In 1983 I was working late at the office. I was feverously preparing for a hearing the next morning. The phone rang. It was my father. Dad was calling from his hospital room. Just recently he had been transferred there for rehab services after being in a coma for a month.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Alicia Dad had unwisely climbed onto the roof of his barn to clear it of the mess of limbs, leaves, and other debris. What was even riskier were the leather sole shoes Dad wore.
Suddenly, one shoe lost its footing. Dad stepped forward with the other leg to unsuccessfully restore his balance. The only thing left for Dad to do was to instinctively wrap his arms around his head as he fell fifteen feet headfirst onto the concrete below.
I asked myself, “Why is Dad calling me? Is something wrong?” When I answered the call Dad said, “Bubba, I am having a problem. I am trying to say the Lord’s Prayer. I cannot remember all of the words. Can you please help me write down the ones I cannot recall?”
My mind shifted to what prayer did for me in the hospital at age six with polio. With prayer, God was with me when my Mom and Dad were not. I recalled what saying the Lord’s Prayer with Father Skarden Daubert each day did for me in the hospital.
I immediately left for the hospital. A few minutes later I was at the foot of Dad’s bed. He held a marker in one hand. He had written a few lines of the Prayer on the chalkboard next to his bed. First, I helped Dad say the words he could not recall. I watched him struggle to write them down. Soon all the verses of the Prayer were on the chalkboard. Dad wanted to see and say the Prayer as often as needed each day.
Unexpectedly, Dad asked me to do something with him he had never done before. “Bubba, before you leave would you please say the Lord’s Prayer with me?” My eyes filled with tears. We prayed as father and son. We prayed as two children of God. We knelt on the bended knees of our hearts to the same God. At that moment a polio survivor and a brain-injured man both needed God’s light, comfort, and love to enter the hospital room.
God has spoken to us in Scripture about praying with others.
Matthew 18:20
For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.
James 5:14-15
Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up…..
Let us pray together.
Dear God, I thank You for being with me in prayer whenever I need You.
God, please open my eyes to see and seize opportunities to pray with others when needed.
God, in those moments of prayer may I not only ask You for healing, hope, and miracles. May I send You prayers of thanksgiving for the light, joy, life, and happiness You have gifted me and those who send You their prayers. Amen
If you like this prayer, please share.
If you like this prayer, please share.
If you want to purchase for yourself or a friend a copy of Bending Angels: Living Messengers of God’s Love or Prayerful Passages: Asking God’s Help in Reconciliation, Separation or Divorce, please click on here to go to Amazon.
Jack H. Emmott is a Senior Counsel of Gray, Reed & McGraw, LLP, a 145-lawyer full-service firm in Houston, Dallas, and Waco, Texas, a Board-Certified Family Law and Master Credentialed Collaborative Law Professional Divorce Attorney, Mediator, Author, Entrepreneur, and Inspirational Speaker. For more information about Jack or his latest book, Bending Angels: Living Messengers of God’s Love, go to the Bending Angel website.
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