Yoder: When God calls us to pray
By Kathy Yoder
Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Twenty-two years ago this fall, my beloved father was called home to Jesus. The following month, my family faced another challenge when my oldest brother, Mick, was called to active duty in Iraq. A doctor and also a colonel in the Army Reserves, Mick was 50 years old and expected to serve in a safe location like Hawaii if war broke out with Korea. Instead, he was transferred to a medical unit headed for the Green Zone in Iraq due to his expertise in preventive medicine and public health. His mission was to keep our soldiers healthy and train Iraqi doctors. I worried about him vaguely, assuming he’d return with good stories and great pictures. I prayed for him. When I remembered.
I’ve never had the spiritual gift of intercessory prayer, but I know people who do. God calls them to pray actively for others, and I used to think it was a calm, tame gift. Something that made them look like devoted churchgoers. Too often, we treat prayer as a last resort, a final line of defense when all else fails. That described me until that time 22 years ago, when a single week changed my view of prayer forever.
It began with an unshakable fear for Mick. I woke up worrying and even told my husband, Dave, who reassured me, “Oh, don’t worry. He’ll be fine.” But the unease grew stronger each day. I sensed God calling me to pray for my brother, so I did. I prayed fervently, culminating one night when I knew, beyond doubt, that God was saying, “Pray now!” I prayed until I fell asleep. The next morning, my fear and the urgent need to pray were gone.
Later, I learned what happened that night. Mick was in his bedroom on the second floor of a house one mile from the Green Zone, sitting on the floor entering health data into his laptop. His room had a balcony door next to the adjacent building’s roof. A rocket landed on that roof, exploding with such force that the house’s front door was blown off. Glass and shrapnel flew everywhere. I picture Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz,” her house spinning in a tornado as objects whirl around her. My sister-in-law, Christine, told me Mick was sitting in the only spot in his room where he could avoid serious injury or death.
As she spoke, time seemed to slow way down. I broke out in full-body goosebumps, overwhelmed by the certainty that God had spared Mick. And humbled that He called me to pray. That experience taught me that prayer isn’t our last line of defense but our first line of offense. Before anything else, we must pray. For our world, our country, our loved ones, our neighbors, even our enemies.
Since that night, I have strived to make prayer my first response, not my last resort. Pray, wait, and listen. Let God guide you. In these days of global tension, like those we see in the Middle East, let’s pray for our nation’s peace and wisdom for its leaders. If we do, our lives will never be the same.
Kathy Yoder is a devotional writer. She may be reached at Kathyyoder4@gmail.com and Kathyyoder.com.
