"I thought of the times where the Scripture says that God answered the prayers, not of the sick or dying, but of the friends of the sick or dying- the paralytic, for example. It was when Jesus saw the faith of the man's friends that he told the paralytic, "Get up, take your mat and go home.""
The author is referring to this scripture:
"Jesus climbed into a boat and went back across the lake to his own town. Some people brought to him a paralyzed man on a mat. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “Be encouraged, my child! Your sins are forgiven.” -Matthew 9:1-2 (NLT)
I often wonder if my prayers make a difference. How does my faith impact someone else's problems? I pray a lot for other people, over and over again, and it seems so unlikely that my prayers can change anything. And yet, sometimes when I have been praying for someone continuously and their situation is improving I feel hopeful that maybe my prayers worked. The passage in the book and the verse really renewed my faith in prayer. That the faith of a friend can cause God to create miracles. The power of prayer is not just something you say you will do, it's something you really do with hope and intention that God will see your faith and bless it. Amazing. Renewing. That is grace.
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