Pray For Others

Today the oldest daughter and the son-in-law spoke in their ward and we went to listen to them. Their topic was "Pray Always" and they both did a good job sharing their thoughts and insights. The daughter shared a story about a little boy whose mom encourages him to look for opportunities to pray for others during the day. They go to the library and he sees a baby crying so he silently prays for her to be happy. He sees his neighbor, who has been sick, getting out of her wheelchair and into her car and he silently prays that she will get well. The piano tuner comes to his house and he silently prays that he will be able to do his job well and make their piano sound nice. I don't very often take the opportunity to pray for people outside my usual circle. My prayers seem to focus more on myself and my needs. Recently I was reading a book that talked about taking a prayer walk. Apparently in some churches as people walk around their neighborhoods they pray for the individuals who live in the homes that they pass. At the time I thought this was a rather random idea, but the more I have thought about it the more I think that it isn't all that strange. It would probably be good for me to pray for others, even those I don't know, sometimes. I started thinking what a different person I would be if when I got frustrated with someone's driving ability instead of getting upset and yelling I said a prayer for them to arrive safely at their destination. Or when I didn't agree with the way someone was parenting their child I offered a prayer for help for them in raising their kids. Or when the college kids next door are having a wild party AGAIN that I prayed for them to be kept safe. Or when the referree in the church basketball game makes a call I don't like I offered a prayer of gratitude for their willingness to give service in the church. How would that be if every time I was given an opportunity to be unkind or upset or frustrated I chose to offer a silent prayer instead? How long do you think it would take for that to become my natural response?

Today I am thankful for

cooler temperatures.
an opportunity to hear my daughter share her testimony concerning prayer.
The chance that preparing a talk gives us to evaluate our performance in a specific area of our lives at the moment.
people who share their Kleenex.