Taking the time to pray for others

CINDY TRANE CHRISTESON

“Prayer is not the least, but the most we can do for another human

being.”

-- UNKNOWN

“The privilege of prayer, to me, is one of the most cherished

possessions, because faith and experience alike convince me that God

himself sees and answers, and his answers I never venture to

criticize. It is only my part to ask.”

-- WILLIAM GRENFELL

In last week’s column, I mentioned different reasons why I pray,

as well as some different ways to pray. I explained one pattern

called “ACTS”; that the “A” stands for adoration, the “C” for

confession, the “T” for thanksgiving and the “S” for supplication.

I gave very brief explanations of each and then ended by giving a

single word that described God using each letter of the alphabet.

There could easily be a column devoted to confession and another to

thanksgiving, but today is going to focus on supplication, which is a

word we may not hear often.

One definition of supplication is to humbly and earnestly pray to

God on behalf of others. We all know plenty of people to pray for,

but there are people we don’t know who could use our prayers, too.

I’ve loved the responses when I’ve written about people or situations

that call for prayer, and I’ve loved hearing how many of those

prayers were answered.

Last June, I wrote a column about a 6-year-old boy named Max who

had suffered severe head trauma from falling out of a second-story

window. Max received incredible medical and prayer support, and his

family also received a tremendous outpouring of prayer, emotional,

practical and every other kind of support, as well. News of his

accident spread far and wide, and before long, Max had received

prayer from around the world.

Today, Max is a walking miracle, and we all rejoice at his

continued progress. One of the first, or perhaps the first, paramedic

to treat Max at the scene of his fall was an amazing man named Brian

Slater.

Not only did Brian help save Max’s life, he kept up with Max’s

progress and visited him and his family in the hospital and at the

rehabilitation center. He called, he e-mailed and more, but he also

prayed.

“One of the things that struck me the most was Brian’s caring,”

Max’s mother said. “He went beyond the call of duty and kept up on

Max’s condition. He even called me and prayed with me on the phone.

I’ve heard he keeps up with the people he has treated over all the

years, and obviously, he is a caring, praying and wonderful man.”

Brian’s name sounded familiar to me, and then I realized that

Brian had also e-mailed me. In addition to the Max connection, Brian

has encouraged and thanked me for writing the column.

I heard and read Brian’s name again recently, over the phone, by

e-mail and in the papers. On Aug. 30, Brian was pulled unconscious

from the water by Newport Beach lifeguards. He is recovering from his

nearly fatal accident, and he and his family have received tremendous

love and prayer support.

Brian has probably been first to the rescue physically and

prayerfully for more people that he can count, and now we need to

pray for him.

And you can quote me on that.

* CINDY TRANE CHRISTESON is a Newport Beach resident who speaks

frequently to parenting groups. She may be reached via e-mail at

cindy@onthegrow.com or through the mail at 537 Newport Center Drive,

Suite 505, Newport Beach, CA 92660.