Saturday, March 22 ~ Remembering you in my prayers

~~Ephesians 1:15-16
I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers.  

~~Paul describes thankful remembrance. He is speaking to the church members at Ephesus. They are a fellowship, a body of fellow believers. He mentions their great strength because of the practice of intercessory prayer within the church.
Can our intercessory prayers actually help the people for whom we pray? Doesn’t God already know their needs before we ask?
Perhaps the peace and hope we find in the knowledge that we are being remembered to God in prayer helps us heal. We all hunger for relief from ill health and hopelessness.
Yes God does know and care for our needs, and we can be a part of God’s loving care by passing along our spoken concern.
It’s been an honor for me to be asked to remember a friend or family member in prayer, but telling someone directly that we prayed for them isn’t always a part of our conversation. Perhaps it should be. I’ve felt loved and blessed when people told me they remembered me in prayer, especially during and after surgery. This is an important part of our faith and faithfulness before God.
Even though Paul is away from Ephesus, he looks back with glad remembrance of the church there and those who practiced their faith.
Lord, make me aware of spoken and unspoken needs of those around me. In faith we seek your healing presence. Amen.
Joann Hanna