I Just Want You to Pray For Me - by Myron Bernard
Posted on Wednesday, February 8, 2012 by
There’s something beautiful about praying with a kid.
Last week at Sozo, a kid I’ve met once before asked me to pray for him. An 8th grader from a broken home, he’s not extremely vocal, articulate or eloquent. He just “wanted prayer.” The ambiguity of his request is what really makes me smile. I tried to pull out a little more information…
“What can I pray for you about?”
“I dunno. Just stuff. I think I’m depressed.”
“Do you want to talk about it some? Is there anything specific that comes to your mind?”
“No. I just… want… you to pray for me.”
“Ok. Yes. Sure. Absolutely…. let’s pray!”
Although my heart aches in a young person’s brokenness, moments like this make me so thankful to our Heavenly Father. Somehow God saw fit to let me represent Him to a young person on Tacoma’s Hilltop. I got to stand before heaven and intercede for someone that was supremely loved by the maker of the universe.
I placed my hand on his shoulder and began to pray… and I don’t even really remember what I prayed, but I know my heart burned as I spoke. As I prayed, we both had tears come to our eyes. I remember just begging God to show James how much He loved him.
“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.” - Romans 8:26
After we finished praying, I gave him a hug and made him promise that he’d come back next week so we could hang out some more. He agreed and smiled. As best as I can surmise his smile was real and displayed a real joy.
Do you remember the first time you realized that God really, truly, loved you? I think that’s what this young man realized that moment. What a great night at Sozo.
Myron Bernard leads Indigenous Leadership Development in our City Life Ministry.