FRIENDS PRAY FOR SOMEONE WHO IS VERY ILL
(reflecting how friends approached Jesus, carrying their sick friend on a stretcher, lowering him down through a hole in the roof – Mk 2:1-12)
Lord Jesus, we read in the Gospels
that you spoke individually to many people, changing their lives
as you showed them recognition and acceptance and as you brought them healing and wholeness.
We read, too, of how some people Mk 2:1-12
were such good friends
of a man who was weak and paralysed,
that they carried him on his stretcher:
making their way through the crowds, carrying him on to the roof,
and gently lowering him down,
so that he could be right in front of you.
They must have been such good friends to him, and others could see
the tenderness of their love and care
as well as their extraordinary faith and trust in you, Lord, in bringing him into your presence.
And isn’t it the very same
that we are doing today, Lord
- those of us who love and care for -
as we bring him/her, carry him/her, in the strength of our love into the warmth and light of your presence:
knowing that you, too, are very fond of him/her?
We can all but hear you
calling by his/her name Is 43:1
as you are also calling him/her your friend, Jn 15:15
and we know that your love never fails. 1 Cor 13:8
Lord,
- "the one you love - is ill", Jn 11:3
and those of us who join you
in loving him/her and caring for him/her
ask you to lay your hands on him/her Lk 4:40, Mk 5:23
and transform his/her life once again, bringing him/her the fullness
of your healing and your life. Amen. Jn 10:10
Nicholas Hutchinson, FSC: pgs 36-39 of ‘Lord, Teach us to Pray’ (Matthew James Publishing)
When the thought of you wakens in us
Prayer forthose who are chronically ill