Prayer Part II: Life and Death and Baby Brothers

I interrupted her in the middle of her prayer.  "No, no, no.  I have to stop you," I told the teenage girl in front of me.  We had been talking about praying boldly, and after she told me some of the big prayers she had, I told her one of mine- that my brothers who profess there is no God will come to know Him and be transformed by Jesus.  So we decided to pray for one another's intentions.

"Dear God, I pray for Miss Lee's brothers that they will have faith.... But if they don't, that's okay too because it's their choice."

"No, no, no.  I have to stop you."

I have to admit, I've never stopped anyone's prayer before, and I've heard some strange prayers to tell you the truth.  But my brothers do not have faith in Jesus, and that's a life or death matter.  So I don't feel the need to be polite.  Sound dramatic?  If you think so, let me explain.  {Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, and there is no way, truth, or life apart from him.  We are all sinners and the payment for sin is death, and only through Jesus are we saved from that death.}  In our culture today, those kind of absolute statements make us squirm, but I know Jesus is who he says he is and he is indeed the Savior of the world.

  I love my baby brothers too much to pray for anything other than for Jesus to save them.  If I knew they were about to walk in front of a train or pull the trigger of a gun pointed at their head, I would never say, "Please don't, but if you do, that's okay too because it's your choice."  I would beg for anyone, anyone to save them, and in this case, Jesus is the only one who can.  So I beg him.

But her prayer revealed something in my heart that I've been thinking about these past few days.  I stopped her from praying a timid prayer because those were my brothers she was talking about and I love them.  I pray for them, and my prayers will be bold and relentless, and I will not allow for anything less.  But what about everyone else?  Who is praying boldly and relentlessly for them?  Who loves them enough?

Maybe I need to pray for everyone like they are my baby brothers in a life or death situation.  Maybe all Christians need to pray like that.  Because if God is our Father, and life is found in Jesus, well, that might not be as far from the truth as one might think.

Jesus, reveal yourself, your love, and your truth to baby brothers.  Open their hearts to believe that you are Lord and you are risen.  Teach us to ask boldly.  Amen.