“Our prayers may be awkward. Our attempts may be feeble. But since the power of prayer is in the one who hears it and not in the one who says it, our prayers do make a difference.” – Max Lucado
I unashamedly believe in the power of prayer. If it is true that God loves us, it must be true that he delights when we come to talk with him. He is never too busy, never too weak, and never disinterested in you! If you have been around David’s Refuge for any amount of time you have heard us say over and over again, “God and your community loves you!” Therefore, we are committed to praying for you!
When Brenda and I started David’s Refuge we prayed every step of the way. We prayed God would use our experience with David to be a blessing to others. We prayed for wisdom and direction. We prayed for a creative and unique way to meet the needs of parents who were just like us. We prayed for a team of people to join us. We prayed for the finances to love on parents with extravagance. We prayed for a staff to help us live out our mission. (This alone is proof that God hears and answers our prayers!) We prayed for every mom and dad that walked through our doors that they would leave believing they are not alone, what they do matters and that God and their community loves them. It is not an exaggeration to say David’s Refuge was birthed through prayer.
So when Rory sends out her every other week email asking you, “How can we pray for you?” she means it! When you read the “We Are Glad That You are Here” brochure found in your gift basket on your weekend away and it asks you, “How can the David’s Refuge community come alongside you in prayer?” they mean it! When you get connected with a family in our community through our Prayer Stone Project and you read the card that comes with your prayer stone, “At David’s Refuge we believe in the power of prayer.”, they mean it.
So my encouragement to anyone reading this is to be bold and let us know how we can pray for you. If you are not a praying person please don’t feel like we are going to force prayer on you. It is available for those who seek it. From the very beginning, we have sought to be sensitive to people of all faiths or those who don’t even have a faith.
In closing, I want to give you one more challenge. I started the blog with a quote from Max Lucado. He makes the point that many of us don’t pray because we feel our words are “awkward” and “feeble.” I love his reminder that the power of our prayers is not in how eloquently we say them but in the one who listens to us. So be bold! Pray! Ask him for anything!
If you feel like you simply lack the words to say, I found a great website entitled 30 Prayers for Special Needs Parents that might be helpful. Just click on the link and you can check them out. Here is an example of a prayer written for those who are wrestling with watching their children miss milestones.
Thank You, Lord, for always hearing and embracing me, no matter how often I despair. I’m grateful for Your generous love that seeks me out wherever I am. Please help me to remember Your intense love for us, in the face of what doctors and therapists say about my son. Please help him continue to develop, and help me to be patient with Your healing process, even when the milestones remain points somewhere in the distance. Thank You for daily healing my eyes, so that I can see what You see, in my child, in myself, and in my community. Please remind me always of the beauty in my son, the fearful and wonderful way that You made him. I’m so grateful that You have trusted me with this treasure, Your
child that You allow me to care for in this moment. Amen.