Botley Baptist Church
9!
PRAYING FOR OTHERS A hospital chaplain doing his rounds, approached the bed of a delightful old lady. He noticed her eyes were closed, and with the index finger one hand, she was touching the fingers on the other hand, one by one, pausing for a while before moving onto the next finger. She sensed the chaplains’ presence, opened her eyes and said, "Oh, hello chaplain, I was just saying my prayers - prayers my grandmother taught me many years ago.” The chaplain looked at her quizzically. "I hold my hand like this”, the lady explained, “my thumb towards me, which reminds me to pray for those nearest to me. Then, my pointing finger reminds me to pray for those who point the way to others: teachers, leaders, parents. “The next finger is the biggest, so I pray for those in high places, followed by the weakest finger - look it won't stand up by itself! - which reminds me to pray for the sick, the lonely, and those who are afraid. “And then, well… there is this little one, the last of the lot. When I have prayed for everyone else, I pray for myself.” What a great lesson! It is so easy to make our prayers about us: "Help me.. " "Deliver me... " "Give me..." "Show me..." "I need... " "I want…" when our prayers should be, for and about others.
"And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints (other Christians).” (Ephesians 6:18)
"Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself." (Philippians 2:3)