Praying for One Another

    Pastors like me are expected to call people who are in the hospital. What we do when we get there depends on the circumstances. We ask how the patient is doing. We show our concern through empathetic listening. Sometimes we bring communion, or baptize a dying patient.
     Almost always we pray with the patient. In prayer, we acknowledge that we have no life except the life that God gives us; we ask for God's presence and the assurance of God's leading; and we affirm our faith that nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
     One day I was visiting a church member in a long-term care facility. I was concerned that she had become increasingly withdrawn and unresponsive. When it was time to pray, I said, "Deanna, I am going to pray for you; and when I'm done, I want you to pray for me and what I do." She did. After all, she is not the only one who needs prayer. I need to be prayed for too.