keep 'em in town, jobs
• a wedding

But the thing is, I'm looking at this prayer list and for the first time I really feel the weight of it. Does that make sense? I mean, I don't want to lose it or let it get misplaced until I've had time to really pray over these things... It's not because any of these things are directly related to me (the closest I come is having officiated at the wedding and that I'll be officiating at one of the funerals), but because for the first time in a long time I really sense the weight and importance of what prayer really is. I will take it seriously.

Not that I haven't in the past been serious about prayer, I just haven't always been CAREFUL about prayer, if that makes any sense...

So, that's Tuesday morning...