Over the last week something has begun to really niggle me about prayer and praying for people.

I have seen Asher praying with various people on the phone and have heard people talk to us about prayer. But as I mentioned something is niggling me. Unfortunately I am realising that though some people are trying to be helpful their prayers, because of their theology I suppose, leave those prayed for feeling guilty, weak, vulnerable and worse of all distant from God. Unfortunately it is usually at a time when God is most sought and needed most.

God meets us in our times of need and some people seem to have an idea that God inflicts people and then abandons them.

I am glad that Asher and I both Know God is with us and can stand emotionally and firmly distant from those who pray so openly with such negativity.

I should explain a little more what I mean.

Many people are praying for us at the moment and Asher and I know that these are prayers of people who seriously care and love us. Who in the past have welcomed us with opened arms into their communities or families or lives. We thank them all so much and hope that they will some day know how much their prayers sustain us and enable us to know God at this time to so fundamentally.

However a few have the idea that cancer is a curse caused by sin. That to die is an awful thing and by faith, hope, trust it can be taken away by a miricle. By an act of Jesus granting longevity of life on earth because we found the secret cause which caused the cancer to exist. If I did not trust and believe in what Christ did for us on the cross I could come up with many evil and twisted reasons why my dearest has cancer. But I put those unfathomable thougthts below me because I know Christ is our Lord, friend, healer, saviour and nothing evil can cause our downfall in this life or the next.

There are four men at the cross that draw my attention.
1. the man who carried the cross for Christ as Jesus walked to his death
2. the man who blamed and mocked
3. the man who believed and looked forward to being with God
4. the man who took on the commission be Christ in the world.

And then more than a man CHRIST rather than act to glorify himself he turned peoples focus to God.

When we pray perhaps we can think of these people at the cross and find ways to be similar (or not as it is with man who mocked and blamed). We can build up those who face desperate points in their lives and be the man who helps to carry the burden and lighten the load, the man who believes and searches for God in all things and the man who takes God commission seriously and Christ whose desire was for us to see God as Christ did for us.